Whether you can run for mayor in Michigan in 2027 depends on your city charter. Three things must be true: your city holds its regular elections in odd-numbered years, your charter has the voters elect the mayor, and the mayor's seat is on the 2027 ballot. If all three are true, you file two copies of a notarized Affidavit of Identity and a nominating petition, signed by registered voters anywhere in the city, with your city clerk. In a city with an August primary, the deadline is 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 2027. In a city whose charter nominates by petition straight to the November ballot, it is 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20, 2027.
The number of signatures comes from your charter or, if the charter sets none, from a state chart based on your city's population. Because the mayor is elected citywide, every registered voter in the city can sign. The 2027 dates below are computed from state law, so confirm them with your clerk.
For the full picture of a Michigan city race, see our guide to running for local office in Michigan.
Step 1: Find out how your city chooses its mayor
Under Michigan's Home Rule City Act, each city charter provides for "the election of a mayor, who shall be the chief executive officer of the city," but "the city charter may provide for the selection of the mayor by the legislative body" (MCL 117.3). In other words, some cities elect their mayor directly, and in others the council chooses one of its members. State law also says a city officer's qualifications, nomination, election and term follow the charter, except where specific election law sections apply (MCL 168.321).
Ask your city clerk these questions:
- Does the city hold a regular election in 2027? A city may keep odd-year elections or move them to even years by a council resolution (MCL 168.642, 168.642a).
- Do the voters elect the mayor? If the council selects the mayor, the route to the office is a council seat.
- Is the mayor's seat on the 2027 ballot, and for what term? Terms are set by the charter. As one example, Grosse Pointe Farms posted for its 2025 election that its mayor is "elected for a two-year term" and that "City elections are held every odd year."
- Is the ballot partisan or nonpartisan, and is there an August primary? The charter decides both (MCL 117.3).
Two state rules affect terms. If a charter sets an odd number of years for an office elected at the odd-year November election, the term is one year longer than the charter says, so a three-year term becomes four years (MCL 168.644g). And a mayor elected on November 2, 2027 takes office at noon on Saturday, January 1, 2028, unless the charter sets an earlier date (MCL 168.644h).
Step 2: Check the qualifications
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
Your charter sets the qualifications for mayor (MCL 168.321; MCL 117.3). Ask the clerk for that section and look for any minimum period of residence in the city. The Bureau of Elections notes that candidates generally must be "qualified and registered" electors in the jurisdiction, so make sure your voter registration shows your current address in the city.
On the Affidavit of Identity, you swear that you are a United States citizen and that you meet the constitutional and statutory qualifications for the office (MCL 168.558). A false statement on the affidavit is perjury, a felony punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to five years in prison, or both.
If you file for more than one office with overlapping terms, you must choose one within three days after the filing deadline, unless the offices are combined or not incompatible. If you do not choose, you are disqualified for each (MCL 168.558).
Step 3: Gather citywide signatures
Find your number. If your charter sets a number for mayor, the charter controls. If not, the minimum comes from the state chart in MCL 168.544f, based on the population of the district, which for a mayor is the whole city, according to the most recent federal census (MCL 168.644f).
| City population | Nonpartisan petition (min to max) |
|---|---|
| 0 to 9,999 | 6 to 20 |
| 10,000 to 24,999 | 40 to 100 |
| 25,000 to 49,999 | 100 to 200 |
| 50,000 to 74,999 | 200 to 400 |
| 75,000 to 99,999 | 400 to 800 |
| 100,000 to 199,999 | 600 to 1,000 |
| 200,000 to 499,999 | 1,000 to 2,000 |
| 500,000 to 999,999 | 2,000 to 4,000 |
A party candidate in a city with partisan elections uses a partisan nominating petition, which needs half these numbers.
Watch for charter rules about where signatures come from. A charter can require signatures from across the city. Holland's 2025 election page, for example, required mayoral candidates to file "not less than 60 signatures of qualified electors with at least 10 from each of the six wards." Grosse Pointe Farms required 50 to 70 valid signatures in 2025. These are 2025 examples; ask your clerk for your own 2027 numbers.
Stay within the maximum. The Bureau of Elections says a candidate "may only submit up to the maximum number of signatures" for the office. Supplemental signatures may be filed before the deadline if you are short, within the maximum.
One mayoral petition per voter. A voter may not sign more petitions for the same office than there are people to be elected to it (MCL 168.544c). A city elects one mayor, so a voter may sign only one mayoral candidate's petition. If someone tells you they already signed for another candidate for mayor, thank them and move on.
Follow the circulating rules. Signers must be registered in your city on the date they sign. Each sheet covers one city, and if your city crosses a county line, each signer uses a sheet that lists their county. Every signature is made in the circulator's physical presence, and a virtual signature is not valid. The circulator, who must be at least 18 and a United States citizen, signs and dates the certificate at the bottom of each sheet after the last signature.
Door-to-door collection works well for a citywide petition. Beacon's guide to Michigan nominating petitions explains each line of the sheet and how to plan the drive.
Step 4: File with the city clerk
Use the Bureau of Elections' "Affidavit of Identity and Receipt of Filing." Enter the office, the election date, the term and exactly how your name should appear on the ballot, in upper and lowercase letters, without titles. Sign it in front of a notary; the date of notarization must match the date you sign.
File two copies of the affidavit with all of your petition sheets at the city clerk's office by 4 p.m. on your deadline (MCL 168.558). The filing counts only when every part is in the clerk's physical possession, so deliver it in person and ask for a filing receipt. For an April 20 filing, you may withdraw in writing until 4 p.m. on Friday, April 23, 2027, and written challenges to specific signatures may be filed until Tuesday, April 27, 2027 (both based on state law).
Step 5: The primary and the fall campaign
With one seat open, a mayor's race may not need a primary. If no more than twice as many candidates as seats file nonpartisan petitions, no primary is held for that office, and the candidates go straight to November, unless the charter provides otherwise (MCL 168.644f). For a single mayoral seat, that means two or fewer candidates. Holland's 2025 page described this pattern: an August primary only when more than two candidates filed. Some charters instead elect any candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote at the primary (MCL 168.644e).
If your race has a primary, it is on Tuesday, August 3, 2027. Absent voter ballots become available on Thursday, June 24, and the last day to register online or by mail is Monday, July 19 (both based on state law). The general election is on Tuesday, November 2, 2027, and polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on both days. Our Michigan 2027 city election calendar lists every date in order, and our general post on how to run for mayor covers planning a mayoral campaign in any state.
A citywide race needs more help than a ward race, so recruit volunteers early and divide the city into areas each can cover in an evening.
Step 6: Keep supporters informed by text
In a citywide race, texting helps you reach supporters from the first day of absent voting to election day. Set it up in CampaignCNX+ in the spring.
- Committee and Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that a political sender is a real campaign. It needs 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. In Michigan, a city candidate's committee files with the county clerk, so ask that office whether your filing can be viewed online, and contact Campaign Verify Support if it cannot. It costs $95, a request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029, and Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
- 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. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days.
- Your supporter group. Add only people who agreed in writing to receive campaign texts, record the consent date and source in a custom field, and tag them by neighborhood or event. A signature on your petition is not permission to text.
- Scheduled reminders. Schedule texts for June 24, July 19 and election day. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically. For example:
Hi [First name], it's [Name], running for Mayor. Absent voter ballots for the Aug 3 primary are available from your city clerk. Reply STOP to opt out.
100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. For texting rules across the region, see campaign texting in the Midwest.
Start with your charter
Before you print anything, read your charter's sections on the mayor's office, qualifications and nominations, and confirm with your clerk that the seat is on the 2027 ballot. When you are ready to keep supporters informed by text, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.
