A Campaign Plan to the June 8, 2027 New Jersey Primary

This plan is for Democratic and Republican candidates in New Jersey's primary on Tuesday, June 8, 2027: candidates for the State Senate and General Assembly, for county office, and for municipal office in municipalities with partisan elections. It runs in seven phases. You prepare in November and December 2026, collect petition signatures from January to the filing deadline at 4 p.m. on Monday, March 29, 2027, get through the objection window in early April, build your base in April and May, push voter registration before it closes on Tuesday, May 18, and work the early voting period from Tuesday, June 1 to Sunday, June 6.

The Division of Elections had not posted its 2027 timelines when we checked, so every 2027 date in this plan is computed from state law; confirm each one with your filing officer. Door counts and volunteer numbers are examples only. If your municipality holds nonpartisan elections in May, or you are running as an independent, your dates are different; our guide to running for local office in New Jersey explains those routes, and a note at the end of this plan shows how to adapt it.

The dates this plan is built on

All dates below are based on state law.

• Monday, March 29, 2027, 4 p.m.: primary petitions due (N.J.S.A. 19:23-14).
• Thursday, April 1, 2027, 4 p.m.: last day to amend a defective petition, without adding signatures.
• Friday, April 2, 2027, 4 p.m.: objections to petitions due.
• Wednesday, April 7, 2027: deadline for filing officers to decide objections.
• Wednesday, April 14, 2027: last day for voters to file a change of party affiliation for the primary.
• Saturday, April 24, 2027: mail-in ballots for the primary begin going out.
• Tuesday, May 18, 2027: voter registration closes.
• Tuesday, June 1 to Sunday, June 6, 2027: in-person early voting; June 1 is also the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot by mail.
• Tuesday, June 8, 2027: primary day; polls open 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Our New Jersey 2027 election calendar lists every date for every kind of race.

Phase 1: Prepare (weeks of November 9 to December 28, 2026)

Use the weeks before petition season to remove every obstacle to filing.

• Weeks of November 9 and November 16. Confirm with your municipal clerk, county clerk or the Division of Elections which seats are on the 2027 ballot and which district or ward you live in. Confirm that you are registered at your current address and that you meet your office's qualifications.
• Weeks of November 23 and November 30. Learn your signature number. It depends on the office: 250 for the Senate or the Assembly, 150 to 300 for county office, and 5 to 100 for municipal office depending on population. Ask your filing officer for the exact figure.
• Weeks of December 7 and December 14. Recruit circulators (the people who collect the signatures). On a primary petition, every circulator must be a registered New Jersey voter of your party (N.J.S.A. 19:23-11). As an example only, four circulators who each collect 25 signatures would give a candidate who needs 50 signatures a margin of 50 more.
• Weeks of December 21 and December 28. If you plan to text supporters, form your committee and get an EIN (its federal tax ID number). A Campaign Verify request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029. Write a short statement of why you are running, and list people you know who might sign, volunteer or host a gathering.

Phase 2: Collect signatures (weeks of January 4 to March 22, 2027)

• Week of January 4. The Secretary of State must publish the primary petition forms by January 1 (N.J.S.A. 19:23-7.1). Get the current form from your filing officer, because the signature numbers changed in 2025 and older forms may be out of date.
• Weeks of January 11 to February 15. Collect signatures from voters of your district who are members of your party. Give each circulator their own papers, and check each returned page while the circulator still remembers the street: a printed name, an address inside the district and a signature on each line. Ask your filing officer how unaffiliated voters are treated before anyone collects their signatures. Beacon's guide to New Jersey nominating petitions covers collecting signatures door to door and checking each page.
• Weeks of February 22 and March 1. Count your signatures against your number and keep collecting until you have a comfortable margin. Bring a separate sign-up sheet that plainly asks whether each person agrees to receive campaign texts, with a line for the date. A petition signature is not that permission.
• Week of March 8. Have each circulator sign their affidavit before a notary or another officer authorized to give oaths. Sign your acceptance and take the oath of allegiance before an officer authorized to give oaths. Senate and Assembly candidates also sign the statement about criminal convictions (N.J.S.A. 19:23-15).
• Weeks of March 15 and March 22. File early, by hand, with the right office: the Secretary of State for the Legislature, the county clerk for county office, or the municipal clerk for municipal office (N.J.S.A. 19:23-6). Keep a full copy and your own count.

Phase 3: The objection window (week of March 29, 2027)

The deadline is 4 p.m. on Monday, March 29. A petition that appears to meet the law is treated as valid unless someone files a written objection by 4 p.m. on Friday, April 2. If your filing officer tells you of a defect, you may amend the petition, but not add signatures, until 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 1 (N.J.S.A. 19:23-20). Keep this week clear and your copies ready. Filing officers decide objections by Wednesday, April 7.

Phase 4: Build your base (weeks of April 5 to May 3)

• Plan your areas. Divide your district into areas small enough for one evening or one weekend morning, and visit each area once before early voting opens.
• 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.
• Collect permission as you go. At each door where someone wants to help or hear more, ask 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.
• Week of April 12. Voters who want to change party affiliation for the primary must file by Wednesday, April 14. If supporters ask, point them to their county commissioner of registration.
• Week of April 19. Mail-in ballots begin going out on Saturday, April 24.

Phase 5: Registration push (weeks of May 10 and May 17)

Voter registration closes on Tuesday, May 18, 2027. Remind supporters who have moved to update their registration, and return to the households that were undecided in Phase 4.

Phase 6: Early voting (weeks of May 24 and May 31)

• Week of May 24. Confirm the early voting sites your county board of elections has designated. Voters may use any early voting site in their county, and sites are open at least 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
• Week of May 31. Early voting runs from Tuesday, June 1 to Sunday, June 6. June 1 is also the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot by mail; in-person applications are accepted until 3 p.m. on Monday, June 7. Focus on supporters who have not voted yet, and confirm your volunteer schedule for primary day.

Text your supporters through early voting

Set texting up in CampaignCNX+ in the winter so it is ready for the weeks before June 8.

1. 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. Check that your filing can be viewed online before you request it, and contact Campaign Verify Support if it cannot. It costs $95.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Scheduled reminders. Schedule texts for May 18, June 1 and June 8. 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]. Early voting for the primary runs Tue, Jun 1 to Sun, Jun 6. Reply STOP to opt out.

100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. For more wording, see our campaign text templates for local races, and for the rules that apply to every campaign, see our page on political texting.

Phase 7: Primary day and after

• Tuesday, June 8. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thank your volunteers by name.
• After the primary. If you win the nomination, the general election is Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Voter registration closes on Tuesday, October 12, and early voting runs from Saturday, October 23 to Sunday, October 31 (based on state law). If you do not win, note that a person on the primary ballot for a municipal office cannot be another party's candidate for that office in November (N.J.S.A. 19:13-14.1).

If your election is in May

Candidates in municipalities with nonpartisan May elections can use the same phases on a shorter clock. Petitions, made of individual certificates with one signature per sheet, are due to the municipal clerk by Thursday, February 25, 2027, and the election is on Tuesday, May 11 (both based on state law). Move Phase 2 to December and January, run Phases 4 and 5 in March and April, with voter registration closing on Tuesday, April 20, and treat May 11 as election day. Early voting is held only if your municipality adopted it by ordinance.

Begin in November

The candidates with the easiest March are the ones who confirmed their district, their signature number and their circulators in November. Start Phase 1 this month. When you are ready to keep your supporters informed through early voting, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.