A new Indiana law lets school board candidates list a party on the ballot. In one Indianapolis Public Schools race, that same law could push both candidates off the November 2026 ballot, WFYI reported. District 4 has only two candidates, Lindsey Cornett and Chris Bultman. Both filed as Democrats. Both have had that label challenged this summer. This is the first election under the 2025 law. Marion County's board is likely the first in the state to rule on such a case, WFYI reported.
The fight turns on two sets of words that do not match. The law says a candidate must have voted in the party's last two primaries, Chalkbeat reported. The Indiana Election Division reads it another way. It says the rule means the last two primaries a person actually voted in, not the last two overall, WFYI reported. The state's candidate guide uses that looser wording. If the board picks the stricter reading, both candidates could be removed, WFYI reported.
Marion County records show Cornett voted in just one Indiana Democratic primary, in May 2026, Chalkbeat reported. The law asks for two. In a statement Friday, Cornett said she thought she had voted in her last two Indiana primaries when she filed. "I have since learned that while I had voted in the Democratic party primary in 2026, I had not voted in the 2024 primary," she said. "Because I believed I qualified as a Democrat, I did not seek certification from the county chair." She said she is a proud Democrat but would run with no party if she had to, Chalkbeat reported.
The two outlets describe Bultman's record in different ways. Chalkbeat reported that his two most recent Democratic primaries were in 2026 and 2020. WFYI reported that county records showed he voted only in the 2026 Democratic primary. Bultman now holds the District 4 seat. He was appointed to it in June, WFYI reported. His challenge came from Isaiah Tworek. It turns on whether his voting history lets him run as a Democrat, Chalkbeat reported.
The challenge to Cornett was filed July 1. It listed several reasons, including her right to run as a Democrat, WFYI reported. A second challenge, against Bultman, came later. The board's lawyer advised it to handle both together. Late last month, the three-member board voted, all in favor, to postpone both challenges until it gets guidance on the law, according to Chalkbeat and WFYI. "First, thank you General Assembly, because this seems clear as mud," said Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell.
What happens to a candidate who loses the party label is not settled. Indiana's Election Administrator's Manual says the board can remove a candidate who is successfully challenged over party, WFYI reported. It is not clear if such a candidate could instead stay on the ballot with no party, Chalkbeat reported. Candidates with no party go to the bottom of the ballot list, per Chalkbeat. Candidates who run as independents or with a minor party cannot be challenged over party at all, WFYI noted.