OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Marion County Election Board Meeting - September 4, 2026

Other Meetings (J-Z) — Friday, September 4, 2026
BodyIndianapolis, Indiana
SessionOther Meetings (J-Z)
DateFriday, September 4, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 16:18

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right.

0:00

Cool.

0:03

Uh good morning, everyone.

0:05

Happy Friday.

0:06

Um we'll call the Marion County Election Board meeting here to order.

0:10

Um today is September 4th.

0:12

It is 10 04.

0:14

Uh we'll start with the round of introductions first.

0:17

Um with uh the board, uh staff and council.

0:21

Um start with myself, Nolita Stewart, Chair.

0:26

Generator Hanlan, uh proxy for Jen Ping.

0:30

Kate Sweeney Bell, Secretary.

0:33

Patrick Becker, Director of Elections.

0:36

Brad Boswell, outside council.

0:39

Adam Wicker Corporation Council.

0:41

Okay.

0:42

Thank you guys for the introductions.

0:44

Uh we'll get started here.

0:46

Um the first topic on the agenda is the 2026 general election ballot ratification.

0:53

Uh Director Becker, could you provide context?

0:57

Thank you, Madam Chair.

0:58

Um, so by law today, uh 60 days before the election, our ballot is ratified.

1:04

Um so there's no action that the board has to necessarily take here.

1:08

Um you all received uh ballot proof uh number three, which was uh sent out uh prior to the deadline of August 28th.

1:17

Uh that was sent to all the school corporations as well as the political parties uh and the chairs and and uh other uh members of VR and members of our board.

1:26

Um two of the school corporations did uh respond uh saying that their question looked good.

1:32

That was uh Beach Grove and Decatur, so appreciate their responses.

1:35

Uh no other responses came in.

1:37

Um and so at this point the ballot is ratified.

1:40

Um I know I I referenced last week there is a uh ongoing judicial review uh that that may impact our ballot yet, um, but I don't think we really have an update on that.

1:54

Hopefully um by next Friday's meeting we have some sort of update from the court about what that looks like.

2:00

Um and I would obviously defer to council uh if there are any questions about that.

2:05

Um but as of yeah, as of today our ballot is ratified.

2:08

Um soon on our website, uh sample ballots will be available.

2:13

Um and then uh over the next few weeks we'll start the process of of testing and getting all of our machines uh up and running and getting ready to produce ballots for voters.

2:23

Very good.

2:24

Any questions from the board?

2:27

Uh nope, no, not from me.

2:30

Comments.

2:32

Uh I just it's so much work to do this.

2:36

And uh we have uh staff of right now 13.

2:42

And there are how many ballot styles?

2:45

Uh we're at over, I think 1200, 1200 or so.

2:49

Or over a thousand, I know that.

2:50

So that is a thousand uh uh more than a thousand ballots that every office every candidate for every office has to be right.

3:03

Every election, and they do it.

3:05

I'm I'm very proud of of what they do, and so much work goes into it.

3:11

So and we they they get it done.

3:13

So like I said, Marion County with the best.

3:17

All right, director Becker.

3:18

If I could, yeah, I'd like to to uh specifically um give a shout out to Chad Klingerman, who's our our ballot admin.

3:24

He's actually out sick today, um, probably from the diligence of uh going to the city.

3:29

His eyes, his eyes are probably and uh and uh he had a a big assist this election from uh Bree Joyce, who's also on our full-time staff.

3:38

Um I think she got a little bit maybe more into the ballot world than she thought she was going to.

3:43

Um and they led a team of uh eight of our temporary staff uh that go through those ballots.

3:48

Like I said, multiple iterations of it.

3:50

They find issues, we correct them, we come back and check them again, we find more issues, we correct them, we keep going.

3:57

So um we've gone through four rounds of that, and we're confident that this is the ballot for the fall.

4:02

Very cool.

4:03

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Election Procedures█████████████████████████████████████████████75%
Procedural█████████████21%
Public Engagement██4%
Summary of Proceedings

Marion County Election Board Meeting - September 4, 2026

The Marion County Election Board met on Friday, September 4, 2026, at 10:04 AM. Chair Nolita Stewart led the meeting with board members Generator Hanlan (proxy for Jen Ping), Kate Sweeney Bell (Secretary), Director Patrick Becker, outside council Brad Boswell, and Corporation Council Adam Wicker. Key agenda items included the ratification of the 2026 general election ballot, approval of a contract for election support services, and updates on election preparations.

Consent Calendar

  • 2026 General Election Ballot Ratification: The ballot was ratified by law, 60 days before the election. Director Becker confirmed that ballot proof #3 was sent to schools, political parties, and board members by the August 28 deadline. Two school corporations (Beech Grove and Decatur) confirmed their questions looked good. No other responses were received. Sample ballots will be posted online soon. Director Becker praised ballot administrator Chad Klingerman, Bree Joyce, and a team of eight temporary staff for their work on over 1,200 ballot styles.

Discussion Items

  • Contract Approval for Election Support Services: Director Becker reported receiving a quote from KnowInn for support in the fall election. A motion was made to proceed with negotiations for an amendment to the contract. The motion carried with the chair voting aye, Vice Chair Paul Rowe seconding, and one abstention. The board directed staff to negotiate contract terms and return with a formal agreement at the next meeting on September 11.
  • Operational Updates: Director Becker provided updates: the office will be closed September 7 for Labor Day; a judicial review is pending with an update expected next week; the operations center network installation is complete and security system is being upgraded with 24/7 security through November; preventive maintenance has finished on over 2,400 pieces of equipment (including 2,004 express votes, 225 DS200s, and 2 high-speed tabulators). Testing for vote-by-mail and voting equipment will begin, with e-poll book configuration over the next three weeks.
  • Vote Center Plan: Rocky Ripple Town Hall is not available for the fall election, but four nearby alternatives were identified: Hinkle Field House, Crooked Creek Baptist, St. Paul's Episcopalian, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The total number of vote centers will be 183, including the return of First Friends Church as a site.
  • Poll Worker Recruitment and Election Information: Clerk Sweeney Bell announced that save-the-date cards have been sent to previous inspectors. Ballots for absentee-by-mail voters will be mailed on September 18 (the statutory deadline is September 19). Voter registration can be confirmed or completed at IndianaVoters.com. Poll worker sign-ups are open at pollworker.indy.gov or by calling 317-5100 option 4. Early voting begins October 6 at the City-County Building. The clerk emphasized that the board is prepared for the election with over 630,000 registered voters and that security measures are in place.

Key Outcomes

  • The 2026 general election ballot was ratified without formal board action.
  • The board authorized staff to negotiate a contract with KnowInn for election support services, with final approval expected at the next meeting.
  • Operational updates confirmed that equipment maintenance is complete and testing will commence.
  • The vote center plan was finalized at 183 locations, with adjustments to replace Rocky Ripple Town Hall.
  • The next regular meeting is scheduled for September 11, 2026, at 10:00 AM.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Cool. Uh good morning, everyone. Happy Friday. Um we'll call the Marion County Election Board meeting here to order. Um today is September 4th. It is 10 04. Uh we'll start with the round of introductions first. Um with uh the board, uh staff and council. Um start with myself, Nolita Stewart, Chair. Generator Hanlan, uh proxy for Jen Ping. Kate Sweeney Bell, Secretary. Patrick Becker, Director of Elections. Brad Boswell, outside council. Adam Wicker Corporation Council. Okay. Thank you guys for the introductions. Uh we'll get started here. Um the first topic on the agenda is the 2026 general election ballot ratification. Uh Director Becker, could you provide context? Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, so by law today, uh 60 days before the election, our ballot is ratified. Um so there's no action that the board has to necessarily take here. Um you all received uh ballot proof uh number three, which was uh sent out uh prior to the deadline of August 28th. Uh that was sent to all the school corporations as well as the political parties uh and the chairs and and uh other uh members of VR and members of our board. Um two of the school corporations did uh respond uh saying that their question looked good. That was uh Beach Grove and Decatur, so appreciate their responses. Uh no other responses came in. Um and so at this point the ballot is ratified. Um I know I I referenced last week there is a uh ongoing judicial review uh that that may impact our ballot yet, um, but I don't think we really have an update on that. Hopefully um by next Friday's meeting we have some sort of update from the court about what that looks like. Um and I would obviously defer to council uh if there are any questions about that. Um but as of yeah, as of today our ballot is ratified. Um soon on our website, uh sample ballots will be available. Um and then uh over the next few weeks we'll start the process of of testing and getting all of our machines uh up and running and getting ready to produce ballots for voters. Very good. Any questions from the board? Uh nope, no, not from me. Comments. Uh I just it's so much work to do this. And uh we have uh staff of right now 13. And there are how many ballot styles? Uh we're at over, I think 1200, 1200 or so. Or over a thousand, I know that. So that is a thousand uh uh more than a thousand ballots that every office every candidate for every office has to be right. Every election, and they do it. I'm I'm very proud of of what they do, and so much work goes into it. So and we they they get it done. So like I said, Marion County with the best. All right, director Becker.

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