Ohio's 2027 local elections have two filing deadlines, and which one applies to you depends on your office. Candidates in races that have a primary, mostly in cities, and municipal court candidates file their petitions by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3, 2027, for the primary on Tuesday, May 4, 2027. Township, school board and most village candidates, and candidates in many cities, file by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 2027. Every candidate who reaches the ballot then runs in the general election on Tuesday, November 2, 2027.
This page lists the dates in order. Dates printed on the 2027 schedules of the Franklin County Board of Elections are marked "Franklin County schedule"; your county's dates for the same events should match, but confirm them. Dates we calculated from a formula in the Ohio Revised Code are marked "based on state law." The Ohio Secretary of State also publishes a 2027 calendar. Before you rely on any date, confirm it, and your signature number, with your county board of elections.
For the full process of getting on the ballot, start with our guide to running for local office in Ohio.
Which deadline is yours
- February 3: cities that nominate candidates in a party primary, charter cities and villages that hold a nonpartisan primary (in Franklin County, Columbus and the Village of Brice are examples), a few school districts that hold a nonpartisan primary (such as Columbus City School District), and municipal court judges. In Franklin County, municipal court judges are nominated by petition and do not appear on the primary ballot.
- August 4: townships, most school boards and educational service center boards, villages under 2,000 people, and every city or village that nominates by petition alone.
Townships and municipalities under 2,000 people hold no primary unless a majority of their voters have petitioned for one. Larger municipalities keep the method they used in 1989 unless their voters changed it. Your county board of elections' 2027 schedule lists the deadline for each office.
Before filing: November 2026 to January 2027
Sunday, November 15, 2026, if you plan to text. Campaign Verify, the check that political campaigns need before texting voters, sets its cycle by request date. A request made before November 15, 2026 expires on Sunday, January 31, 2027, early in your campaign. A request made on or after November 15 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029. If you plan to text, wait for the later date.
No statewide start date for signatures. Ohio law sets no earliest date to begin circulating a nominating petition. A signer's qualification is judged as of the day the petition is filed, so a signer who moves out of the district before you file may not count. Some city charters add a time limit. In Grandview Heights, for example, a signature dated more than 150 days before the general election is not valid. Ask your board whether your charter sets one.
Friday, January 1, 2027 (based on state law). Boards of elections begin accepting absentee ballot applications for the 2027 elections. Applications are accepted from January 1 of the election year or 90 days before the election, whichever is earlier.
The February track: primary cities and municipal court
Wednesday, February 3, 2027, 4 p.m. Filing deadline, 90 days before the primary. Candidates in a party primary file a declaration of candidacy together with their petition. Candidates in a nonpartisan primary, such as those in Columbus, and municipal court candidates file their petitions. Each candidate pays the filing fee at filing: $45 for a city office, $30 for a village office or school board, and $80 for a municipal court judge.
Monday, February 22, 2027, 4 p.m. Write-in candidates for the primary file their declaration of intent.
Monday, April 5, 2027, 9 p.m. (Franklin County schedule). Voter registration closes for the primary.
Tuesday, April 6, 2027 (Franklin County schedule). In-person absentee (early) voting opens for the primary.
Tuesday, April 27, 2027 (based on state law). Absentee ballot applications for the primary must reach the board of elections by the close of business, the seventh day before the election.
Monday, May 3, 2027, 4 p.m. (Franklin County schedule). Independent candidates for offices that have a party primary file their statement of candidacy and nominating petition by 4 p.m. on the day before the primary. Franklin County's schedule shows this date for Hilliard and Reynoldsburg.
Tuesday, May 4, 2027. Primary election. In Columbus, the schedule notes that no primary is held for a contest with no more than two certified candidates.
The August track: nonpartisan November races
Wednesday, August 4, 2027, 4 p.m. Filing deadline for nominating petitions, 90 days before the general election. This covers township trustee and fiscal officer, most city, local and exempted village school boards, educational service center boards, most village offices and city offices in municipalities that nominate by petition. The filing fee is $30 for a village, township, school board or ESC office and $45 for a city office, paid at filing and never refunded.
Signature numbers vary by office and by charter. For example, Franklin County's townships need 25 to 75 signatures, its smaller villages 10 to 30, and Bexley's city candidates 150 to 300. For a full walkthrough of the petition itself, see the Ohio nominating petition guide on Beacon, our canvassing app's site.
Monday, August 23, 2027, 4 p.m. Write-in candidates for the general election file their declaration of intent.
Fall: registration, early voting and Election Day
Monday, October 4, 2027, 9 p.m. (Franklin County schedule). Voter registration closes for the November 2 election. The 30th day before the election falls on a Sunday, so the deadline moves to the next day the offices are open.
Tuesday, October 5, 2027 (Franklin County schedule). In-person absentee voting opens. State law has absentee ballots ready on the first day after registration closes. Each board sets its own hours and locations.
Tuesday, October 26, 2027 (based on state law). Absentee ballot applications must reach the board of elections by the close of business on the seventh day before the election. Only the voter may fill out the application. Ohio law forbids anyone else from filling out any part of it, so send supporters to the board of elections for the form and do not complete it for them.
Tuesday, November 2, 2027. General election. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and voters in line at 7:30 p.m. may still vote.
After the election
Saturday, January 1, 2028. Under the state's default rules, township trustees, school board members, mayors and city council members elected in 2027 begin their terms. Charter cities may set other dates.
Saturday, April 1, 2028. The township fiscal officer elected in 2027 begins a four-year term.
Step in the calendar: schedule your reminder texts in October
Early October brings three dates your supporters need: the last day to register, the first day of early voting and, three weeks later, the absentee application deadline. Set up your texting well before then, while you are circulating your petition.
- Confirm your committee's filing is online before you request Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify ($95 per two-year cycle) needs an EIN (your committee's federal tax ID number) 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 CampaignCNX+ account. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration with the carriers (the mobile phone companies). You buy your Campaign Verify token from Campaign Verify, and CampaignCNX+ files it with your registration. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month.
- Put opted-in supporters in one group. Include only people who agreed in writing to receive texts from your campaign. A petition signature is not that agreement.
- Write and schedule four texts now. Schedule them for the morning of Monday, October 4, Tuesday, October 5, about a week before Tuesday, October 26, and Election Day morning. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in each recipient's time zone, so set each one inside those hours.
For example, with your campaign name in place of the bracketed text:
[Name] for Township Trustee: today is the last day to register to vote for Nov 2. Check your registration with the county board of elections.
[Name] for Township Trustee: early voting opens today at the board of elections. Hours are on the board's website. Thank you for your support.
The texts in our campaign text templates for local races can be adapted to these dates. Our campaign plan to November 2, 2027 turns this calendar into a week-by-week schedule, and our page on texting for Midwest campaigns explains the setup in more detail.
Put the dates on your calendar now
The two filing deadlines are six months apart, and both arrive sooner than most first-time candidates expect. Mark your filing deadline, then the October voting dates, and have your texting ready before the fall. Start a CampaignCNX+ trial once your committee is in place, so your reminders are scheduled before October 4.
