How to Run for City Council in Texas

Many Texas cities elect council members on Saturday, May 1, 2027. To run, you must meet the qualifications for your seat, which in most cities means being a registered voter of the territory and having lived in Texas for 12 months and in the city or district for six months before the filing deadline. You then file a sworn application for a place on the ballot with the city secretary between Wednesday, January 13, 2027 and 5 p.m. on Friday, February 12, 2027. City races are nonpartisan unless a home-rule charter provides otherwise, so there is no party primary. Most cities require no filing fee and no petition.

The details depend on your city. A home-rule city's charter can set its own residence and age rules, a filing fee, a majority-vote rule and the shape of the council, while general-law cities follow the Local Government Code. This guide covers each step in order, with statute citations. Dates calculated from the statutes are marked "based on state law."

For the full picture of a 2027 Texas race, including school board seats, see our guide to running for local office in Texas.

Step 1: Learn how your council is elected

Find out what kind of city you live in. The Secretary of State describes four kinds of Texas cities:

• Home-rule cities have their own charter. The charter sets the size of the council, whether members are elected citywide or from districts, and the length of terms within the limits of state law.
• Type A general-law cities have a mayor and five aldermen. If the city is divided into wards, two aldermen are elected from each ward (Local Government Code Section 22.031).
• Type B general-law cities also have a mayor and five aldermen.
• Type C general-law cities are governed by a mayor and two commissioners.

Your city secretary can tell you which type your city is.

Check the term. Council terms are two years unless the city has adopted longer terms of up to four years, by charter in a home-rule city or by a vote of the residents in a general-law city (Texas Constitution, Article XI, Section 11). A Type B city's aldermen serve one-year terms unless the council has adopted two-year staggered terms by ordinance (Local Government Code Section 23.026).

Ask the city secretary five questions. Does the city vote in May or November? Which council seats are on the 2027 ballot? Is each seat a numbered place, a single-member district or at large? Which district or ward is my home in? Does the race require a majority, with a runoff if no one gets one?

Step 2: Check that you qualify

The general rule. Unless your charter or another law says otherwise, Election Code Section 141.001 requires a candidate to be a United States citizen, at least 18 on the first day of the term, and free of a final felony conviction unless pardoned or otherwise released from its disabilities, among other points. You must also have lived continuously in Texas for 12 months and in the territory for six months before the filing deadline, and be registered to vote in the territory by that deadline.

For the May 1, 2027 election, the residence rule means living in Texas since at least February 12, 2026 and in the territory since at least August 12, 2026 (based on state law). Your registration must be in effect by February 12, and the Secretary of State lists Tuesday, January 12, 2027 as the last day for candidates to register or update their registration.

Rules by city type. The Secretary of State's summary of the law, last updated in July 2025, lists these:

• Type A alderman: one year in the state and six months in the city (or ward) before the filing deadline, age 18, and registered to vote in the territory by the filing deadline. State law also says the alderman must live in the ward on election day (Local Government Code Section 22.032).
• Type B alderman: a qualified voter who has lived in the city for the six months before election day (Local Government Code Section 23.024), plus one year in the state before the filing deadline.
• Type C commissioner: the general rule.
• Home-rule council member: the general rule if the charter is silent. A charter may require up to 12 months of residence in the city and an age of up to 21, but no more (Election Code Section 141.003).

Other points. If your home was annexed into the city, time you lived there before annexation counts toward the city residence requirement (Election Code Section 141.004). The Secretary of State notes that a requirement to own property is unconstitutional.

Step 3: Check for a filing fee or petition

The Secretary of State says most local political subdivisions require neither a filing fee nor a petition. In a home-rule city, though, the charter may require a filing fee. If it does, the charter or an ordinance must also provide an alternative to paying it, such as a petition (Election Code Section 143.005).

Any petition filed with a home-rule city application must have at least 25 signatures or one-half of one percent of the total votes cast for mayor in the territory at the most recent mayoral election, whichever is greater. Signers must be registered voters of the territory, and the person collecting signatures must witness each one (Sections 141.063 and 141.064). A fee or petition must be filed at the same time as the application. Ask your city secretary for the exact fee and signature number.

Step 4: File your application for a place on the ballot

1. Get the form. The Secretary of State's form is Form 2-49. Your city secretary must provide it free of charge, and it can also be downloaded from the Secretary of State's website.
2. Fill in every required line. Include the office and its place or district number, your ballot name, residence address, occupation, date of birth, felony conviction status, and your length of residence in the state and in the territory.
3. Swear to it. Sign the application before a notary public or another person authorized to give oaths. For city offices, the city secretary may administer the oath.
4. Deliver it between January 13 and 5 p.m. on February 12. You may file in person, by mail, or by email or fax to the address in the city's filing notice if no fee is due. An application filed before January 13 is void, and a mailed application counts only when it is received.
5. Keep a copy and watch for a response. The city secretary reviews the application within five days and notifies you in writing if it is rejected (Section 141.032). A filed application cannot be amended, so filing early leaves time to deal with a problem before the deadline.

Our step-by-step post on the Texas application for a place on the ballot covers each line of the form. Check with the Texas Ethics Commission for any other filings.

Dates after filing. Write-in declarations are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, 2027, and the last day to withdraw is Friday, February 19, 2027 at 5 p.m. (both based on state law). If no one files for a council seat 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).

Step 5: Run the council campaign

From the February 12 filing deadline to the May 1 election is 78 days. Voter registration ends on Thursday, April 1, 2027, and the Secretary of State lists early voting from Monday, April 19 to Tuesday, April 27, 2027. A 2025 law, Senate Bill 2753, may change early voting dates once it takes effect, so confirm your city's schedule before you print anything.

For a district or ward seat, most of the work is meeting voters at their doors. Ask your county voter registrar how to obtain a list of registered voters in your district, and start with households that vote in city elections. As an example only: if you and two volunteers each knock on 60 doors a week for nine weeks, the three of you would reach about 1,600 doors before early voting ends. Set your own numbers from the size of your district and the time you have.

For a citywide place, plan for more volunteers and more events. If your city requires a majority, keep volunteers available for a possible runoff on a Saturday the Secretary of State designates between Monday, May 31 and Tuesday, June 15, 2027 (based on state law).

Step 6: Keep supporters informed by text

A short text at the right moment tells supporters when and where to vote. Set it up in CampaignCNX+ before early voting begins.

1. Settle your committee first. Campaign texting from a registered number requires Campaign Verify, a check that confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that you are a real campaign. It needs a 527 committee (the federal tax status of a political committee) with an EIN (its federal tax ID number) and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Check that your filing is viewable online before you request, and ask Campaign Verify Support if it is not. A request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029. It costs $95, and Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
2. Open your account. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration for you, as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or as toll-free, and files your Campaign Verify token with it.
3. Add only supporters who agreed in writing. Use a sign-up sheet that plainly says the person agrees to receive campaign texts, and record the date. In CampaignCNX+, put these supporters in a group and record the consent date and source in a custom field. Do not add people from a voter list who never asked to hear from you.
4. Schedule a reminder for early voting. Use the first-name merge field so each text is addressed to the person, and end the first message with the opt-out line:

Hi [First name], this is [Name], candidate for [City] Council Place [#]. Early voting starts [Day, Date]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically. 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.

Get your filing in order before January 13

Confirm your registration, residence, seat and district before filing opens on January 13. When you are ready to keep supporters informed by text, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.