To run for mayor of an Ohio city or village, you file a nominating petition signed by voters of your community with your county board of elections, along with a filing fee of $45 for a city or $30 for a village. State law sets a minimum of 50 signatures for a nonpartisan city race, and 10 or 50 for a village depending on its size, but many city charters set their own numbers, and some are much higher. Petitions are due by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 2027 in communities that nominate by petition alone, or by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, February 3, 2027 where a primary is held. The general election is Tuesday, November 2, 2027.
Under state law, a mayor serves a four-year term that begins on January 1 after the election. Not every city and village elects its mayor in 2027, so the first step is to confirm that the seat is on this year's ballot. For the full process across all local offices, see our guide to running for local office in Ohio.
Step 1: Confirm the mayor's seat is on the 2027 ballot
Mayors serve four-year terms, and each community's schedule depends on its history and, for charter cities, its charter. Your county board of elections publishes a 2027 schedule listing every office on the ballot. On the Franklin County schedules, for example, the mayor's office appears in Columbus, Bexley, Canal Winchester, Gahanna and Grandview Heights, and in several villages, including Harrisburg.
While you are on the schedule, note three more things: your deadline, your signature range and the petition form the board lists for your office.
Step 2: City mayor or village mayor
In Ohio, a municipality with 5,000 or more people at the last federal census is a city, and every other municipality is a village. State law treats the two offices differently.
City mayor
In a city that follows state law rather than its own charter, the mayor is elected for a four-year term beginning on January 1 after the election, and must be an elector of the city (a voter qualified to vote there). Many Ohio cities have adopted a charter, the city's own governing document, which can set different qualifications, duties and election rules for the mayor. If your city has a charter, read its sections on the mayor and on elections.
Village mayor
A village mayor is also elected for a four-year term beginning on January 1 after the election. The mayor must be an elector of the village and must have lived in the village for at least one year immediately before the election. Under state law, the village mayor presides over all regular and special meetings of the village council, as its president, but votes only to break a tie. The law also names the mayor the chief conservator of the peace in the village.
For both
When you sign the statement of candidacy on your petition, you declare under penalty of election falsification that you are an elector qualified to vote for the office. A mayor must keep living in the community for the whole term, or the office is forfeited. You also cannot file for mayor and for another municipal, township or school office at the same election. If you are weighing a council seat instead, our guide on how to run for city council in Ohio covers that race.
Step 3: Know your signature number
Under state law, the minimums for a mayor's race are:
| Situation | Minimum signatures | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan, village under 2,000 people | 10 | 30 |
| Nonpartisan, city or village of 2,000 or more | 50 | 150 |
| Party primary | 50 voters of your party | 150 |
Minor-party candidates in a party primary need half that number. A petition with more than three times the minimum is refused.
Charters can set very different numbers
Mayoral races are where charters most often change the rules. These examples come from the Franklin County Board of Elections 2027 schedules and are examples only:
- Columbus: at least 1,000 signatures, due February 3, with a five-person nominating committee named on the petition. The city holds a nonpartisan primary, and no primary is held for a contest with no more than two certified candidates.
- Gahanna: 50 to 100 signatures, due February 3, for a nonpartisan primary held for mayor only, at which two candidates are nominated.
- Bexley: 150 to 300, due August 4.
- Canal Winchester: 43 to 129, due August 4.
- Grandview Heights: at least 50, due August 4, and a signature dated more than 150 days before the general election is not valid.
- Franklin County villages such as Harrisburg: 10 to 30, due August 4.
Signatures must be affixed in ink, with each signer's date and voting address. The circulator (the person who collects the signatures) signs a statement on each paper saying they witnessed every signature. Collect a comfortable margin above your minimum, because some signatures are usually struck. For a full walkthrough of the form and the circulator's statement, see the Ohio nominating petition guide on Beacon, our canvassing app's site.
Step 4: File with your county board of elections
File with the board of elections of your county, or, if your city or village crosses a county line, with the board of the county that holds the major portion of its population. Pay the fee when you file: $45 for a city office ($20 filing fee plus a $25 Ohio Election Integrity Commission fee) or $30 for a village office ($10 plus $20). The fee is not refunded.
- Petition-only communities: 4 p.m. Wednesday, August 4, 2027.
- Communities with a primary: 4 p.m. Wednesday, February 3, 2027, for the primary on Tuesday, May 4, 2027. Party primary candidates file a declaration of candidacy with the petition.
- Independent candidates in cities with a party primary file a statement of candidacy and petition by 4 p.m. on the day before the primary. Franklin County's schedule shows 4 p.m. Monday, May 3, 2027 for Reynoldsburg, where the mayor's office is among those listed.
- Write-in candidates file a declaration of intent by 4 p.m. on Monday, February 22, 2027 for the primary, or Monday, August 23, 2027 for the general election.
Step 5: Run a citywide campaign
A mayoral race covers the whole community, so it usually needs more help than a ward or township race. Plan for it early:
- Recruit a small core team before you file: someone to manage volunteers, someone to schedule events and someone to keep your contact lists in order.
- Divide the community into areas and give each volunteer a part of it to walk, starting with the neighborhoods where the most people vote in odd-year elections.
- Meet the community's organizations, such as neighborhood associations and business groups, which often hold candidate forums.
- Plan for the fall voting dates. The Franklin County schedule shows voter registration closing at 9 p.m. on Monday, October 4, 2027 and early voting opening on Tuesday, October 5, 2027. Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
Our campaign plan to November 2, 2027 breaks the months after filing into stages, each with one main job.
Step 6: Set up texting for a campaign team in CampaignCNX+
A mayoral campaign often has several people answering supporters, so set up texting for a team. As in any race, text only people who agreed in writing to receive texts from your campaign, and record the date. A petition signature is not that agreement.
- Confirm your committee's filing is online before you request Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify, the check that confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that you are a real campaign, 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, and ask Campaign Verify Support how to proceed if it cannot. Campaign Verify decides eligibility. A request made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029.
- Choose a plan that fits your list. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. Monthly plans are Basic at $55 for 1,000 texts, Pro at $225 for 5,000 and Enterprise at $695 for 20,000, and unused plan texts roll over. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration and your Campaign Verify token.
- Add your team. Replies come into a shared inbox, an add-on at $12.49 a month that is included on Enterprise, so you and your team members can answer supporters' questions together (staffers see the inbox once you allow it).
- Set up a drip sequence for new volunteers. A drip sequence is a series of texts sent on a schedule. For example: a welcome text on sign-up, the details of the next volunteer training two days later, and a request to bring a friend a week after that.
Thanks for volunteering with [Name] for Mayor. Training is Saturday at 10 a.m. at our office. Reply STOP to opt out.
- Schedule within quiet hours. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in each recipient's time zone, and STOP, HELP and START replies are handled automatically.
Our page on texting for Midwest campaigns explains the setup in more detail.
Confirm the seat, then build the team
Look up the mayor's office on your county board's 2027 schedule, note your deadline and signature number, and recruit your core team before you start collecting signatures. When your committee is in place, start a CampaignCNX+ trial so your team can reach supporters before early voting begins.
