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What this office does · Indiana

Township Board Member

The township's legislative body: adopts the township budget and tax levy and reviews the trustee's annual report.

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The basics

Term
4 years. [1]
Term limit
None. [1]
Who may stand
Township residence (district residence in Marion County townships). [5]
On the 2026 ballot
921 races in Indiana

What the law puts in this job

  • Three-member board (five in Marion County townships) that adopts the annual budget, appropriations and tax levy and approves the trustee's annual report. [1, 2, 3]
  • Fixes the compensation of the trustee and other township officers and employees. [4]

What the officeholder decides

  • SEA 270-2026: DLGF scores every township by Dec. 31, 2026 (points for not providing township assistance in 2023-24, not managing fire/EMS, missed financial reports, continued budgets, few assistance applications, and others); "designated" townships with 4+ points must merge into a recipient township, effective by Jan. 1, 2029, with new township officers elected in 2030. [7, 8, 9, 10]
  • Budget, levy and cash reserves; fire protection contracts. [3]

Who the officeholder answers to

  • Voters; DLGF certifies the township budget and levy; State Board of Accounts audits. [6]

What it pays, and who sets that

  • Set by the township board within IC 36-6-6-10. [4]
  • Varies; not compiled.

Questions worth asking a candidate

Ours, not a questionnaire anyone answered. They come from what the job actually involves.

  • How would you check the trustee's spending and assistance decisions?
  • What should the township keep in reserve?

Sources

Office research by Legal Insights (Oct. 13, 2026): Indiana Code 2026 edition, state agencies and county budgets. Nothing here rates an officeholder or candidate.

Sources

  1. Indiana Code 36-6-6-2 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  2. Indiana Code 36-6-6-9 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  3. Indiana Code 36-6-6-11 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  4. Indiana Code 36-6-6-10 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  5. Indiana Code 36-6-6-3 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  6. Indiana Code 6-1.1-17-16 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  7. Indiana Code 36-6-1.7-8 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  8. Indiana Code 36-6-1.7-9 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  9. Indiana Code 36-6-1.7-19 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  10. Indiana Code 36-6-1.7-23 (2026 edition) (Indiana General Assembly)
  11. Legal Insights office summaries (Civic)
  12. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Sept. 22, 2026) (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.