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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Howard County Recorder

Voted on across Howard County.

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What this office does

The county recorder is an elected county officer created by the Indiana Constitution. The recorder records and indexes deeds, mortgages, plats and other documents affecting land in the county and collects the fees for recording them [1, 2].

The job in full — the duties the Indiana Code puts in it, the term, what it pays and who sets that, and what to ask a candidate.

Term
4 years [1]
Term limit
No more than eight years in any twelve-year period (Indiana Constitution, Article 6, Section 2) [1]
Qualifications
Must have lived in the county for at least one year before the election, be registered to vote in the county by the filing deadline, and file a statement of economic interests [3]
Pay and staff
Set by the county council, which also fixes the number of deputies and employees; the officer files a budget estimate each summer [4, 5]
On the 2026 ballot
54 counties; 14 contested (more candidates, including write-ins, than seats) [6]
What the law puts in this job (3)
  • Records deeds, mortgages, plats and other documents presented for recording, and keeps indexes so they can be found [2].
  • Collects recording fees set by state law [7].
  • Must complete 15 hours of training in the first year in office and 40 hours over each three years, and certify it to the State Board of Accounts [8].

Howard County's numbers for this office

Legal Insights county office research (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Gateway budgets 2019-2026 and the indicator sources linked on each line.

This office's 2026 budget

$457,320

0.6% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 81% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $253,0752020: $349,9292021: $373,0472022: $297,6212023: $428,3662024: $441,3072025: $471,3072026: $457,320
2019 $253,0752026 $457,320
The year-by-year figures

Adopted budget, all funds, 2019-2026 (not adjusted for inflation)

  • 2019: $253,075
  • 2020: $349,929
  • 2021: $373,047
  • 2022: $297,621
  • 2023: $428,366
  • 2024: $441,307
  • 2025: $471,307
  • 2026: $457,320

Budget lines counted: fund 9521 Enhanced Access - Recorder; fund 9531 Clerks Recorders Perpetuation; fund 9541 Recorder's Records Perpetuation

Adopted 2026 county budget (Form 1 line items, Form 4B) and earlier years' budgets

  • Includes $457,320 in funds named for the office (for example a commissary or perpetuation fund) that are not coded to its department.

About this race

  • The current officeholder, Torie Kelley (Republican), is on the ballot for another term [10, 6].
  • No candidate forum or debate for this race was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Candidates on the ballot

Torie Kelley

RepublicanIncumbent

Torie Kelley (Republican) is the current officeholder, according to the county [10].

Kelley's background

  • Listed by the county as the current officeholder [10].

How Kelley got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 6,088 votes [11].

What we could not find about Kelley

  • No campaign website, candidate questionnaire or interview stating plans for the office was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.
  • Coverage in the Kokomo Tribune is paywalled and was not used.

Sources for Kelley

Wendy Renee Wheeler

Democratic

Wendy Renee Wheeler is the Democratic nominee [11].

How Wheeler got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary unopposed, with 2,887 votes [11].

What we could not find about Wheeler

  • No campaign website, candidate questionnaire, news interview or biography was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.
  • Coverage in the Kokomo Tribune is paywalled and was not used.

Sources for Wheeler

Sources

Researched Tuesday, October 13, 2026

  1. Constitution of the State of Indiana, Article 6, Section 2 (quoted in the 2026 Candidate Guide) (Indiana Election Division)
  2. Indiana Code 36-2-11-8: Recorder; recording duties (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  3. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices) (Indiana Election Division)
  4. Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: County fiscal body; compensation and positions (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  5. Indiana Code 36-2-5-5: Officers' budget estimates (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  6. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  7. Indiana Code 36-2-7-10: Recorder's fees (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  8. Indiana Code 36-2-11-2.5: Recorder; training requirements (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  9. Recorder (Howard County, Indiana)
  10. 2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)
What's included
the U.S. House, statewide offices, every Indiana House and Senate district on the ballot, Indiana's statewide public questions and judicial retention questions, and county, township, city, town and school board races from the Indiana Election Division's candidate list.
Everything else
Local races (county, city, school board, judges) and anything else on your ballot are on your official sample ballot: IndianaVoters.in.gov.
Candidate lists
As of Sunday, October 18, 2026.
At the polls
Indiana law lets you bring a list of candidates and public questions into the polling place, including one stored on your phone, as long as you don't electioneer. IC 3-11-8-18.5

This is not an official ballot. Confirm your registration, polling place and ballot with your election office through vote.gov.