Public Question 2: Residency of City and Town Court Judges
Statewide — all of Indiana
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Placed on the ballot by the legislature as House Joint Resolution 1 (2025), sponsored by Rep. Michael Aylesworth (R-Hebron). It was first passed in 2023 as HJR 6 (House 90-0, Senate 48-0) and again in 2025 (House 81-7 on January 30; Senate 43-3 on March 17), as Indiana requires approval by two separately elected General Assemblies.[1][2]
The question on the ballot
Shall the Constitution of the State of Indiana be amended to permit the judge of a city or town court to reside in: (1) the county in which the court is located; or (2) the bordering county closest to the city or town in which the court is located? (This question concerns Article 6, Section 6 of the Constitution of the State of Indiana.)[3][4]
The amendment would add a subsection to Article 6, Section 6 of the Indiana Constitution providing that a city or town court judge shall reside in the county where the court is located, or in the bordering Indiana county closest to the city or town (measured by the shortest distance from the city or town limits to the county line). Ballotpedia says city and town court judges currently must live in the city or town where the court is located; Rep. Aylesworth's caucus describes the current rule as county residency. Indiana has 38 city courts and 14 town courts. No fiscal estimate was found in the sources reviewed.[1][2]
A YES vote means
Amends Article 6, Section 6 to let a city or town court judge live in the county where the court is located or in the bordering Indiana county closest to the city or town.
A NO vote means
Leaves the current residency requirement for city and town court judges unchanged.
Arguments made for
- Rep. Michael Aylesworth (R-Hebron), sponsor: "Lawyers who could later serve as judges have become increasingly scarce in more rural areas of the state. With older lawyers retiring and not enough new ones to replace them, rural communities are limited when it comes to legal services."[2]
- Indiana House Republicans (press release): "According to an American Bar Association study, there are only 2.3 lawyers for every 1,000 Hoosiers, ranking Indiana 43th compared to other states. Nearly half of Indiana's 16,000 lawyers are located in or around Indianapolis, limiting rural communities' access to legal services."[2]
Arguments made against
- None found in public sources.
Research notes & limits
No argument against Public Question 2 was found: Ballotpedia says it has not located any opposition, the votes were nearly unanimous, and no opposition committee was found, so argumentsAgainst is empty. Indiana publishes no state voter pamphlet with arguments. Sources describe the current residency rule differently (Ballotpedia: live in the city or town; the House Republican press release: live in the county where they work); the question text matches verbatim the wording on two county election documents (Hendricks County and Vanderburgh/Evansville). Current law, fiscal impact and campaign finance not added: sources conflict on current residency rule and no fiscal note or committee was found.
Sources · 6
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.Indiana Public Question 2, Residency Requirements for City and Town Court Judges Amendment (2026) · Ballotpedia Reference
- 2.Rep. Aylesworth authors resolution to address Indiana's judicial shortage in rural areas · Indiana House Republicans · 2025-02-04 Candidate's own words
- 3.2026 General Election Public Questions to Be on Your Ballot · Hendricks County, Indiana Official record
- 4.2026 General Election, Tuesday, 3 November 2026: Public Question, District, Title · Vanderburgh County / City of Evansville, Indiana Official record
- 5.Town and city court judges (Senate Judiciary hearing on HJ 1) · Indiana Office of Court Services, Legislative Update · 2025-03-07 Official record
- 6.Town and city court judges (House Courts and Criminal Code hearing on HJ 1) · Indiana Office of Court Services, Legislative Update · 2025-01-17 Official record