2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Madison County Treasurer

Voted on across Madison County.

Find your exact ballot All Madison County races

What this office does

The county treasurer is an elected county officer created by the Indiana Constitution. The treasurer receives the money owed to the county, sends out and collects property tax bills, and pays out county money on warrants issued by the county auditor ^{[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: 15 counties; 4 contested (more candidates, including write-ins, than seats) ^[6]

What the law puts in this job (4)

Receives money to which the county is entitled and pays it out on warrants issued and attested by the auditor ^[2].
Bills and collects property taxes ^{[2, 7]}.
Reports to the auditor on the county's funds each month and settles with the auditor twice a year ^{[8, 9]}.
Invests county funds under guidelines set by the county commissioners and sits with the commissioners on the county board of finance ^{[10, 11]}.

Madison 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

$439,009

0.5% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 9% more than 2019, before inflation

2019 $402,9072026 $439,009

The year-by-year figures

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

2019: $402,907
2020: $400,835
2021: $401,632
2022: $408,316
2023: $409,229
2024: $415,270
2025: $427,834
2026: $439,009

Budget lines counted: 0003 COUNTY TREASURER

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

Elected official's pay, 2026 budget line

$65,101

From the county budget; verify against the county's 2026 salary ordinance. A line can include longevity pay or a second role.

Also on the record for this office

property tax billing software: Low Associates WinTax 13.15.0.8 (source: Indiana Gateway pay-2026 property-tax data)

About this race

No candidate forum or debate for this race was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Candidates on the ballot

Rick Gardner

Republican

Rick Gardner is the Republican nominee ^[12].

How Gardner got on the ballot

Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 7,977 votes ^[12].

What we could not find about Gardner

No campaign website, candidate questionnaire, news interview or biography was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.
Coverage in The Herald Bulletin (Anderson) is paywalled and was not used.

Sources for Gardner

2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)

Shannon Watters

Democratic

Shannon Watters is the Democratic candidate on the state's general-election list ^[6].

What we could not find about Watters

No campaign website, candidate questionnaire, news interview or biography was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.
How the party filled its ballot spot after the primary (for example by caucus) was not confirmed.
Coverage in The Herald Bulletin (Anderson) is paywalled and was not used.
No Democratic candidate was on the May 5, 2026 primary ballot for this office; listed as the Democratic candidate on the state's Sept. 22 general-election list ^{[12, 6]}.

Sources for Watters

2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)

Sources

Researched Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Constitution of the State of Indiana, Article 6, Section 2 (quoted in the 2026 Candidate Guide) (Indiana Election Division)
Indiana Code 36-2-10-9: Treasurer; receipt and disbursement of money (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices) (Indiana Election Division)
Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: County fiscal body; compensation and positions (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Indiana Code 36-2-5-5: Officers' budget estimates (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
Understanding Your Tax Bill (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
Indiana Code 36-2-10-16: Treasurer; monthly report (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Indiana Code 6-1.1-27-1: Semiannual settlement of property taxes (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Indiana Code 5-13-9-1: Investment of public funds (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
Indiana Code 5-13-7-1: County board of finance (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
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.