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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Marion County Circuit Court Clerk

Voted on across Marion County.

Find your exact ballotAll Marion County races

What this office does

The clerk of the circuit court is an elected county officer created by the Indiana Constitution. The clerk keeps the records of every court in the county and collects court fees, sits on the county election board, and in most counties is also the voter registration officer [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
4 years [1]
Term limit
No more than eight years in any twelve-year period (Indiana Constitution, Article 6, Section 2) [1]
Qualifications
Must 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
62 counties; 23 contested (more candidates, including write-ins, than seats) [8]
What the law puts in this job (5)
  • Serves as clerk of all the courts in the county, keeping case records and dockets [2].
  • Collects court costs and fees and forwards the county's share to the county auditor within 30 days [9].
  • Is an ex officio member of the three-member county election board, which conducts elections and administers election law in the county [3].
  • Is the county's voter registration officer, except in counties that have a separate board of registration or board of elections and registration (including Marion, Lake, Porter and Tippecanoe) [4, 5].
  • Receives local candidates' filings, including declarations of candidacy and statements of economic interests [5].

Marion 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

$7,782,639

1.5% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 9% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $7,133,5082020: $7,129,4642021: $7,003,9562022: $7,022,3762023: $7,572,9032024: $8,056,2492025: $8,056,2492026: $7,782,639
2019 $7,133,5082026 $7,782,639
The year-by-year figures

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

  • 2019: $7,133,508
  • 2020: $7,129,464
  • 2021: $7,003,956
  • 2022: $7,022,376
  • 2023: $7,572,903
  • 2024: $8,056,249
  • 2025: $8,056,249
  • 2026: $7,782,639

Budget lines counted: 0001 CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT (COUNTY CLERK)

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

Budgeted separately, not included above: election board, voter registration, election expense, clerk IV-D (depts 0062, 0010, 0104, 0665), $8.5 million.

  • Marion County (Unigov): county-unit figures only.

Also on the record for this office

  • court case management: Odyssey statewide since Dec. 13, 2021 (Indiana Office of Court Technology)

Measured, for this county

A position compares this county with counties of similar size. It is not a grade: for most measures a higher or lower number is neither good nor bad on its own.

Turnout, Nov. 2024 general election · 2024 general

55.0%

Ballots cast as a share of registered voters.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low: voters decide whether to vote; the clerk and election board run voting sites and absentee options

source

Absentee and early voting share, Nov. 2024 · 2024 general

46.1%

Absentee ballots, including early in-person votes, as a share of all ballots.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: partial: the county election board (the clerk plus two party appointees) sets early-voting sites and hours, with unanimity required for satellite sites

source

Registered voters, May 2026 primary · May 2026 primary

632,125

From the Election Division.

Context, not something the officeholder sets: the number of registered voters the office serves

source

Turnout, May 2026 primary · May 2026 primary

15.8%

Ballots cast as a share of registered voters.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low: voters decide whether to vote; the clerk and election board run voting sites and absentee options

source

Court clearance rate · 2025

102.0%

Cases closed as a share of cases filed in 2025, all trial courts (not infractions or ordinance violations).

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low for the clerk: judges decide cases; the clerk keeps records and dockets

Position 3 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

Court filings per judicial officer · 2025

1,973

2025 filings per judge or magistrate.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low for the clerk: judges decide cases; the clerk keeps records and dockets

Position 6 of 11 counties with 150,000 or more residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

About this race

  • The current officeholder, Kate Sweeney Bell (Democratic), is on the ballot for another term [10, 8].
  • The Marion County clerk oversees election administration and security, court records including marriage licenses, and court finances, according to WFYI [10].
  • Bell won a contested Democratic primary in May 2026; Robbin Stewart was unopposed for the Republican nomination [11].
  • WFYI's Sept. 15, 2026 voter guide interviewed Bell; Stewart accepted an interview request but did not appear, so WFYI drew on his website and online videos [10].
  • No candidate forum or debate for this race was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Candidates on the ballot

Kate Sweeney Bell

DemocraticIncumbent

Democrat Kate Sweeney Bell has been Marion County clerk since 2023 and is seeking a second and, under the two-term limit, final term; she lists election equipment certification, equipment testing and absentee voting among her focuses [10].

Bell's background

  • Marion County clerk since 2023; Marion County recorder for eight years before that, according to WFYI [10].
  • Former chair of the Marion County Democratic Party, according to Mirror Indy [12].

Bell's positions

Election security & equipment

  • Says the county is working toward VVSG 2.0 certification for new election equipment, now expected for the 2027 primary rather than this November [10].
  • Says the county tests all of its election equipment, more than the 5% state law requires: "we test 100% of our equipment, and that testing is open to the public" [10].
  • Said: "Our elections are safe and secure in Marion County, in the state of Indiana, and the United States of America" [10].

Absentee voting

  • Says she would mail absentee applications to every registered voter if state law allowed, and urges voters to apply early: "please don't procrastinate" [10].

Records

  • Says digitizing court records would cost about $20 million, so the county is proceeding slowly and seeking grants [10].

How Bell got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary with about 48% of the vote to about 46% for Karla López Owens; Bobby Kern, who died in April, received about 6% [12, 11].

Sources for Bell

Robbin Stewart

Republican

Republican Robbin Stewart is retired, has not held public office and previously ran for the Indiana House; during the primary he said election security in Marion County is "about 50-50" [10].

Stewart's background

  • Retired; has not held public office; previously ran for Indiana House District 100, according to WFYI [10].

Stewart's positions

Election security

  • Said during the Republican primary that election security in Marion County is "about 50-50" and that better poll worker training could address security concerns, according to WFYI [10].

Voter identification

  • Has said in online videos that the Indiana Constitution does not require identification to vote; WFYI's editor's note states that Indiana law requires government-issued photo ID at the polls on Election Day [10].

How Stewart got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 15,937 votes [11].

What we could not find about Stewart

  • Accepted WFYI's interview request but did not appear for the interview [10].

Stewart's campaign website

Sources for Stewart

Key points

  • The Marion County clerk oversees election administration and security, court records including marriage licenses, and court finances, according to WFYI. (WFYI Public Media)
  • Bell won a contested Democratic primary in May 2026; Robbin Stewart was unopposed for the Republican nomination. (Indiana Election Division)
  • WFYI's Sept. 15, 2026 voter guide interviewed Bell; Stewart accepted an interview request but did not appear, so WFYI drew on his website and online videos. (WFYI Public Media)

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 33-32-2-1: Clerk of the circuit court; clerk of all courts (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  3. Indiana Code 3-6-5-2: County election board; membership (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  4. Indiana Code 3-7-12-1: Circuit court clerk as voter registration officer (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  5. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices) (Indiana Election Division)
  6. Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: County fiscal body; compensation and positions (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  7. Indiana Code 36-2-5-5: Officers' budget estimates (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  8. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  9. Indiana Code 33-37-7-12: Clerk; distribution of court fees (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  10. 2026 Voter Guide: Marion County Clerk (by Zach Bundy) (WFYI Public Media)
  11. 2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)
  12. Kelvis Williams wins Democratic primary for Marion County sheriff (by Mary Claire Molloy) (Mirror Indy)
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.