Iowa's regular city and school election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Every city elects officers that day, and school boards and community college boards hold their elections at the same time, so the state calls it the city-school election. Candidates file during one of two windows. In cities with primary provisions, filing runs from Monday, August 9 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 26, 2027. For all other cities, and for school board and community college board candidates, filing runs from Monday, August 23 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, 2027.
Where a primary is needed, it is held on Tuesday, October 5, 2027. In cities that chose a runoff instead, any runoff is on Tuesday, November 30, 2027. Every candidate files a nomination petition with a notarized affidavit of candidacy, and Iowa charges no filing fee.
This page lists the 2027 dates in order. The filing windows and the three election dates come from the Iowa Secretary of State's three-year election calendar for 2025 to 2027. Dates marked "based on state law" are calculated from the Iowa Code and do not appear on an official 2027 candidate calendar that we could read, so confirm each one with your county auditor. The Iowa Legislature can change election law, as it did in 2026, so check again before you file.
For the full process of getting on the ballot, start with our guide to running for local office in Iowa.
Which filing window is yours
Iowa cities use one of three nomination methods, and each city's method sets its filing window.
- Cities with primary provisions are the default under state law. In these cities, a primary is held only when more than twice as many candidates file for an office as there are seats (Iowa Code 376.6). Candidates file from August 9 to August 26.
- Cities with runoff provisions chose, by ordinance, to hold a runoff after the election instead of a primary. Candidates file from August 23 to September 16.
- Cities that use chapter 45 nominations chose, by ordinance, to have no primary and no runoff. Candidates also file from August 23 to September 16.
School board and community college board candidates always use the August 23 to September 16 window.
Your city clerk or county auditor can tell you which method your city uses. As an example only, the Scott County Auditor noted in 2025 that Davenport was the only city in that county that might hold a primary.
Before filing: now through July 2027
Sunday, November 15, 2026, if you plan to text voters. Campaign Verify, the check that political campaigns need before texting from a registered number, sets its cycle by request date. A request made before November 15, 2026 expires on Sunday, January 31, 2027, long before your election. A request made on or after November 15 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029. For an Iowa candidate in 2027, any request on or after November 15 covers the whole campaign.
Any time: signature collection. Iowa sets no first day for collecting signatures. The Secretary of State's candidate guide says candidates "may begin collecting signatures at any time." A signature counts only if the signer is still an eligible elector of your city, ward or district when you file, so signatures gathered too early can be lost when people move. Plan most of your collecting for the weeks before your filing window.
Spring and summer 2027. Ask your county auditor for the current affidavit of candidacy and petition forms for the 2027 election, and confirm your signature number. A 2026 state law (House File 2501, in effect since July 1, 2026) changed where city and school board candidates file, so make sure the forms and instructions you use are current.
August 2027: the first filing window opens
Wednesday, August 4, 2027 (based on state law). Last day for each city clerk to certify the city's nomination method (primary, runoff or chapter 45) to the county auditor, 90 days before the election. The method cannot change after that for this election.
Monday, August 9, 2027. Filing opens for candidates in cities with primary provisions.
Monday, August 23, 2027. Filing opens for candidates in all other cities and for school board and community college board candidates.
Tuesday, August 24, 2027 (based on state law). The earliest day the county auditor may accept absentee ballot applications for the November 2 election, 70 days before it.
Thursday, August 26, 2027, 5 p.m. Filing deadline in cities with primary provisions. Papers must be received by 5 p.m.; a postmark does not count.
Tuesday, August 31, 2027 (based on state law). In cities with primary provisions, the last day for a candidate to withdraw and, by 5 p.m., the last day to file an objection to a candidate's papers, 63 days before the election.
September 2027: the second window closes
Wednesday, September 15, 2027 (based on state law). The earliest day absentee ballots for the October 5 primary may be mailed or voted at the auditor's office, 20 days before the primary. Your county auditor sets the actual start once ballots are ready.
Thursday, September 16, 2027, 5 p.m. Filing deadline for candidates in all other cities and for school board and community college board candidates. File your affidavit of candidacy and your petition together, bound into one bundle.
Monday, September 20, 2027, 5 p.m. (based on state law). Voter registration closes for the October 5 primary, 15 days before it.
Tuesday, September 21, 2027 (based on state law). In cities without primary provisions and for school boards, the last day for a candidate to withdraw and the last day to file an objection, 42 days before the election. City objections are due by 5 p.m. Objections to community college candidates are also due by this date, filed with the college's board secretary.
Objections can be filed by anyone who could vote for a candidate for the office. Under the 2026 law, objections to city and school board papers are filed with the county auditor.
October 2027: primary and early voting
Tuesday, October 5, 2027. City primary, only in cities where more than twice as many candidates filed for an office as there are seats. The top vote-getters, up to twice the number of seats, go on the November ballot. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday, October 13, 2027 (based on state law). The earliest day absentee ballots for November 2 may be mailed and voted in person at the county auditor's office, 20 days before the election. Ask your county auditor for its schedule before you announce it to supporters.
Monday, October 18, 2027, 5 p.m. (based on state law). Voter registration closes, 15 days before the election, and written absentee ballot applications must be received by the auditor. A registration form mailed with a postmark on or before October 18 is counted as on time.
November 2027 to January 2028: the election and after
Monday, November 1, 2027 (based on state law). The last day to vote an absentee ballot in person at the county auditor's office.
Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Regular city and school election. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A person who missed the registration deadline may register at their polling place on election day with proof of identity and residence. In cities without runoff provisions, the candidates with the most votes, up to the number of seats, are elected. In runoff cities, a candidate needs a majority to win outright.
Tuesday, November 30, 2027. City runoff, only in cities that chose a runoff and only for seats where too few candidates won a majority on November 2.
Monday, January 3, 2028, noon (based on state law). City terms begin at noon on the first day in January that is not a Sunday or a legal holiday.
Step in the calendar: set up texting before absentee voting opens
Absentee voting can open as early as October 13, in the busiest weeks of the campaign. Set up texting in the summer instead, so your reminders are ready.
- Form your committee, then check that its filing is online. Campaign Verify costs $95 per two-year cycle. It needs a 527 committee (527 is the federal tax status of a political committee), an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number) and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Candidates with no committee are not eligible. The Secretary of State's candidate guides send committee questions to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board. Check that your committee's filing can be viewed online before you request Campaign Verify, and contact Campaign Verify Support if it cannot. Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
- Open your CampaignCNX+ account. CampaignCNX+ files your registration with the carriers (the mobile phone companies), either as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or as toll-free. You buy the $95 Campaign Verify token from Campaign Verify, and CampaignCNX+ files it with your registration. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month.
- Schedule your reminders. Write short texts for the start of absentee voting, the October 18 registration deadline and election day. Schedule them to the group of supporters who agreed in writing to receive your texts, and end each person's first message with "Reply STOP to opt out." Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone.
Signatures on your nomination petition are not permission to text. Keep a separate sign-up sheet for texts. For the petition itself, see the Iowa nomination petition guide on Beacon, our canvassing app's site. Our campaign plan to the November 2, 2027 Iowa election turns these dates into a weekly schedule, our campaign text templates for local races give you wording to adapt, and our page on campaign texting in the Midwest covers texting across the region.
Put the dates on your calendar now
The filing windows are short, and papers must be in the auditor's hands by 5 p.m. on the last day. Mark your window, your withdrawal and objection date and the start of absentee voting today. When your committee filing is in place, start a CampaignCNX+ trial so your texting is ready before October.