With the candidate filing deadline set for noon Thursday, June 18, the field for the November 3 Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board election is nearly set — and this year’s ballot will look different than any before it.
Three of the four seats on the ballot have drawn two candidates each. The fourth, District 4, has just one candidate filed so far.
The most notable development this week was Michelle Fullhart’s filing to run in District 3. Fullhart is no newcomer to the board — she has previously served two terms, and her entry sets up a contested race against fellow District 3 candidate David Turk.
A first for HSE: party labels on the ballot
This election marks a turning point in how HSE — and school districts across Indiana — choose their board members. For the first time, candidates may run with a party label, or with none at all. In every previous HSE school board election, races were strictly nonpartisan, with no party affiliation attached to any name on the ballot.
The change stems from Senate Enrolled Act 287, signed into law this spring, which made Indiana the 10th state to allow partisan school board races. Candidates may now appear on the ballot as a Republican, a Democrat, or with no party label. Those who choose a party will have that affiliation printed beside their name; those who don’t will appear without one. Notably, the law does not create primaries for school board seats, and the filing window was set earlier than in past cycles to give candidates more time to campaign in front of voters.
The November vote will be among the first real tests statewide of how — or whether — party labels reshape these traditionally low-profile, community-driven races. Roughly 800 school board seats across Indiana are up for election this year under the new rules.
How the districts work
In this round, each candidate runs only within their own district, and voters cast a ballot for a single candidate — the one running in the district where they live. You can view the map of the four HSE districts at this link.
The candidates so far
Here is the candidate list as of Wednesday morning. With the filing deadline still open, additional candidates could yet enter — most notably in District 4, where only one name has been filed.
District 1 (1 seat)
- Faiza Maqsood — No Party
- Greg Wright — Republican
District 2 (1 seat)
- Josh Perry — No Party
- Cyrus Keck — No Party
District 3 (1 seat)
- David Turk — Republican
- Michelle Fullhart — No Party
District 4 (1 seat)
- Stephanie Braden — No Party
This story will be updated as additional filings are confirmed.