Marion County board says 2026 general-election ballot is ratified; judicial review pending

The Marion County Election Board on Sept. 4 ratified the county's 2026 general-election ballot, a step the director of elections described as required by law 60 days before the election.

"As of today, our ballot is ratified," Patrick Becker, director of elections, told the board. He said sample ballots will be posted on the office website in the coming days and that staff will begin equipment testing and ballot production work over the next weeks. Becker also noted an ongoing judicial review that "may impact our ballot yet," and said the office hoped for a court update before next week's meeting.

The ratification follows staff review cycles: Becker said the office sent "ballot proof number 3" out to school corporations, political parties and board members and completed multiple rounds of checks. He credited ballot-admin staff and a temporary team for running successive iterations to find and correct issues.

Board members thanked staff for the scale of the work, noting the large number of ballot styles that must be verified. The office said it will post sample ballots on its website and proceed with scheduled testing of vote-by-mail processes and election equipment ahead of absentee-ballot mailings later this month.