This plan is for candidates for city council, mayor, school board and community college trustee in Kansas in 2027. The first election of the year is the primary on Tuesday, August 3, 2027, held only in races where more than three candidates file for a seat. The plan runs in six phases, from preparing this November to filing by noon on Tuesday, June 1, 2027 and working the advance voting weeks in late July. If your race has no primary, the last section carries the same steps to the general election on Tuesday, November 2, 2027.
The voter dates are computed from state law, because the Secretary of State has not yet posted its 2027 calendar, and are marked "based on state law." Door counts, volunteer numbers and weekly goals are examples only. For the rules behind each step, see our guide to running for local office in Kansas.
The dates this plan is built on
- Thursday, December 3, 2026: earliest useful date for a first petition signature if you file on June 1 (based on state law).
- Tuesday, June 1, 2027, noon: filing deadline for city, school board and community college candidates.
- Tuesday, July 13, 2027: voter registration deadline for the primary (based on state law).
- Wednesday, July 14, 2027: mail ballots go out, and counties may open in-person advance voting (based on state law).
- Tuesday, July 27, 2027: in-person advance voting open in every county; last day to apply for a mail ballot (based on state law).
- Monday, August 2, 2027, noon: in-person advance voting ends (based on state law).
- Tuesday, August 3, 2027: primary; mailed ballots must reach the county election office by 7 p.m.
Each county sets its own advance voting sites and hours, so confirm them before you print or send anything. Our Kansas 2027 local election calendar lists every date.
Phase 1: Prepare (weeks of November 9 to December 28, 2026)
Use these weeks to answer the questions that decide everything else.
- Weeks of November 9 and November 16. Ask your city clerk, school district office or county election officer which seats are on the 2027 ballot, whether your seat is elected by district or at large, and which district you live in. City candidates should also ask what qualifications the city sets for the office. Confirm that your voter registration shows your current address.
- Weeks of November 23 and November 30. If you plan to text supporters, form your campaign committee and get an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number). Campaign Verify requests made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 last until January 31, 2029, so wait until then to request.
- Weeks of December 7 and December 14. Write a short statement of why you are running. As an example, list 50 people you know who might help, sign or host a coffee.
- Weeks of December 21 and December 28. Decide between the $20 filing fee and a petition. If you choose the petition, get Form CP and ask your county election officer how many signatures your seat needs. Under the 180-day rule, a petition filed on June 1 should carry no signature dated before December 3, 2026.
Phase 2: Build your base (weeks of January 4 to March 29, 2027)
- Weeks of January 4 and January 11. Tell the 50 people on your list first, then announce publicly. Bring a sign-up sheet to every gathering, with a line that plainly asks whether the person agrees to receive campaign texts and a place for the date.
- February. Recruit two or three volunteers who can help on weekends. Attend meetings of the body you want to join: the city council or commission, the school board or the board of trustees. Learn its budget and its biggest decisions.
- March. If you are petitioning, start collecting signatures. Each circulator must personally witness every signature and sign a notarized affidavit on the back of the form. The Secretary of State recommends collecting more than the number required; as an example only, a candidate who needs 50 might aim for 75.
Phase 3: File (weeks of April 5 to May 31)
- Weeks of April 5 to April 26. Finish collecting signatures and keep all pages together, because every page must be filed at once and a short petition cannot be topped up later. Voters may apply for primary mail ballots from Thursday, April 1, 2027.
- Weeks of May 3 and May 10. Get the declaration form from your county election officer, or from the city clerk if you are running for a district seat in a first or second class city. Confirm the filing fee if you are paying it.
- Weeks of May 17 and May 24. File early. Monday, May 31, 2027 is Memorial Day, so plan to file by Friday, May 28 rather than on the last morning. Keep copies of everything you file.
- Tuesday, June 1, 2027, noon. Filing deadline. After it, a candidate may withdraw only for a severe medical hardship, certified by a physician, or for no longer living in the district.
Phase 4: After filing (weeks of June 7 to June 28)
- Week of June 7. Ask the county election officer how many candidates filed in your race. A primary is held only if more than three filed for a district seat, or more than three times the number of seats in an at-large race. If your race has none, skip to the last section.
- Weeks of June 14 to June 28. Start the main door-knocking period. Ask your county election officer how to obtain a list of registered voters, and divide the district into areas small enough for one evening. If volunteers help, Beacon, a door-to-door canvassing app, lets you draw those areas as turf on a map, assign each to a volunteer, give them walk lists ordered by distance, and record a result at each door, such as contacted, not home or come back later.
- Set a weekly goal. As an example only: a candidate and three volunteers who each knock on 50 doors a week for five weeks would reach about 1,000 doors before advance voting opens.
- Collect permission as you go. Ask interested voters whether they would like campaign texts, and have them sign up on a sheet or form that says plainly they agree to receive campaign texts, with the date recorded.
Phase 5: The primary push (weeks of July 5 to July 26)
- Week of July 5. Remind supporters who have moved that voter registration closes on Tuesday, July 13 (based on state law). Return to households that were undecided.
- Week of July 12. Registration closes on Tuesday, July 13. On Wednesday, July 14, mail ballots go out and your county may open in-person advance voting. Share your county's sites and hours with supporters.
- Week of July 19. Keep knocking on doors, focusing on supporters who have not voted and households that were undecided.
- Week of July 26. Every county must offer in-person advance voting from Tuesday, July 27, which is also the last day to apply for a mail ballot. Your county may offer Saturday voting on July 31. Confirm your volunteer schedule for primary day.
Text your supporters during advance voting
The advance voting weeks are when a reminder helps most. Set up texting in CampaignCNX+ in the spring, so that it is ready by July 14.
- Committee and Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that a political sender is a real campaign. It needs a 527 committee (the federal tax status of a political committee) with an EIN and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Ask your county election officer whether your committee's filing is posted online, and ask Campaign Verify Support if it is not. It costs $95, and Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
- Registration. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration, as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or toll-free, and files your Campaign Verify token with it. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days.
- Your supporter group. Add only the people who agreed in writing on your sign-up sheets, and record the consent date and source in a custom field. Your petition is not a texting list.
- Scheduled reminders. Schedule texts for July 14, July 27 and August 3. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically. For example:
Hi [First name], it's [Name], running for [Office]. Advance voting is open through noon Mon, Aug 2. Reply STOP to opt out.
Today is the primary. Mailed ballots must reach the county election office by 7 p.m. Thank you for your support. [Name]
100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. For more wording, see our campaign text templates for local races, and for texting rules across the region, see campaign texting in the Midwest.
Phase 6: Primary day and the week after
- Monday, August 2, noon. In-person advance voting ends. Confirm your volunteer schedule for the next day.
- Tuesday, August 3. Primary day. Thank your volunteers by name.
- Week of August 9. If you advanced, plan for November 2 using the schedule below.
If your race has no primary, or after you advance
Races with three or fewer candidates per seat go straight to November, and every advancing candidate faces the same fall calendar (all dates based on state law):
- Wednesday, August 4. Voters may begin applying for mail ballots for the general election.
- August and September. Repeat Phase 4 across the whole district: knock on every area once, then return to undecided households.
- Wednesday, September 1. Last day for a hardship or move-out certification to keep a candidate's name off the November ballot.
- Week of October 4. Remind supporters that voter registration closes on Tuesday, October 12.
- Week of October 11. Mail ballots go out on Wednesday, October 13, and your county may open in-person advance voting.
- Week of October 25. Every county must offer in-person advance voting from Tuesday, October 26, which is also the last day to apply for a mail ballot. Advance voting ends at noon on Monday, November 1.
- Tuesday, November 2. General election. Mailed ballots must reach the county election office by 7 p.m.
Begin in November
Settling your seat, district, qualifications and route onto the ballot in November leaves the spring free for meeting voters. Start Phase 1 this month. When you are ready to keep your supporters informed through advance voting, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.
