How to Run for Mayor in Indiana

Indiana cities elect their mayors in 2027. To run, you must be registered to vote in the city by the filing deadline, and in a second or third class city you must have lived in the city for at least one year before the election (IC 3-8-1-26). Democratic and Republican candidates file a declaration of candidacy and a Statement of Economic Interests (form CAN-12) with the county election board between Wednesday, January 6, 2027 and noon on Friday, February 5, 2027, and the party nominees are chosen at the primary on Tuesday, May 4, 2027. The mayoral election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027.

Independent and minor party candidates for mayor file a petition of nomination signed by registered voters of the city, due to the county voter registration office by noon on Wednesday, June 30, 2027. This guide explains each step in order, using the Indiana Election Division's candidate guides, 2027 calendar and forms, with Indiana Code (IC) citations. Indiana candidate deadlines fall at noon. Confirm anything specific to your city with your county election board.

For the full 2027 picture, including council, town and write-in races, see our guide to running for local office in Indiana.

Who elects a mayor in 2027

Indiana's mayors were last elected in 2023, and 2027 is the next municipal election year. The mayor is elected by all the voters of the city, so a mayoral race is a citywide campaign from the first day.

The duties of local officeholders are set out in Indiana Code Title 36. Before you file, read what your city's mayor is responsible for, attend a few council meetings and talk with people who have worked in city government. Our general guide on how to run for mayor, and what it costs covers the planning questions that apply in any state.

Step 1: Check the qualifications

All candidates for mayor must meet the same qualifications, whatever their party.

Registration. You must be registered to vote in the city no later than the filing deadline for your route onto the ballot (IC 3-8-1-1). If you have moved, update your registration early. A new or changed registration is generally not effective until at least seven days after it is submitted and approved.

Residency. A candidate for mayor of a second or third class city must have lived in the city for at least one year before the election (IC 3-8-1-26). A candidate for mayor of Indianapolis must have lived in the city for at least one year before the date of taking office (IC 3-8-1-24). Living in territory that the city annexed before the election counts toward the year, even if the annexation took effect less than a year before the election (IC 36-4-5-2).

These rules are quoted from the Election Division's 2023 candidate guide, the most recent municipal-year edition, so confirm them, and your city's class, with your county election board.

Rules that can disqualify a candidate.

• Felonies. A person is disqualified if a jury or court has publicly announced a felony verdict against them, or if they pleaded guilty or no contest to a felony, unless the conviction was pardoned, reversed, vacated, set aside or expunged (IC 3-8-1-5).
• City employees. A city employee may run for mayor, but automatically resigns from the city job on taking office (IC 3-5-9-5).
• Federal restrictions. Members of the armed forces on active duty, and some government employees paid entirely with federal funds, may be barred from running by federal rules such as the Hatch Act. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel answers Hatch Act questions (IC 3-8-1-5).
• The "sore loser" law. A candidate who loses the May primary cannot run for mayor in November, including as a write-in (IC 3-8-1-5.5).

Step 2: Choose your route onto the ballot

Democratic and Republican candidates

You will run in your party's May 4 primary. The last two Indiana primaries in which you actually voted must have been that party's (IC 3-8-2-7). If they were not, or if either ballot was nonpartisan, attach a certification from your party's county chair to your declaration. A missing certification does not cause rejection, but it invites a challenge. If you are unsure of your record, ask your county voter registration office before January.

Independent and minor party candidates

You will file a petition of nomination (form CAN-44). For mayor, the district is the whole city, so the petition needs signatures from registered voters of the city equal to 2 percent of the votes cast in the city for secretary of state at the last general election, with fractions dropped (IC 3-8-6-3). Ask your county voter registration office for the number that applies in 2027, and do not rely on example numbers from earlier years. Signatures must be handwritten on paper; electronic, digital and photocopied signatures are not allowed (IC 3-5-4-1.7).

Petitions may be filed for signature checks from January 6 and are due by noon on Wednesday, June 30, 2027. The certified petition, a consent form (CAN-45) and your CAN-12 go to the county election board by noon on Thursday, July 15, 2027. The Libertarian Party nominates its mayoral candidates at a party convention, which must be held by noon on Saturday, July 3, 2027.

Step 3: File your declaration of candidacy

Democratic and Republican candidates file two documents together:

1. The 2027 declaration of candidacy for the municipal primary, on the current state form, signed before a notary or another person authorized to give oaths (IC 3-8-2-7). A filing on an outdated form must be rejected (IC 3-5-4-8).
2. The CAN-12 Statement of Economic Interests, an ethics form. The county must reject a declaration that arrives without it.

File both with the county election board in the county that has the largest share of the city's population, between Wednesday, January 6, 2027 and noon on Friday, February 5, 2027. In most counties, the county election board is the circuit court clerk's office. Deliver the forms by hand if you can, because a mailed filing counts only when it is received and a late filing must be rejected.

The declaration also asks how your name should appear on the ballot. Our guide to filing your declaration of candidacy in Indiana explains the name rules, the notary step and what happens after filing. You may withdraw from the primary for any reason until noon on Friday, February 12, 2027.

Step 4: Plan a citywide campaign

From the filing deadline to the primary is 88 days. A mayoral campaign uses that time to build three things: a volunteer team that can cover the whole city, a list of supporters who want to hear from you, and a schedule built around the voter deadlines.

The spring dates. Voter registration ends on Monday, April 5, 2027. Early voting begins in the circuit court clerk's office on Tuesday, April 6, with required Saturday hours on April 24 and May 1, and ends at noon on Monday, May 3. The clerk must receive vote-by-mail applications by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, April 22. Counties may reduce early voting days or hours in a municipal year, so confirm your county's schedule.

Volunteers. One candidate cannot knock on every door in a city. Divide the city into areas, recruit a volunteer lead for each, and give each lead a weekly goal. As an example only: ten volunteers who each knock on 50 doors a week for eight weeks would reach about 4,000 doors. Set your own goals from the size of your city and the help you have.

Events and public forums. If neighborhood groups or local organizations hold candidate forums, attend them, and hold a few events of your own. Collect permission to stay in touch at every event, using a sign-up sheet that plainly asks whether each person wants campaign texts.

The fall. The nominees then campaign for November 2. Voter registration closes on Monday, October 4, and early voting opens on Tuesday, October 5, 2027.

Step 5: Keep a citywide list of supporters informed by text

In a citywide race, texting is one of the few ways to reach every supporter quickly when plans change or early voting opens. Set it up in CampaignCNX+ in this order.

1. Committee, EIN and Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that you are a real campaign. It requires a 527 committee (the federal tax status of a political committee) with 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. Check that your committee filing with the county election board is viewable online before you request Campaign Verify, and ask Campaign Verify Support if it is not. A request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029, covering both the primary and the November election. It costs $95, and Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
2. Registration. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration, as 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number) or toll-free, and files your Campaign Verify token with it.
3. Groups for supporters and volunteers. Add only people who agreed in writing to receive your texts, and record the consent date and source in a custom field. Sort them into groups such as "supporters" and "volunteers," and tag the event or neighborhood where you met them.
4. A welcome series for new volunteers. A drip sequence (a series of texts sent on a schedule) can send each new volunteer a welcome text, the next training date and a reminder before their first shift.
5. Scheduled reminders. Schedule texts for the first day of early voting, the Saturday hours and primary day. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, each first message ends with "Reply STOP to opt out," and STOP replies are handled automatically.

Replies come into a shared inbox (an add-on at $12.49 a month, included on the Enterprise plan), so you and your team members can answer questions together (staffers see the inbox once you allow it). 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. For texting rules across the region, see campaign texting in the Midwest.

Start before filing opens

Check your residency and party record, find a notary and pick up the current forms before January 6. Then build the list of supporters you will rely on in April. When you are ready to reach them by text, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.