How to Run for Township Supervisor in Minnesota

To run for township supervisor in a Minnesota town that votes in March, file an affidavit of candidacy with your town clerk between Tuesday, December 29, 2026 and Tuesday, January 12, 2027, and pay the $2 filing fee or present a petition in place of it. You must be an eligible voter, at least 21 when you take office, and a resident of the town for 30 days before the election. The town election is on Tuesday, March 9, 2027, together with the annual town meeting. Supervisors serve three-year terms, and no party nomination is involved.

Minnesota law calls these local governments "towns," and many people call them townships. The rules come from the Minnesota Statutes, and the 2027 dates are computed from them, marked "based on state law." Confirm every date and detail with your town clerk, who must publish a notice of the filing dates at least two weeks before filing opens.

For the wider picture, including city and school board races, see our guide to running for local office in Minnesota.

Step 1: Learn how your town board is set up

Three supervisors, staggered terms. By default, a town elects three supervisors, each for a three-year term, and each serves until a successor is elected and qualified (Minn. Stat. 367.03). The terms are staggered, so one supervisor seat is normally on the ballot each March.

Five-member boards. A town whose voters adopted "option A" has a five-member board (Minn. Stat. 367.30). When two supervisor seats with three-year terms are filled at the same election in an option A town, each candidate states on the affidavit which of the two offices they are filing for.

Vacancies. If a vacancy puts more than one supervisor seat on the ballot, candidates file for one specific term (Minn. Stat. 367.03, subd. 6).

The clerk and treasurer. In a town that elects them, the treasurer is elected in odd-numbered years and the clerk in even-numbered years, each for two years. So 2027 is a treasurer year. A town's voters may instead make either office appointed (option B) or combine the two offices (option D) (Minn. Stat. 367.03 and 367.30). The filing steps below apply to a treasurer candidate as well.

March or November. The town general election is on the second Tuesday in March unless the town moved it to November by a resolution or ordinance that its voters approved (Minn. Stat. 205.075). Supervisors elected in a November town serve four-year terms, and the dates in this guide do not apply to them.

Before you decide, ask your town clerk whether the town votes in March, which seats are open in 2027 and where candidates file.

Step 2: Check that you qualify

The affidavit of candidacy is a sworn statement that you meet these requirements (Minn. Stat. 204B.06):

• You are an eligible voter: at least 18, a United States citizen and a Minnesota resident for 20 days before the election, and not barred from voting because you are incarcerated for a felony, under a guardianship order that removes the right to vote or found legally incompetent by a court (Minn. Stat. 201.014).
• You are, or will be on taking office, at least 21 years old.
• You will have lived in the town for 30 days before the March 9 election.
• You have no other affidavit on file for the same election. There is one exception: a school board candidate may also file for town supervisor, unless the town board exercises the powers of a statutory city (Minn. Stat. 204B.06, subd. 9).

Proof of address. When you file, you must show the clerk a valid driver's license or state ID card with your current address, or another document accepted as proof of residence for election day registration. If the address on the affidavit does not match the document, the clerk must not accept the affidavit (Minn. Stat. 204B.06, subd. 1b). If your mailing address differs from the place you live, sort this out before December.

Step 3: File your affidavit of candidacy

Watch for the notice. Based on state law, the town clerk must publish a notice of the filing dates and closing time by Tuesday, December 15, 2026 (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 2).

File during the window. Based on state law, the window runs from Tuesday, December 29, 2026 to Tuesday, January 12, 2027, which is 70 to 56 days before the March 9 election (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 1a). On January 12, the clerk's office must be open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The window spans the holidays, so call the clerk early to arrange a time.

Where to file. File with the town clerk. With the county auditor's approval, the town clerk may authorize candidates to file with the county auditor instead (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 1). Ask which applies in your town.

What the affidavit asks for. Get the form from the clerk. It asks for the office (and the specific seat, where more than one is open), your name as it should appear on the ballot with a note on how to pronounce it, a telephone number, a non-government email address for you or your campaign (or a statement that you have none), and your current home address. You may ask that your home address be kept private, in which case it goes on a separate form.

Pay the fee. The filing fee for a town office is $2 (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 3). It is not refunded once you have filed. When the clerk receives your affidavit and the fee, your name goes on the ballot without a party label.

If you change your mind. Based on state law, you may withdraw by filing an affidavit of withdrawal with the clerk by 5 p.m. on Thursday, January 14, 2027. After that, no candidate may withdraw (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 6).

Step 4: Decide whether to use a petition instead of the fee

You may present a petition in place of the $2 fee when you file your affidavit (Minn. Stat. 205.13, subd. 4, and 204B.11, subd. 2). The petition replaces only the fee. You still file the affidavit.

• Signatures needed: the lesser of 500 or 5 percent of the votes cast in the town at the last general election at which the office was on the ballot. As an example only, if 240 votes were cast, you would need 12 signatures.
• Who may sign: any person eligible to vote for you.
• The form: the clerk must provide a sample petition form on request.
• Timing: the petition is presented with your affidavit, so it must be complete before you file.

With a $2 fee, paying is usually the simpler choice. If you want to use a petition, ask your town clerk for the number before you start.

Step 5: Plan an eight-week campaign

Filing closes on January 12, and the election is eight weeks later. The dates that shape those weeks are:

• Early February 2027: for a March town election, voters may vote absentee in person during the 30 days before the election (Minn. Stat. 203B.081). Ask your town clerk or county auditor for the first day, the place and the hours.
• Tuesday, February 16, 2027 (based on state law): the last day to register before election day, by 5 p.m. in person or by mail or by 11:59 p.m. online. Eligible voters may also register at the polls on March 9 with proof of residence (Minn. Stat. 201.061).
• Tuesday, March 9, 2027 (based on state law): the town election and annual town meeting. Polling hours vary by town, so ask the clerk.
• Tuesday, March 16, 2027 (based on state law): the backup date if the clerk postpones the election and meeting because of storm warnings or travel advisories (Minn. Stat. 365.51).

A practical plan for a town race is to list the roads and neighborhoods in the town, visit each one in January and early February, and return to households that asked questions. Attend town board meetings in the weeks before the election so you understand the matters the board is handling. Our campaign plan to Minnesota's March 9, 2027 town elections turns these weeks into a weekly schedule, and the Minnesota 2027 local election calendar lists every date.

Step 6: Keep supporters informed by text

Set up texting in CampaignCNX+ before filing opens, because the campaign is short.

1. Settle your committee first. Texting for a campaign 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 (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. Ask your town clerk or county auditor whether your committee's filing is posted online, and contact Campaign Verify Support before you pay if it is not.
2. Mind the date. A Campaign Verify request made before Sunday, November 15, 2026 expires on Sunday, January 31, 2027, five weeks before the town election. A request made on or after November 15, 2026 lasts until January 31, 2029. It costs $95, and Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
3. 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. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days.
4. Add only supporters who agreed in writing. Use a sign-up sheet that plainly says the person agrees to receive campaign texts, with the date. In CampaignCNX+, put these supporters in a group and record the consent date and source in a custom field. Signing a fee petition is not consent to texts.
5. Schedule your reminders. Use the first-name merge field and end the first message with the opt-out line:

Hi [First name], this is [Name], running for Town Supervisor. Registration before election day closes Tue, Feb 16. Reply STOP to opt out.

Today is the town election. If you are not registered yet, you can register at your polling place. Thank you, [Name]

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 texting rules across the region, see campaign texting in the Midwest.

Get ready before December 29

Confirm with your clerk that your town votes in March and which seat is open, check that your license shows your current address, and decide between the $2 fee and a petition. When you are ready to keep supporters informed by text, start a CampaignCNX+ trial.