If you are running for township trustee, school board, village council or a city office that nominates by petition, your campaign has two fixed points: your nominating petition is due by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 2027, and the general election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Between now and then, the work falls into three parts: preparing in the winter and spring, collecting signatures and filing in the summer, and meeting voters in the fall.
This plan gives each stage one main job, so the work happens in the right order. Filing deadlines come from the Ohio Revised Code and the Franklin County Board of Elections 2027 schedules. Voter registration and early voting dates come from the Franklin County schedule, and the absentee application deadline is calculated from state law and marked "based on state law." Confirm each date, and your signature number, with your own county board of elections.
For the rules behind each step, see our guide to running for local office in Ohio.
If your race has a primary. Candidates in races with a primary on Tuesday, May 4, 2027, mostly in cities, file by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3, 2027. If that is you, move the petition stages below to December and January, and treat the spring as a full campaign of its own. Our Ohio 2027 local election calendar lists the primary dates.
November 2026: decide and get the facts
Main job: confirm your office, your deadline and your signature number.
- Find your county board of elections' 2027 schedule. It lists each office on the ballot, the petition form, the signature range and the deadline.
- Confirm how many seats are open. For example, each township elects one trustee and its fiscal officer in 2027, and many villages elect two council members.
- Check that you qualify. You must be an elector qualified to vote for the office, and some offices, such as city and village council, require one year of residence before the election.
- Write a short paragraph on why you are running. You will use it at every door and in every conversation.
December 2026 to February 2027: set up your campaign
Main job: put your committee and your tools in place before the busy months.
- Set up your campaign committee as your county board of elections directs, and get an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number) if you plan to text voters.
- Ask the board whether your committee's filing can be viewed online. Campaign Verify needs that before it can approve political texting.
- Request Campaign Verify on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026, so it lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029.
- Attend meetings of the board or council you hope to join, and read recent minutes.
March to May 2027: build your base
Main job: line up the people who will help you collect signatures and talk to voters.
- Recruit circulators, the people who collect signatures. You may circulate your own petition.
- Make a list of friends, neighbors and community contacts who may support you, and ask each one directly.
- Prepare a sign-up sheet that asks, in plain words, whether people want campaign texts from you, with a line for the date.
- Listen to residents and read recent meeting minutes, so you know the questions voters are likely to ask.
Weeks of June 7 to July 25: circulate your petition
Main job: collect valid signatures, and build your supporter list as you go.
- Ohio sets no statewide start date for collecting signatures, but some charters add a time limit, so ask your board before you begin.
- Sign the statement of candidacy on your petition before anyone else signs it.
- Signatures must be affixed in ink, and each signer writes the date and their voting address as it appears in their registration record.
- Review each paper as it comes back. The circulator must complete the statement at the bottom, giving the number of signatures and confirming they witnessed each one.
- Aim for a comfortable margin above your minimum, but stay under the maximum, which is three times the minimum for most offices.
- Offer the separate text sign-up sheet to everyone who signs. A petition signature is not permission to text.
For a full walkthrough of the form, see the Ohio nominating petition guide on Beacon, our canvassing app's site.
Week of July 26 to August 4: check and file
Main job: file a clean petition, early.
- Count your signatures again and set aside any you doubt.
- Bring the filing fee: $30 for a township, village, school board or educational service center office, or $45 for a city office. It is paid when you file and is not refunded.
- File with your county board of elections before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 2027. Filing a few days early leaves time to deal with a problem.
August 5 to September 26: meet voters
Main job: talk with as many voters as you can.
- Monday, August 23, 2027, 4 p.m.: write-in candidates must file their declaration of intent. After this date, ask your board for the list of everyone who filed for your office.
- Knock on doors on weekends and weekday evenings, starting with the people who vote in odd-year local elections. Keep notes on who was undecided.
- Attend candidate forums and community events.
- Recruit volunteers for October, and ask supporters for yard signs.
Weeks of September 27 to October 24: registration and early voting
Main job: help supporters register and vote early.
- Monday, October 4, 2027, 9 p.m. (Franklin County schedule): voter registration closes for the November 2 election.
- Tuesday, October 5, 2027 (Franklin County schedule): in-person absentee (early) voting opens. Each board sets its own hours.
- Text your opted-in supporters on both dates, and send them to the board of elections for hours and locations.
- Return to the doors of undecided voters.
Week of October 25 to 31: absentee applications and the final push
Main job: make sure supporters who vote by mail have applied in time.
- Tuesday, October 26, 2027 (based on state law): absentee ballot applications must reach the board of elections by the close of business. Only the voter may fill out the application, so point supporters to the board's form and do not fill it out for them.
- Confirm your Election Day volunteers and their assignments.
Week of November 1: Election Day
Main job: get every supporter to vote on Tuesday, November 2, 2027.
- Send one reminder on Monday, November 1, and one on Election Day morning.
- Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voters in line at 7:30 p.m. may still vote.
- Thank everyone who helped, whatever the result.
Under the state's default rules, most offices elected in 2027 begin on Saturday, January 1, 2028. The township fiscal officer's term begins on Saturday, April 1, 2028.
Running the texting side with CampaignCNX+
Texts reach supporters at the moments that matter in this plan: the registration deadline, the first day of early voting, the absentee application deadline and Election Day. Set up CampaignCNX+ in the spring, so every message is written and scheduled before October.
- Confirm your committee's filing is online first. Campaign Verify, the check that confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that you are a real campaign, needs an EIN and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Ask your county board of elections whether your committee's filing can be viewed online. If it cannot, ask Campaign Verify Support how to proceed before you apply. Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
- Open your account. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration, including 10DLC (the carrier registration for texting from a local-style number), and files your Campaign Verify token, which you buy from Campaign Verify. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month.
- Add only people who agreed to texts. Use one group for supporters and one for volunteers, and record each person's permission date in a custom field.
- Schedule the fall texts in one sitting. Write the messages for October 4, October 5, about a week before October 26, November 1 and November 2, and schedule each one to the supporters group.
- Set a repeating text for volunteers, such as a reminder each Friday evening in October about the next day's walk.
- Stay inside quiet hours. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in each recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically.
[Name] for School Board: early voting opens today at the board of elections. Thank you for your support.
For more wording at each stage, see our campaign text templates for local races, and for the details of setup, our page on texting for Midwest campaigns.
Start now
The months before filing are the easiest time to prepare, and the fall will be busy. Confirm your office and your number this month, set up your committee in the winter, and have your texts scheduled before October. Start your CampaignCNX+ trial when your committee is in place.
