Marion County voters this November will choose between two candidates for Marion County Clerk. The clerk serves a four-year term and oversees election security, manages court records including marriage licenses, and directs court finances.
Democrat Kate Sweeney Bell is looking to win her second term as Marion County Clerk, which has a two-term limit.
Her opponent, Republican Robbin Stewart, has not held public office but previously ran for the Indiana House of Representatives in District 100.
The office became more prominent after President Donald Trump sowed doubt about security in American elections. WFYI has reported multiple stories on Indiana's election security, including one about how voting works and another on state officials' confidence heading into the midterm elections.
WFYI contacted each campaign to conduct a survey. We used voter feedback to guide our questions. For candidates who did not respond, information was gathered from websites and social media for a "Top priorities" note. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Kate Sweeney Bell
Personal information provided by the candidate.
Incumbent
Party: Democrat
Website: katesweeneybell.com
Age: 54
Occupation: Marion County Clerk, Marion County Clerk's Office
Residence: Indianapolis
Top donors (via Transparency USA):
- Marion County Democratic Central Committee
- Indpls Firefighters PAC
- Frost Brown Todd PAC
- Indiana Campaign Engagement Political Action Committee
- Indiana Regional Carpenters Cope Account
Bell accepted WFYI's invitation to an interview. Below is the full, unedited video interview and transcript. WFYI fact checked statements about publicly available data.
Zach Bundy: I'm joined today by Kate Sweeney Bell, the Democratic candidate for Marion County Clerk. She has held that office since 2023. Prior to that, she was the Marion County Recorder for eight years. Thank you for joining us.
Kate Sweeney Bell: I'm happy to be here.
Bundy: So, what is your day one objective if reelected to Marion County Clerk?
Bell: To continue serving the voters of Marion County and providing them the best voting experience in the state of Indiana.
Bundy: And how would you describe the current state of elections in Marion County? I guess actually, sorry, I should say the current state of election security.
Bell: Oh, security. Well, we are compliant with all of the guidelines that are set forth by the state, and we are working to achieve what is called VVSG 2.0 certification with new election equipment, that's a project that we are working on, and hopefully we'll be able to roll out.
I wanted to be able to do it for this upcoming general election, but probably in the primary for 2027.
Bundy: Gotcha. So there have been a lot of questions around election security, and it's been brought up to the forefront by the Trump administration. As an election administrator in Marion County, what would you do to assure its voters that elections are safe and secure?
Bell: Well, I would keep doing what we're doing. Our elections are safe and secure in Marion County, in the state of Indiana, and the United States of America.
There are election administrators across the country whose goals, mine included, are to ensure that the only people who come out to vote are those who are eligible to vote. None of us, regardless of political party, wants anyone who is ineligible to cast a ballot. That's not what this country is about. However, we want to make sure that there are opportunities for individuals who are eligible to vote, but maybe they can't show up on election day.
So we have one month, a one month period where folks can come and vote in person in the clerk's office, and a couple of weeks before every election, we open eight additional sites so people across the county can cast their ballot and have their voice heard.
Bundy: Does the Marion County Clerk's Office currently offer any kind of, I guess, peek behind the curtain as far as you know how, no pun intended, as far as how elections are run, so that the public, you know, might have an opportunity to to see how elections are run.
Bell: Absolutely, the state of Indiana requires that each county submit to public testing, and in that testing, we are required by statute to test 5% of our election equipment, and they tell us what 5%.
However, in Marion County, we take it one step further, or I guess you could say 95 steps further, because we test 100% of our equipment, and that testing is open to the public, and we have, the meetings are published, and all are welcome. We, we think that when you shine sunlight on the operation.
And people get to glimpse behind the curtain — as you said, and we answer their questions — that, that there is more confidence in elections, regardless of the national narrative and the rhetoric that is coming out of Washington D.C.
Bundy: So we've been focusing a lot on the election administration part of the Marion County Clerk, but that's not all the clerk does. So, you know, what would you bring to the other functions of the office? I mean, obviously you've been in this role since 2023, but as far as the other functions of that office, what would you bring to those?
Bell: Well, again, I would continue what we've been doing. We are, we have a records facility, and it is, it's a little bit out of the way. It's down on Madison Avenue, and we have hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of records.
And when somebody needs to say, for example, get their real ID — what we do is, they might need a divorce record or something showing that they got married, when they got married, to whom they were married — and that is a service that we provide. We try to email everyone, but if somebody wants to come in and get an actual piece of paper? We'll do that for them too.
We keep the court records for Marion County, and we provide marriage licenses, which is a fun part of the job, because there are times where I am asked to perform a wedding, and it's an honor that people actually want me to participate in something that is so special and important in their lives. So we keep court records — people pay fees and fines that are assessed by the court. Child support payments come through our office.
We do a lot. The focus for many is on the elections, but there are a lot of responsibilities that we do. We've got the best people in the state who are working to ensure that the records that we keep for them are searchable, and that when somebody needs something? We're there to provide it for them.
Bundy: As the incumbent, you have experience in this role. What have you learned in the last few years, and how would you use those lessons if reelected?
Bell: Well, some of the lessons have not been great. We had, a… working with the budget and the state of Indiana helps determine how, how much money is going to each municipality from the state and their tax collection methods, and every year — it's do more with less, do more with less — so, figuring out the process to ensure that we are responsible to and for the taxpayers, but we also provide the service.
That's, that's a line that has to be walked, that is very frustrating. Because ideally, what we'd like to do is digitize our records, but it costs $20 million. So we are going slowly, and as, as, and, and we're looking for grant money because maybe there's somebody who thinks it's a good idea.
But we have to be compliant with all state and federal statutes, and that is something we endeavor daily to do.
Bundy: Is there anything else you'd like voters to know going into this election?
Bell: Yes, if we could, if I could, I would send an absentee ballot application to every single eligible voter, registered voter. But the state changed the law a couple of years ago.
So if somebody wants to vote absentee — and absentee voting is any voting that is not on election day — what I'm talking about is voting by mail. If somebody wants to vote by mail, they can call our office or they can apply online at indianavoters.com. And they can, they have to provide their Indiana driver's license or Indiana ID number or the last four digits of their social security number.
And we ask that they make sure to include a telephone number because, if there's a problem with the application, we will contact them as quickly as possible in order to cure the process, and then we will send their ballot at the earliest possible date, and for this election the first day that we are able to send out ballots will be September 19.
So somebody wants to vote by mail, I, please don't procrastinate. Figure it out now, and if you need a little help, we're here to help you.
Bundy: Thank you so much for your time today.
Bell: Oh, Zach, it's a pleasure talking about voting and talking about the process, processes that we go through. This, this is the best job I've ever had. And it'd be an honor to serve another four years.
Bundy: Thank you.
Bell: Thank you.
Robbin Stewart
Personal information provided by the candidate.
Party: Republican
Website: ballots.blogspot.com
Age: 65
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Indianapolis
Top donors (via Transparency USA):
- (No records)
Stewart accepted WFYI's request for an interview but did not show up.
Top priorities: When he ran in the Republican primary earlier this year, Stewart said the current state of election security in Marion County is about 50-50. He said he thinks improved pollworker training could address it. In several videos posted online, Stewart appears adamant that no identification is required to vote under the Indiana State Constitution.*
*Editor's note: Indiana law requires voters to show a government-issued ID at the polls to vote on Election Day.
