Kansas holds its city, school board and community college elections in 2027. The filing deadline for every candidate is noon on Tuesday, June 1, 2027. A primary is held on Tuesday, August 3, 2027, but only in races where more than three candidates file for a seat. The general election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027. Candidates get on the ballot by paying a $20 filing fee with a declaration, or by filing a petition instead of the fee.
If you choose the petition, one date matters before all the others. Kansas law makes a petition void unless it is filed within 180 days of the first signature on it. For a petition filed on June 1, 2027, that means no signature should be dated earlier than Thursday, December 3, 2026.
The Kansas Secretary of State has not yet posted its 2027 calendar, so the dates computed from Kansas statutes are marked "based on state law." The voter dates follow the pattern of the Secretary of State's 2026 calendar. Confirm each date with your county election officer, who is the county clerk, or an appointed election commissioner in counties with more than 125,000 people.
For the full process of getting on the ballot, start with our guide to running for local office in Kansas.
2027 at a glance
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 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 | Advance voting may begin; mail ballots go out (based on state law) |
| Tuesday, July 27, 2027 | In-person advance voting must be open in every county; last day to apply for a mail ballot (based on state law) |
| Tuesday, August 3, 2027 | Primary, in races that need one |
| Tuesday, October 12, 2027 | Voter registration deadline for the general election (based on state law) |
| Wednesday, October 13, 2027 | Advance voting may begin (based on state law) |
| Tuesday, November 2, 2027 | General election |
November and December 2026: before you decide
Sunday, November 15, 2026, if you plan to text supporters. Campaign Verify, the check political campaigns need before texting from a registered number, sets its cycle by request date. A request made before November 15 expires on Sunday, January 31, 2027. A request made on or after November 15 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029, which covers all of 2027.
Thursday, December 3, 2026 (based on state law). A Kansas candidate petition is void unless it is filed within 180 days of the date of its first signature (K.S.A. 25-3602(d)), and the Secretary of State's candidate petition guide applies that rule to candidates for nonpartisan local offices. June 1, 2027 is the 180th day after December 3, 2026, so a petition filed on the deadline should carry no earlier signature. If you file earlier, count 180 days from your own first signature.
January to May 2027: choose your route and prepare
The statutes for city, school board and community college candidates set a filing deadline but no opening date, so ask your county election officer when the office begins accepting 2027 filings. Use these months to settle three questions.
- Which seat? Ask which seats are on the 2027 ballot, whether yours is elected by district or at large, and which district you live in.
- Fee or petition? Any qualified candidate may file a declaration of intention with the $20 fee set by state law (K.S.A. 25-21a01(f)). The petition is the no-fee route. Confirm the fee with your county election officer.
- Which form? The declaration comes from your county election officer. City and school candidates who petition use Form CP, the Kansas Non-Partisan City/School Nomination Petition.
Thursday, April 1, 2027 (based on state law). Voters may begin applying for a mail ballot for the August primary. A county may accept earlier applications and hold them until April 1 (K.S.A. 25-1122(f)).
June 2027: the filing deadline
Tuesday, June 1, 2027, noon. The filing deadline for all city elections (K.S.A. 25-2109), school board elections and community college trustee elections (K.S.A. 71-1414). Your declaration and fee, or your petition, must be in the right office by noon.
- School board candidates file with the county election officer.
- Community college trustee candidates should ask the county election officer of the county where the college's main campus is located where to file, because that office runs the trustee election.
- City candidates for at-large seats file with the county election officer.
- City candidates for district seats file with the city clerk in first and second class cities. The clerk sends the filing to the county election officer within three business days. In third class cities, district candidates may file with the county election officer or the city clerk.
The days after you file. For city and school board candidates, the county election officer must decide within three days whether each filing is valid. If yours is found invalid, you are told why and may object. Objection deadlines are short, so ask the county election officer for them.
Withdrawals. After noon on June 1, a candidate may withdraw only under a 2026 change to state law: for a severe medical hardship on the candidate or their immediate family, certified by a physician, or for no longer living in the district. A certification received by Wednesday, September 1, 2027 keeps the name off the ballot.
July and August 2027: the primary, where one is needed
Tuesday, July 13, 2027 (based on state law). Voter registration closes for the primary. County election officers accept applications received or postmarked no later than the 21st day before the election (K.S.A. 25-2311). Voters can register through the Secretary of State's website or the county election office.
Wednesday, July 14, 2027 (based on state law). Advance ballots cannot be sent before the 20th day before the election (K.S.A. 25-1123), so this is the first day mail ballots go out. Counties may also begin in-person advance voting on this date. Each county sets its own sites and hours.
Tuesday, July 27, 2027 (based on state law). In-person advance voting must be available in every county from this date, unless the county started earlier. It is also the last day to apply for a mail ballot for the primary (K.S.A. 25-1122).
Saturday, July 31, 2027. A county may offer in-person advance voting in its office on the Saturday before the election.
Monday, August 2, 2027, noon. In-person advance voting ends.
Tuesday, August 3, 2027. Primary election, held only where more than three candidates filed for a district seat, or more than three times as many candidates as seats filed in an at-large race. Mailed advance ballots must reach the county election office by 7 p.m. (K.S.A. 25-1132). In district races, the top two advance; in at-large races, twice as many candidates as there are seats advance. Primary ballots have no write-in lines.
August to November 2027: the general election
Wednesday, August 4, 2027 (based on state law). Voters may begin applying for a mail ballot for the general election, which opens 90 days before the election.
Wednesday, September 1, 2027. Last day for a candidate's hardship or move-out certification to keep their name off the November ballot.
Tuesday, October 12, 2027 (based on state law). Voter registration closes for the general election.
Wednesday, October 13, 2027 (based on state law). Mail ballots go out, and counties may begin in-person advance voting.
Tuesday, October 26, 2027 (based on state law). In-person advance voting must be open in every county. Last day to apply for a mail ballot.
Saturday, October 30, 2027. Optional Saturday advance voting, if your county offers it.
Monday, November 1, 2027, noon. In-person advance voting ends.
Tuesday, November 2, 2027. General election for city, school board and community college offices. General election ballots carry write-in lines for each office.
After the election
School board members and community college trustees elected in 2027 take office on Monday, January 10, 2028, the second Monday in January (based on state law, K.S.A. 25-2023; 71-1412). City terms are set by each city's governing body, so ask your city clerk when yours would begin.
Cities with a different schedule
State law lets cities hold elections in even-numbered years to stagger terms or create three-year terms (K.S.A. 25-21a01(h)), and some cities have set other schedules by charter ordinance. Each city's governing body also decides whether its elections are partisan or nonpartisan (K.S.A. 25-2113). If either applies to your city, ask your city clerk for your dates.
Step in the calendar: set up texting before advance voting opens
How a new number gets approved
- Open your account100 free SMS included
- Buy your number$5 a month. Nothing sends until the account has one.
- Verify your campaignCampaign Verify, $95 per two-year cycle. Needs your committee's EIN and filing.
- We file the registrationToll-free verification, or 10DLC for a local number ($75 one time)
- The carriers review itAbout three business days for a toll-free number
- Send your first textStart with a small test group
Set up texting in the spring, so your reminders are ready before advance voting begins.
- Form your committee and 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. Ask your county election officer whether your committee's filing is posted online, and if it is not, contact Campaign Verify Support before you request. 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 registration deadline, the first day of advance voting 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.
Our campaign plan to the August 3, 2027 Kansas primary turns these dates into a weekly schedule, and our post on Campaign Verify for local candidates explains verification in more depth. For texting rules across the region, see our page on campaign texting in the Midwest.
Put the dates on your calendar now
Mark December 3 if you are petitioning, June 1 at noon for filing, and the voter dates for your election. Start a CampaignCNX+ trial once your committee filing is in place.
