Wisconsin sets a fixed minimum and maximum number of signatures for each local office on the spring 2027 ballot. Most village and town offices need 20 to 100, an alderperson elected by district in most cities needs 20 to 40, and county supervisor candidates need between 20 and 400 depending on the county's population. Some school board candidates need no signatures at all. The ranges come from Wis. Stat. 8.10(3) and the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) 2027 ballot access checklists.
There is no percentage formula for spring nomination papers in Wisconsin: the requirement is a fixed range for your office. Collection may begin December 1, 2026, and your papers are due to your filing officer by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2027. This page gives the ranges by office, explains what makes a signature invalid, and suggests how many to collect.
For the whole process of getting on the ballot, see our guide to running for local office in Wisconsin.
City offices
Wisconsin cities are grouped into classes by population. The City of Milwaukee is the only 1st class city. Your city clerk can tell you which class your city is in.
| City | Office | Signatures (minimum to maximum) |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee (1st class) | Citywide office, such as mayor | 1,500 to 3,000 |
| Milwaukee (1st class) | Alderperson, by district | 200 to 400 |
| 2nd and 3rd class cities | Citywide office | 200 to 400 |
| 2nd and 3rd class cities | Alderperson, by district | 20 to 40 |
| 2nd and 3rd class cities | Alderperson elected at large | 100 to 200 |
| 4th class cities | Citywide office | 50 to 100 |
| 4th class cities | Alderperson, by district | 20 to 40 |
If your city elects an alderperson at large and is not a 2nd or 3rd class city, ask your city clerk for the number. In Milwaukee, the city election commission is the filing officer.
Village and town offices
Every village and town office that uses nomination papers needs 20 to 100 signatures. Many villages and towns, however, nominate candidates at a caucus instead:
- Villages use nomination papers only if the village board decided to by December 1, or if a primary is provided under state law. Otherwise the village holds a caucus.
- Towns use a caucus unless the town's voters adopted a nonpartisan primary, by referendum or at a town meeting. Towns with a nonpartisan primary use nomination papers.
Ask your municipal clerk which method your village or town uses before you collect anything.
County supervisor
County supervisor candidates file with the county clerk. The range depends on the county's population:
| County population | Signatures (minimum to maximum) |
|---|---|
| Over 750,000 | 200 to 400 |
| 100,000 to 750,000 | 100 to 200, or 50 to 200 if the county board adopted an ordinance setting that range |
| Under 100,000 | 20 to 100 |
WEC advises candidates in counties of 100,000 to 750,000 to confirm their number with the county clerk, since it depends on whether the county board acted.
School board
School board rules depend on the district, and many candidates need no signatures:
| District | Signatures (minimum to maximum) |
|---|---|
| Milwaukee Board of School Directors, by election district | 400 to 800 |
| District with territory in a 2nd class city | 100 to 200, or 20 to 100 if the board or annual meeting reduced it and the 2nd class city territory is 10 percent or less of the district |
| District with no territory in a 1st or 2nd class city, where the board required papers | 20 to 100 |
| District with no territory in a 1st or 2nd class city, where the board did not require papers | None; file a Declaration of Candidacy only |
In a district with no territory in a 1st or 2nd class city, nomination papers are required only if the board (or the annual meeting, in a common or union high school district) adopted a resolution by the last Tuesday in November. Every school board candidate files a Declaration of Candidacy (form EL-162sd) and a campaign registration statement with the school district clerk. If you are running for the Milwaukee at-large school board seat, confirm the number with the Milwaukee Election Commission. Our guide to running for school board in Wisconsin covers the rest of the process.
Municipal judge
A municipal judge who serves several municipalities needs 20 to 100 signatures, filed with the county clerk of the county with the largest share of the population. If you are running for municipal judge in a single municipality, ask your municipal clerk for the number.
What makes a signature invalid
Under the state's administrative code (EL 2.05), a signature is not counted if:
- it has no date, unless the date can be worked out from the dates around it;
- it is dated before December 1, 2026, or after the circulator signed and dated the certification at the bottom of the page;
- the address is missing or incomplete and cannot be worked out from the paper;
- the signer is not an eligible voter, lives outside the district, or was under 18 on the date of signing;
- the filing officer cannot make out a first and last name from the signature and printed name together; or
- the signer used a nickname or an initial for the last name.
Some mistakes strike a whole page. If the header is missing the election date, or if the circulator's address cannot be determined or the certification date is incomplete or wrong, none of the signatures on that page count. If a challenge to a page's header or circulation is upheld, every signature on that page falls.
A few things are not required: signers do not need to give an apartment number, state or ZIP code, and ditto marks are acceptable for a repeated address or date.
How many to collect
The minimum is the legal floor, not a target. Signatures are struck for the reasons above, and once your papers are filed you cannot add any. As an example only, not a rule: a village trustee candidate needing 20 might aim for 35 to 45, so that a page lost to a header mistake does not end the campaign. Stay within the maximum for your office. If you file more than the maximum, the filing officer reviews signatures beyond it only if the first ones do not yield enough valid signatures.
In a race with several seats, a voter may sign for as many candidates as there are seats they can vote for. In a single-seat race, a voter who signs for two candidates has only the earlier signature counted, so a neighbor who has already signed for your opponent does not help you.
For the form itself, the circulator's certification and a checklist for each page, see filling out and circulating Wisconsin nomination papers.
Step in the process: start a supporter list while you collect
Every signature you collect is a conversation with a voter in your district, and some of those voters will want to hear from you again. A signature on nomination papers is not permission to text, so carry a separate supporter sheet that says plainly the person agrees to receive campaign texts, with a line for the date.
Then enter those supporters into CampaignCNX+ each week:
- Create a supporter group. Messages are sent to groups, so only the people in the group receive them.
- Record consent. Use custom fields for the date each person agreed and where (for example, "door, Dec 5"), and tags for the neighborhood.
- Get verified before you send. Campaign Verify ($95 per two-year cycle) needs an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number) and a filing published online by an election authority. Wisconsin local candidates file their registration on paper with the local filing officer, so confirm your registration can be viewed online before requesting, and ask Campaign Verify Support if it cannot. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration and guides you through the request; Campaign Verify decides eligibility.
Your account includes 100 free SMS, and your number is $5 a month, with nothing sent until you buy it. If you are walking door to door to collect signatures, Beacon puts your walk list on a map in route order and records a survey answer such as "signed: yes or no" at each door. For the texting rules in general, see our political texting guide.
Collect with a margin, and keep the conversations
Know your range, collect well above the minimum, and keep a separate, dated list of the people who asked to hear from you. When you are ready to text them, start your CampaignCNX+ account.