Civic
Every race on your ballot, with sources. Races by stateJoin the Luminary network

2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Starke County Auditor

Voted on across Starke County.

Find your exact ballotAll Starke County races

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
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 [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].

Starke 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

$224,287

1.4% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 19% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $187,8142020: $193,9212021: $203,9602022: $207,0372023: $221,2272024: $241,1102025: $242,0232026: $224,287
2019 $187,8142026 $224,287
The year-by-year figures

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

  • 2019: $187,814
  • 2020: $193,921
  • 2021: $203,960
  • 2022: $207,037
  • 2023: $221,227
  • 2024: $241,110
  • 2025: $242,023
  • 2026: $224,287

Budget lines counted: 0002 COUNTY AUDITOR; fund 9501 Auditors Ineligible deductions

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

Elected official's pay, 2026 budget line

$62,212

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

  • In some counties the auditor's department also carries pass-through money; this county's lines do not show debt payments and are mostly staff and operations.
  • Includes $15,000 in funds named for the office (for example a commissary or perpetuation fund) that are not coded to its department.

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

  • The current officeholder, Michaelene Houston (Democratic), is on the ballot for another term [14, 8].
  • No candidate forum or debate for this race was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Candidates on the ballot

Michaelene J. Houston

DemocraticIncumbent

Michaelene J. Houston (Democratic) is the current officeholder, according to the county [14].

Houston's background

  • Listed by the county as the current officeholder [14].

How Houston got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Democratic primary unopposed, with 591 votes [15].

What we could not find about Houston

  • No campaign website, candidate questionnaire or interview stating plans for the office was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Sources for Houston

Bernadette M. Manuel

Republican

Republican Bernadette Manuel is the current Starke County clerk of the circuit court [16].

Manuel's background

  • Listed by the county as Starke County clerk [16].

How Manuel got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 1,567 votes [15].

What we could not find about Manuel

  • No campaign website, candidate questionnaire or interview stating plans for the office was found in free sources as of Oct. 13, 2026.

Sources for Manuel

  • Clerk (Starke County, Indiana)

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 36-2-9-2: Auditor as county fiscal officer (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  3. Indiana Code 36-2-9-13: Auditor; appropriations not to be overdrawn (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  4. Indiana Code 36-2-9-14: Auditor; warrants only on appropriation (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 36-2-6-2: Claims filed with the auditor (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  10. Indiana Code 36-2-6-4: Allowance of claims; warrants (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  11. Indiana Code 6-1.1-27-1: Semiannual settlement of property taxes (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  12. Indiana Code 6-1.1-17-1: Auditor's certified statement of net assessed value (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  13. Indiana Code 5-11-1-4: Annual financial reports to the State Board of Accounts (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  14. Auditor (Starke County, Indiana)
  15. 2026 Primary Election results (certified), Indiana Election Night Reporting (Indiana Election Division)
  16. Clerk (Starke 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.