What this office does
The county auditor is an elected county officer created by the Indiana Constitution and is the county's fiscal officer. The auditor keeps the county's books, pays claims only when money has been appropriated, serves as clerk to the commissioners and council, and works out tax rates and distributions for the local governments in the county [1, 2, 3, 4].
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 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 [5]
- 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 [6, 7]
- On the 2026 ballot
- 65 counties; 15 contested (more candidates, including write-ins, than seats) [8]
What the law puts in this job (6)
- Is the fiscal officer of the county and keeps its accounts [2].
- Receives claims against the county, presents them to the commissioners, and issues warrants only when the commissioners or a court order it [9, 10].
- May not let any line of appropriation be overdrawn, and may draw a warrant only if the county council has appropriated the money [3, 4].
- Settles property tax collections with the treasurer twice a year and distributes the money to the county, schools, cities, towns, townships and other local units [11].
- Certifies the county's net assessed value to the Department of Local Government Finance each year for setting tax rates [12].
- Files the county's annual financial report with the State Board of Accounts [13].
Lake 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.
The auditor's department in this county also carries money that passes through to other purposes (debt payments, contracts, transfers), so its total would overstate what the office costs.
Also on the record for this office
- property tax billing software: Aumentum Technologies MVPTax 3.16.014 (source: Indiana Gateway pay-2026 property-tax data)
About this race
- The county lists Peggy Holinga Katona as auditor. She sought re-election but finished second in the May 2026 Democratic primary, so the seat will change hands [14, 15].
- Democrat Gina Pimentel is the term-limited county recorder; Republican Chuck Messler was unopposed in his primary [16, 15].
- No forum or debate between the candidates was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.
Candidates on the ballot
CM
Charles (Chuck) Messler
Republican
Charles (Chuck) Messler is the Republican nominee; he was unopposed in the May 5, 2026 Republican primary [15].
How Messler got on the ballot
- Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 15,638 votes [15].
What we could not find about Messler
- No campaign website, candidate questionnaire, news interview or biography was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.
- No stated priorities for the office were found.
- Coverage in The Times of Northwest Indiana is paywalled and was not used.
RP
Regina (Gina) Pimentel
Democratic
Democrat Gina Pimentel, the Lake County recorder, won the 2026 Democratic primary for auditor over incumbent Peggy Holinga Katona; she says she would retrain the office's deductions staff and bring back in-person tax sales [16, 15].
Pimentel's background
- Elected Lake County recorder in 2020 after five years as chief deputy recorder; term limits bar her from seeking re-election as recorder, according to the Post-Tribune [16].
- Says she is proudest of the recorder's office's digitizing, imaging and scanning of records, which she says was paid for with office revenue rather than tax money [16].
Pimentel's positions
Property tax deductions
- Would retrain the auditor's deductions staff, and take the training herself, so that eligible homeowners, residents over 65, disabled residents and disabled veterans get the correct deductions [16].
Tax sales
- Would restore in-person tax sales, which she said would reduce fraud and raise the collection rate: "That's something that I would like to play more offense not defense" [16].
How Pimentel would run the office
- Described herself as "an in-person, hands-on elected official and office holder that has the county's best interest in mind" and called the auditor's office a logical next step because of its links to the recorder's office on property transfers [16].
How Pimentel got on the ballot
- Won a three-way May 5, 2026 Democratic primary with 12,980 votes, ahead of incumbent Peggy Holinga Katona (12,141) and Sondra Ford (11,082) [15].
What we could not find about Pimentel
- Statements are from her May 2025 announcement; no campaign website or 2026 general-election questionnaire was found.
- Coverage in The Times of Northwest Indiana is paywalled and was not used.
Key points
- Democrat Gina Pimentel is the term-limited county recorder; Republican Chuck Messler was unopposed in his primary. (Post-Tribune (Merrillville))
- The county lists Peggy Holinga Katona as auditor. She sought re-election but finished second in the May 2026 Democratic primary, so the seat will change hands. (Lake County, Indiana)
- 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.