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2026 General Election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Sullivan County Assessor

Voted on across Sullivan County.

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What this office does

The county assessor is an elected county officer who oversees the valuation of property for property taxes across the county. The assessor equalizes assessments countywide, certifies gross assessments to the county auditor, finds omitted property and, in most townships, does the assessing directly [1]. Every Indiana county elects its assessor in 2026 [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 [3]
Term limit
None; the assessor is not one of the offices limited by Article 6, Section 2 [4]
Qualifications
Must have lived in the county for one year before the election and own real property in the county on taking office; must hold a level two assessor-appraiser certification before a first term, and level three if previously the county assessor [2, 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 [5, 6]
On the 2026 ballot
92 counties; 7 contested (more candidates, including write-ins, than seats) [7]
What the law puts in this job (4)
  • Equalizes assessments across the county and certifies gross assessments to the county auditor [1].
  • Discovers and assesses omitted property [1].
  • Assesses property in every township that does not have its own elected, qualified township assessor [1, 8].
  • Does not set tax rates or levies; those are set by the local governing bodies and reviewed by the Department of Local Government Finance [9].

Sullivan 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

$431,137

1.6% of the county's adopted 2026 budget · 15% more than 2019, before inflation

2019: $373,3992020: $390,1052021: $394,4882022: $358,4772023: $388,8092024: $425,8732025: $432,1282026: $431,137
2019 $373,3992026 $431,137
The year-by-year figures

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

  • 2019: $373,399
  • 2020: $390,105
  • 2021: $394,488
  • 2022: $358,477
  • 2023: $388,809
  • 2024: $425,873
  • 2025: $432,128
  • 2026: $431,137

Budget lines counted: 0008 COUNTY ASSESSOR; 9604 Assessor Reassessment

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

Also on the record for this office

  • 2026 candidates' DLGF certification: MICHELE A BEDWELL (R): Level 2 (DLGF Assessor-Certification-List as of 8/3/26)

Measured, for this county

Ratio-study figures are county-wide numbers computed by Legal Insights' county study from the 2025 ratio study, not DLGF's official township statistics. 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.

Net assessed value growth · pay2024-pay2026

+16.0%

Change in the county's net assessed value from taxes payable in 2024 to 2026.

How much this is the officeholder's to decide: low: mostly market prices, new construction and state law; the assessor applies them

Position 15 of 30 counties with under 25,000 residents that have this figure (1 = highest value)

source

About this race

  • The current officeholder, Michele Bedwell (Republican), is on the ballot for another term [11, 7].
  • Only one candidate is on the ballot for this office [7].

Candidates on the ballot

Michele A Bedwell

RepublicanIncumbent

Michele A Bedwell (Republican) is the current officeholder, according to the county [11].

Bedwell's background

  • Listed by the county as the current officeholder [11].

How Bedwell got on the ballot

  • Won the May 5, 2026 Republican primary unopposed, with 2,440 votes [12].

What we could not find about Bedwell

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

Sources for Bedwell

Key points

Sources

Researched Tuesday, October 13, 2026

  1. Indiana Code 36-2-15-5: County assessor; duties (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  2. 2026 Indiana Candidate Guide (County Offices) (Indiana Election Division)
  3. Indiana Code 36-2-15-2: County assessor; election and certification (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  4. Constitution of the State of Indiana, Article 6, Section 2 (quoted in the 2026 Candidate Guide) (Indiana Election Division)
  5. Indiana Code 36-2-5-3: County fiscal body; compensation and positions (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  6. Indiana Code 36-2-5-5: Officers' budget estimates (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  7. 2026 General Election Candidate List (Indiana Election Division)
  8. Indiana Code 36-6-5-1: Township assessor (Indiana General Assembly (2026 Indiana Code))
  9. Understanding Your Tax Bill (Indiana Department of Local Government Finance)
  10. Assessor (Sullivan County, Indiana)
  11. 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.