Wisconsin towns elect their town board members at the spring election, which falls on Tuesday, April 6, 2027. There are two ways onto that ballot, and your town has already chosen one of them. By default, a town nominates candidates at a caucus, a public meeting of the town's voters held between January 2 and January 21, 2027. A town whose voters adopted a nonpartisan primary uses nomination papers instead: you collect 20 to 100 signatures starting December 1, 2026, and file them with the town clerk by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2027.
Under state law, towns nominate by caucus unless the electors, by referendum or at a town meeting, adopted a nonpartisan primary, in which case nomination papers are used (Wis. Stat. 8.05(1)(a), 8.05(3)(a)). This guide explains both paths and what the two have in common. Rules come from Wisconsin statutes and the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) 2027 ballot access checklists. Confirm the details for your town with your town clerk, who is the filing officer for town offices.
For an overview of every local office in the state, see our guide to running for local office in Wisconsin.
First, ask your town clerk which path your town uses
Call or visit the town clerk and ask:
- Does the town nominate by caucus or by nomination papers for the April 6, 2027 election?
- Which town board seats are on the ballot this spring, and are the supervisor seats numbered or unnumbered?
- If the town holds a caucus, what date and place has the town board set?
The answers decide your calendar. A caucus candidate's main event is a single night in January. A nomination paper candidate's main work runs through December.
What both paths have in common
Qualifying for the office
Every town board candidate files a Declaration of Candidacy (WEC form EL-162), sworn before an officer authorized to administer oaths, such as a notary. In it you state the name you want on the ballot and that you meet the age, citizenship, residency and voting qualifications. You also state that you have not been convicted of a misdemeanor designated as a violation of the public trust or of a felony for which you have not been pardoned, and you list your municipality and street address (Wis. Stat. 8.21).
Registering your campaign
You also file a campaign registration statement (form CF-1) with the town clerk. The threshold is $0. You become a candidate under campaign finance law when you file nomination papers, are nominated by caucus, receive a contribution, or spend money to seek office, and you must register as soon as practicable after that. Your name cannot appear on the ballot without a registration statement for the election.
If you do not expect contributions, spending and obligations combined to pass $2,500 in a calendar year, you may claim an exemption from filing campaign finance reports. You still have to register, and you still have to keep records of every dollar in and out. Our explainer on campaign registration for Wisconsin local candidates covers this in full.
The election itself
Spring ballots carry no party labels. The order of names on the ballot is set by drawing lots. The town board election is on Tuesday, April 6, 2027.
Path 1: Nomination by caucus
When the caucus happens
The town board sets the caucus date, and the caucus is held between Saturday, January 2 and Thursday, January 21, 2027. State law says "preference should be given" to January 21 (Wis. Stat. 8.05(1)(a)). Your clerk will tell you the date your town chose.
Who gets nominated
At the caucus, the town's voters choose the nominees. For each office, the two candidates who receive the most votes are nominated. For unnumbered town supervisor seats, where several seats are filled together, the number nominated is twice the number of seats to be filled (Wis. Stat. 8.05(1)(h)). Those nominees then appear on the April ballot.
Caucus procedures beyond these basic rules, such as how a tie is settled or whether a caucus can be reconvened, were not part of our research. Ask your clerk how your town runs its caucus before the night itself.
What to file after the caucus
Being nominated at the caucus makes you a candidate. After the clerk notifies you of your nomination, you must file your Declaration of Candidacy (EL-162) and campaign registration statement (CF-1) by 5 p.m. on the fifth day after notification. The clerk then draws lots for ballot order no later than the end of the third day after all candidates have qualified.
If you have already registered because you raised or spent money before the caucus, confirm with the clerk that your existing registration covers this election.
How to prepare for a caucus
A caucus rewards turnout on one night. The work looks like this:
- Tell people you are running, early. Talk to neighbors in December and ask whether they plan to attend.
- Make sure supporters know the date, time and place. Many people do not know their town holds a caucus at all.
- Ask a few supporters to bring others. A handful of committed people who each bring two or three neighbors can make a real difference at a small meeting.
- Follow up the day before. A short reminder to people who said they would come is often the difference between intending to attend and attending.
Path 2: Nomination papers
How many signatures
If your town adopted a nonpartisan primary, all town offices require at least 20 and no more than 100 signatures on the WEC form EL-169, Nomination Paper for Nonpartisan Office.
When and how to circulate
Circulation may begin on Tuesday, December 1, 2026. Signatures dated before then are not counted. Each signer must live in the town, be an eligible voter, and be at least 18 on the day they sign. Each signer writes their signature, a printed name, their municipality of residence, their street and number, and the date.
The circulator, the person who collects the signatures, may be any qualified Wisconsin elector, or any U.S. citizen age 18 or older who would not be disqualified from voting if they lived in Wisconsin. You may circulate your own papers. The circulator completes and dates the certification at the bottom of each page. Our walkthrough on filling out and circulating Wisconsin nomination papers covers each line of the form.
What to file and when
File your nomination papers, your Declaration of Candidacy (EL-162) and your campaign registration statement (CF-1) with the town clerk by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2027. Nomination papers must be originals; photocopies, faxes and emails are not accepted. A faxed or emailed EL-162 or CF-1 must be followed by the original, postmarked by January 5.
An incumbent who will not run must file a Notification of Noncandidacy (EL-163) by 5 p.m. on Friday, December 25, 2026, which falls on Christmas Day, so ask your clerk how the office will handle it. If an incumbent neither files nor gives notice, other candidates for that office get 72 more hours, to 5 p.m. on Friday, January 8, 2027.
Challenges
Challenges to nomination papers are due by 5 p.m. on the third calendar day after the filing deadline, which is Friday, January 8, 2027 (computed under state rules). A challenged candidate responds within three calendar days, and the clerk decides.
Whether a primary is held
In a town using the nonpartisan primary, a primary is held only when the number of candidates is more than twice the number of seats (Wis. Stat. 8.05(5)). If one is held, it is on Tuesday, February 16, 2027, and only the winners appear on the April ballot.
Keep in touch with the people who support you
Whichever path your town uses, the people you meet along the way are the core of your campaign. Ask each supporter whether you may text them campaign updates, and keep that permission on a separate sign-up sheet that says plainly they agree to receive texts, with the date. A signature on a nomination paper or attendance at a caucus is not permission to text.
Send caucus and election reminders with CampaignCNX+
CampaignCNX+ handles the parts of texting that a small town campaign should not have to figure out alone.
- Open your account. Each new account includes 100 free SMS. Your number is $5 a month, and nothing sends until you buy it.
- Let us file the carrier registration. The carriers are the mobile phone companies. They require campaigns texting from a local-style number to register, a process called 10DLC. CampaignCNX+ files it for you and guides you through Campaign Verify, the check that confirms to the carriers that you are a real campaign. Campaign Verify needs your committee's EIN (its federal tax ID number) and a filing published online by an election authority, so read our guide to texting voters in a Wisconsin local race before you request it.
- Group your supporters. Put people who promised to attend the caucus in one group and everyone else in another, so each message goes to the people it is meant for.
- Send the reminder and read the replies. A message such as "The town caucus is Thursday at 7 p.m. at the town hall. Can you make it?" goes to the group you choose. Replies come into a two-way inbox, opt-outs are handled automatically, and messages are scheduled only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
For more about how political texting works, see our political texting guide.
A short summary
- Towns nominate by caucus unless their voters adopted a nonpartisan primary; ask the clerk which applies.
- Caucus: held January 2 to 21, 2027; the top two per office are nominated (twice the seats for unnumbered supervisor seats); file EL-162 and CF-1 within five days of notification.
- Nomination papers: 20 to 100 signatures from December 1, 2026; file by 5 p.m. January 5, 2027; challenges due January 8.
- A primary in a nonpartisan-primary town happens only when candidates exceed twice the seats.
- The town board election is April 6, 2027.
Get your reminders ready
Set up your account before the caucus or the filing deadline, so your supporters hear from you when it counts.