A Campaign Plan to the May 1, 2027 Texas Local Election

This plan is for candidates for city council, mayor and school board in Texas cities and school districts that vote on Saturday, May 1, 2027. It runs in six phases. You prepare in November and December 2026, file between Wednesday, January 13 and 5 p.m. on Friday, February 12, 2027, build your base in February and March, push voter registration before it closes on Thursday, April 1, and work the early voting period in late April. Then comes election day, and in some races a June runoff.

The dates come from the Texas Secretary of State's 2027 election dates and the Texas Election Code. Dates we calculated from the statutes are marked "based on state law." Door counts, volunteer numbers and weekly goals are examples only, so set your own from the size of your district and the time you have. If your city or district votes in November instead, the same plan works on the November dates; our guide to running for local office in Texas lists them.

The dates this plan is built on

• Monday, December 14, 2026: deadline for your city or district to post its notice of the filing period.
• Tuesday, January 12, 2027: last day for candidates to register to vote or update their registration.
• Wednesday, January 13, 2027: filing opens.
• Friday, February 12, 2027, 5 p.m.: filing deadline.
• Tuesday, February 16, 2027, 5 p.m.: write-in declarations due (based on state law).
• Friday, February 19, 2027, 5 p.m.: last day to withdraw (based on state law).
• Thursday, April 1, 2027: last day to register to vote.
• Monday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 27, 2027: early voting in person, as listed by the Secretary of State.
• Tuesday, April 20, 2027: last day for a mail ballot application to be received.
• Saturday, May 1, 2027: election day; polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

A 2025 law, Senate Bill 2753, may change the early voting dates once it takes effect; if it applies to the May election, early voting would run from Thursday, April 22 to Friday, April 30, 2027 (based on state law). Confirm dates and locations before you print or send anything. Our Texas May 2027 election calendar explains each date.

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

• Weeks of November 9 and November 16. Confirm that you are registered to vote at your current address in the territory, and check the residence rule for your office. Under the general rule, you must have lived in Texas since at least February 12, 2026 and in the city or district since at least August 12, 2026 (based on state law), but city charters and some general-law city rules differ. Ask your city secretary or school district which seats are up in 2027 and whether your race is held in May or November.
• 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. Check with the Texas Ethics Commission for any other filings.
• Weeks of December 7 and December 14. Your city or district must post its filing notice by Monday, December 14. Read it, along with the candidate requirements on its website, and note any filing fee or petition. Write a short statement of why you are running. As an example, list 50 people you know personally who might help, volunteer or host a coffee.
• Weeks of December 21 and December 28. Download Form 2-49, the application for a place on the ballot, and fill in a draft. Line up a notary, and do not sign the form until you are in front of them.

Phase 2: File and announce (weeks of January 4 to February 15, 2027)

• Week of January 4. If your registration needs any change, make it now. The last day for candidates is Tuesday, January 12.
• Week of January 11. Filing opens on Wednesday, January 13. Sign the application before the notary and file it with the city secretary or the school board's secretary, in person if you can, and ask for a copy with the date and time received. An application filed before January 13 is void.
• Weeks of January 18 and January 25. The filing authority reviews your application within five days and tells you in writing if there is a problem. Announce to the 50 people on your list first, then 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. Recruit two or three volunteers who can help with doors on weekends.
• Weeks of February 1 and February 8. The filing deadline is 5 p.m. on Friday, February 12. Once it passes, ask the filing authority who filed in your race.
• Week of February 15. Write-in declarations are due on Tuesday, February 16, and the last day to withdraw is Friday, February 19 (both based on state law). If every race on your city's or district's ballot is unopposed after these deadlines, the governing body declares the candidates elected and the election is not held (Election Code Sections 2.051 to 2.053).

Phase 3: Build your base (weeks of February 22 to March 15)

These four weeks are the main door-knocking period before early voting.

• Plan your areas. Ask your county voter registrar how to obtain a list of registered voters in your district, and divide the district into areas small enough for one evening or one weekend morning. If several 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 four weeks would reach about 800 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.
• Watch two dates. If no one filed for a city office with a four-year term, filing for that seat stays open until 5 p.m. on Friday, March 5, 2027 (Election Code Section 143.008), so a new opponent can still appear. After Friday, March 12, 2027, applications can no longer be challenged over their form, content or procedure (based on state law).

Phase 4: Registration push (weeks of March 22 and March 29)

Voter registration for the May 1 election ends on Thursday, April 1, 2027. Use these two weeks to remind supporters who have moved to update their registration, and return to the undecided households from Phase 3. Supporters who will vote by mail should send their applications early, because the application must be received by Tuesday, April 20.

Phase 5: Early voting (weeks of April 12 to April 26)

• Week of April 12. Confirm early voting dates, hours and locations with your city secretary, school district or county elections office. Recruit election day volunteers.
• Week of April 19. The Secretary of State lists early voting from Monday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 27. Tell your supporters where and when, using the published schedule. Keep knocking on doors, now focusing on supporters who have not voted and households that were undecided. Mail ballot applications must be received by Tuesday, April 20.
• Week of April 26. Early voting ends. Confirm your volunteer schedule for Saturday.

Text your supporters during early voting

The early voting weeks are when a reminder helps most. Set up texting in CampaignCNX+ in January or February, so that it is ready in April.

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 is viewable online before you request Campaign Verify, and ask Campaign Verify Support if it is not. It costs $95, and Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
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 the first day of early voting, the last day of early voting and election day. 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 is open through [Day, Date]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Today is election day. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 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 the rules that apply in every state, see our political texting guide.

Phase 6: Election day and the weeks after

• Saturday, May 1. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thank your volunteers by name.
• Monday, May 3. Mail ballots postmarked by 7 p.m. on election day may arrive until 5 p.m. today.
• If there is a runoff. Where a majority is required and no candidate reaches it, the top two candidates meet in a runoff (Election Code Sections 2.021 and 2.023). City councils with terms longer than two years must be elected by majority, some charters require it, and a school board may require it by resolution. The runoff falls on a Saturday the Secretary of State designates, between Monday, May 31 and Tuesday, June 15, 2027 (based on state law). Keep your volunteers and your supporter list ready, and repeat the early voting steps of Phase 5 on the shorter schedule.

Begin in November

The candidates who have the easiest January are the ones who confirmed their registration, residence and filing requirements in November. Start Phase 1 this month. When you are ready to keep your supporters informed through early voting, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.