How to Run for Township Supervisor in Pennsylvania (2027)

To run for township supervisor in a Pennsylvania township of the second class, you must be a voter of the township who has lived there continuously for at least one year before the election. Supervisors serve six-year terms, and one supervisor is elected in each such township at every municipal election, including Tuesday, November 2, 2027. To seek the Democratic or Republican nomination, you collect at least 10 valid signatures from registered members of your party who live in the township, between Tuesday, February 16 and Tuesday, March 9, 2027. You file the petition, a notarized candidate's affidavit and a Statement of Financial Interests by March 9. There is no filing fee, and the primary is on Tuesday, May 18, 2027.

The February 16, March 9 and May 18 dates are calculated from state law, so confirm them with your county board of elections. For the steps every local candidate follows, see our guide to running for local office in Pennsylvania. This post covers what is specific to township supervisor.

First, check your township's class

Pennsylvania has townships of the first class and townships of the second class, and they are governed under different laws. The Second Class Township Code, which this post follows, provides for an elected board of supervisors. Townships of the first class are governed under a separate code that this post does not cover. If you are not sure which class your township is, ask the township office or your county board of elections.

If you live in a borough rather than a township, the elected body is a borough council instead, and our guide to running for borough council in Pennsylvania covers that office.

The board of supervisors

Under the Second Class Township Code:

• Three supervisors, or five. Each township elects three supervisors. Voters can add two more seats by referendum, started by a petition of 5 percent of the township's voters or by a resolution of the board. The total may not exceed five, and a later referendum can return the township to three.
• Six-year terms, one seat at a time. At each municipal election, voters elect one supervisor for a six-year term. A township with five supervisors, or with a vacancy, may also have an extra seat or a shorter term on the ballot. Your county board of elections can tell you which supervisor seats are on your 2027 ballot.
• Taking office. A supervisor elected on November 2, 2027 takes office on the first Monday of January, which is Monday, January 3, 2028 (based on state law).

Voters in a township also elect three auditors and a tax collector. No one may hold more than one elected township office at a time. A supervisor may hold an appointed township position that the law does not prohibit, and the code says plainly that a supervisor may serve on the township planning commission.

Who can run

The code sets two residency rules for supervisors:

• Voter of the township. No one may serve as supervisor unless they are a voter of the township.
• One year of residence. Supervisors must live in the township, and must have lived there continuously for at least one year before their election.

Other rules may also apply to you:

• School directors. The Public School Code says a township supervisor is not eligible to serve as a school director, so the two offices cannot be held together.
• Offices you already hold. The candidate's affidavit says you are not running for an office you already hold whose term does not end in the same year.
• Election board members. A judge of elections or an inspector of elections is not eligible for any office voted on at an election where that officer serves, other than an election office. If you serve on your precinct's election board, talk with your county board before the primary about who will serve in your place.

If you are unsure about any of these, ask your county board of elections or an election attorney before you circulate.

Your nomination petition

Township supervisor falls under the Election Code's line for "all other public and party offices," which requires at least 10 valid signatures. Each signer must be a registered and enrolled member of your party and a qualified voter of the township. Because Pennsylvania's primaries are closed, voters registered in the other party, or with no party, cannot sign your petition.

• Dates. Circulation begins Tuesday, February 16, 2027, and a signature counts only if it is dated from February 16 through Tuesday, March 9, 2027 (based on state law).
• One petition per seat. Each voter may sign petitions for only as many candidates as there are seats. In a race for a single supervisor seat, that means one. A voter who signs two petitions for the same seat on the same date has neither signature counted once an objection is raised.
• Circulators. The person who collects the signatures (the circulator) must be a Pennsylvania voter enrolled in your party, and completes a statement at the bottom of each sheet. If you are enrolled in that party, you may circulate your own petition.
• Margin. Collect well above 10, because signatures fail when a signer is registered in another party, lives outside the township or leaves out the date.

Beacon's guide to Pennsylvania nomination petitions covers the petition rules in more detail.

What to file by March 9

By the county board of elections' ordinary closing time on Tuesday, March 9, 2027 (based on state law), file:

1. Your nomination petition, with the sheets bound together and numbered at the foot of each page.
2. Your candidate's affidavit, notarized. If you cannot obtain a notarization, the Department of State allows an Unsworn Statement in Lieu of Notarization.
3. Your Statement of Financial Interests for the 2026 calendar year, an ethics disclosure. File it with the township by March 9 and attach a copy to your petition. A petition without it cannot be accepted, and leaving it out is a fatal defect.

The Election Code charges no filing fee for township offices. After filing, objections are due in court by Tuesday, March 16, and the last day to withdraw is Wednesday, March 24, 2027 (both based on state law). Our Pennsylvania 2027 municipal election calendar lists every date through Election Day.

Let supporters sign up by text with a keyword

Some supporters will learn about your campaign from a yard sign, a flyer or a neighbor rather than at their door. A keyword lets them join your text list on their own. With the keywords add-on in CampaignCNX+ ($20 a month), a person texts a word such as JOIN to your campaign number, and your keyword reply (a set response sent automatically) confirms what they signed up for. Set it up in this order:

1. Check your committee filing, then request Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify is the check that confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that you are a real campaign. It costs $95 per two-year cycle, is for 527 committees (the federal tax status of a political committee), and needs your committee's EIN (its federal tax ID number) and an election-authority filing published online. The PIN goes only to the contact details on that filing, and candidates with no committee are not eligible. First ask your county board of elections whether your local committee filing can be viewed online. If it cannot, ask Campaign Verify Support how to proceed before you pay. Campaign Verify decides eligibility. Request it on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026, so it lasts until January 31, 2029.
2. Open your account. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration, including the Campaign Verify token you buy from Campaign Verify. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month.
3. Print plain consent language beside the keyword. For example: "Text JOIN to [number] for campaign updates from Smith for Supervisor. Msg frequency varies. Msg and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help. Reply STOP to opt out."
4. Write a keyword reply that confirms the sign-up.

Thanks for joining Smith for Supervisor updates. I'll text a few key dates before the May 18 primary. Reply STOP to opt out.

5. Schedule your reminders to the people who joined. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and STOP replies are handled automatically.

Keep using paper sign-up sheets at the doors as well, with the date recorded. A petition signature is not permission to text, so never text everyone who signed your petition or everyone on a voter list. For more on the rules, see our political texting guide.

Start this winter

The petition window is three weeks long, and a supervisor's term is six years, so the preparation is worth doing carefully. Confirm your township's class and your seat, prepare your ethics form, and set up your texting before February 16. Start a trial once your committee filing is online.