How to run for local office in Iowa: the 2027 city and school guide

The short answer

2027 is Iowa's year for local elections. Every city holds its regular city election on Tuesday, November 2, 2027, and school boards and community college boards hold their elections at the same time, so the state calls it the city-school election. The offices on the ballot include mayors, city council members, school board directors and community college board directors. These races are nonpartisan, and there is no filing fee.

Every candidate gets on the ballot the same basic way: by collecting signatures on a nomination petition and filing it, together with a notarized affidavit of candidacy, during a short window in late summer. Candidates in cities with primary provisions file from Monday, August 9 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 26, 2027. All other city candidates, and all school board and community college board candidates, file from Monday, August 23 to 5 p.m. on Thursday, September 16, 2027. A city primary, where one is needed, is on Tuesday, October 5, and a city runoff, where a city chose one, is on Tuesday, November 30, 2027.

This guide walks through each step in order, using the Iowa Code (cited by section) and the Iowa Secretary of State's candidate guides and election calendar. A 2026 law, House File 2501, moved city and school board filing to the county auditor's office. This is not legal advice, so confirm anything specific to your office with your county auditor. If you have never run for anything before, our post on how to run for local office with no experience covers the groundwork that applies in any state.

What is on Iowa's 2027 ballot.

City offices. Every Iowa city holds a regular city election in odd-numbered years. Which seats are on your city's 2027 ballot depends on its form of government and its terms. State law sets two-year terms for elective city offices unless state law or the city charter provides otherwise, and a city's voters may change a term to two or four years by petition and special election (Iowa Code 376.2). Where terms are four years and staggered, only some seats are up in any one election. A newly incorporated city starts with the mayor-council form, which has a mayor and five council members elected at large unless the city changes its representation plan (372.1, 372.4). A city may also adopt wards, a council-manager form, a home rule charter or another of the forms listed in state law.

School boards. The regular school election is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year (277.1). School board directors serve four-year terms (274.7). Directors may be elected at large, from director districts by the voters of that district, or from director districts by the voters of the whole school district.

Community college boards. Iowa's community colleges are governed by boards of directors, with one member elected from each director district by that district's voters, for four-year terms (260C.11). The law calls each community college district a merged area. Their elections are held with the school election (260C.15).

County offices are not on the 2027 ballot. Iowa elects county offices in even-numbered years.

Ask your city clerk, school district office or county auditor which seats are on the ballot in 2027, how long each term is, and which ward or director district you live in.

Key 2027 dates at a glance.

The filing windows and the three election dates appear on the Secretary of State's 2025 to 2027 calendar. The dates marked "based on state law" are calculated from the Iowa Code. Our Iowa 2027 city and school election calendar lists every date in order and explains each one.

Step 1

Check that you qualify.

Be an eligible elector of the city, ward or district. A city candidate must be an eligible elector of the city when filing and at the election (376.4). A ward candidate must also live in the ward when filing and at the election. A school board candidate must be an eligible elector of the school district, and of the director district if the seat has one, at the time of the election. A community college candidate must be an eligible elector of the director district, and board members must live in the district they represent (260C.11, 260C.15).

What "eligible elector" means. An eligible elector meets every requirement to register to vote but does not have to be registered. The Secretary of State's guides list the requirements: a citizen of the United States, a resident of Iowa and at least 18 years old. An eligible elector may not be a convicted felon whose voting rights have not been restored by the president or the governor, may not be currently judged incompetent to vote by a court, and may not claim the right to vote anywhere else. Registering at your current address is still wise, so that you can vote in your own race.

Keep living in the district. At the time an elected official takes office, and for the whole term, they must live in the city, ward or district they were elected to serve (39.27).

One office per election, with one exception. You may not be a candidate for more than one office at the same election, except that you may be a candidate for a city office and a school board office at the same election (49.41). If you run for both, you file a separate set of nomination papers for each office.

One more limit. A community college board member may not also serve on a local school board or an area education agency board (260C.11).

Step 2

Find out how your city nominates, and where you file.

Iowa cities use one of three nomination methods, and the method decides your filing window and your signature number (376.6).

• Primary provisions. This is the default. A primary is held on October 5 only for offices where more than twice as many candidates file as there are seats. Candidates file from August 9 to August 26.
• Runoff provisions. By ordinance, the council chose a runoff on November 30 instead of a primary. Candidates file from August 23 to September 16.
• Chapter 45 nominations. By ordinance, the council chose nominations under chapter 45, with no primary and no runoff. Candidates file from August 23 to September 16.

Each city clerk certifies the city's method to the county auditor at least 90 days before the election, which is Wednesday, August 4, 2027 (based on state law). After that the method cannot change for this election. Some cities without primary provisions also allow nomination by a non-party political organization's convention, an uncommon route; ask your county auditor if you are considering it.

Where you file in 2027. Under House File 2501, effective July 1, 2026, city and school board candidates file their nomination papers with the county auditor, who serves as the county commissioner of elections. Older guides mention filing with a city clerk or the school board secretary, so do not rely on them for 2027. If your city or school district lies in more than one county, you file with the auditor of the county that has the largest taxable base in it (47.2). Community college candidates file with the secretary of the college's board of directors under 260C.15, a section the 2026 law did not change; confirm the filing place with the board secretary and your county auditor.

Step 3

Collect signatures on a nomination petition.

Every candidate needs signatures from eligible electors of the area the office serves. The minimum depends on the office and, for cities, on the nomination method:

As an example only, a school district with 3,000 registered voters would need 30 signatures. Ask your county auditor for your exact number in 2027, and collect more than the minimum, because signatures can be challenged.

Who may sign. Signers must be eligible electors of the city, and of the ward if the seat is voted on only by the ward's residents. Where council members must live in a ward but are elected by the whole city, signers may live anywhere in the city. School board and community college signers follow the same idea for director districts. You may sign your own petition if you are an eligible elector of the district, and a person may sign petitions for more than one candidate for the same office.

When to start. Iowa sets no first day for collecting signatures, but each signer must still be an eligible elector of the district when you file.

Paper only. Iowa petitions are paper pages, 8.5 by 11 inches, in the form the Secretary of State prescribes. Do not plan on electronic signatures. Each signer gives a signature (the state guides say it may be printed), a home address with house number, street and city, and the date. A line with only a post office box, a partial address or an address plainly outside the district is not counted (45.5). Community college signers also write the school district they live in.

The header on every page. Signatures count only on pages where the required candidate information is written at the top: your name, the office and district, the name and date of the election, and the statement that the signers are eligible electors and believe you are or will be a resident of the district (45.5). Complete one page's header, copy it, and check every page before anyone signs.

For a line-by-line walkthrough of the form and how to collect signatures door to door, see the Iowa nomination petition guide on Beacon, our canvassing app's site.

Step 4

Complete your affidavit and file.

The affidavit of candidacy. Each candidate files a signed, notarized affidavit on the Secretary of State's form at the same time as the petition (45.3). It gives your name exactly as it should appear on the ballot, with no parentheses, quotation marks or titles such as Dr. It also lists your home address, county, the office and district you seek, and several statements, including that you will qualify for the office if elected and that you know a felony conviction without restored rights disqualifies you. The state guides say to leave party affiliation blank. A notary must be present when you sign.

Papers that are rejected. The filing officer must reject papers if the affidavit is missing your name, the office and district, your signature or the notary's signature (45.5). Petition pages must be fastened together in a single bundle, or they are returned unexamined. Once signed, the petition and the notarized affidavit cannot be altered to fix a problem. You may file a corrected affidavit, or a rejected petition with added pages, only before the deadline.

Filing. File the affidavit and petition together, bound, by 5 p.m. on the last day of your window. You may file in person or by mail, but mailed papers count only if they are received by 5 p.m.; a postmark does not count. Keep a copy of everything, and file early so that you have time to fix a rejected filing.

Step 5

After you file.

Withdrawal. A city candidate may withdraw by filing a signed statement at least 42 days before the election, which is Tuesday, September 21, 2027, or at least 63 days before it in cities with primary provisions, which is Tuesday, August 31, 2027 (both based on state law). School board candidates withdraw with the county auditor by September 21. Community college candidates should ask the board secretary how to withdraw.

Objections. Anyone who could vote for a candidate for the office may file an objection to that candidate's papers or eligibility. For city offices, objections are due by 5 p.m. on September 21, or August 31 in primary cities. School board objections go to the county auditor by September 21. Under the 2026 law, city and school board objections are decided by a county panel of the auditor, the treasurer and the county attorney (44.7). Community college objections go to the board secretary by September 21. City nomination papers are open for public inspection once filed (376.4), so keep your own copy ready.

Primary or runoff. In a primary city, if more than twice as many candidates file for an office as there are seats, the October 5 primary narrows the field to twice the number of seats. In a runoff city, a candidate who wins a majority on November 2 is elected, and other seats go to the November 30 runoff.

Step 6

Plan the campaign around the voter dates.

From the close of filing to election day is 47 days, or 68 days in primary cities. Absentee voting can begin as early as Wednesday, October 13, once your county auditor's ballots are ready, and runs at the auditor's office through Monday, November 1. Voter registration and absentee applications close at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 18, though a person who misses that deadline may still register at their polling place on election day with proof of identity and residence.

If your campaign hands out absentee ballot applications, Iowa law limits what may be filled in ahead of time and where the form may be addressed (53.2). Read the rule or ask your county auditor first.

Conversations at the door are a practical way to reach voters in a local race, and petition season is your first round of them. Divide your city, ward or district into areas, knock on each area once before absentee voting opens, and return to the households that were undecided. Our campaign plan to the November 2, 2027 Iowa election turns these dates into a week-by-week schedule, with a branch for primary cities.

Step 7

Text the supporters who asked to hear from you.

Text messages help you reach supporters at the moments that matter: when absentee voting opens, before the registration deadline, and on election day. Set texting up in this order with CampaignCNX+.

1. Form your committee and get an EIN. Campaign Verify is the check that confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that a political sender is a real campaign. It is open to 527 committees (527 is the federal tax status of a political committee) that have an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number) and a filing with an election authority that is published online. Candidates with no committee, and sole proprietors, are not eligible. The Secretary of State's candidate guides send committee questions to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.
2. Check that your filing is viewable online. Before you request Campaign Verify, confirm that your committee's filing can be found online. If you cannot find it, contact Campaign Verify Support before you pay. Campaign Verify decides eligibility, and we cannot promise it.
3. Request at the right time. Campaign Verify costs $95 per two-year cycle, and the PIN goes only to the contact details on your filing. A request made before Sunday, November 15, 2026 expires on Sunday, January 31, 2027, long before filing opens in August. A request made on or after November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029, which covers the October primary, the November election and any runoff.
4. Open your account and let CampaignCNX+ file your registration. CampaignCNX+ files your carrier registration for you, either 10DLC (the registration for texting from a standard local-style number, a one-time $75 for your first local line) or toll-free. For a toll-free number, the carrier review usually takes about three business days. You buy the $95 Campaign Verify token from Campaign Verify, and CampaignCNX+ files it with your registration.
5. Add only people who gave written permission. Text supporters who gave prior express written consent, for example on a sign-up sheet that plainly says they agree to receive campaign texts, with the date recorded. Record the consent date and source in a custom field, tag where you met each person, and put supporters in a group. Never text everyone who signed your petition or everyone on a voter list.
6. Write short messages and schedule them. Keep each text under 160 characters, name the campaign, and end the first message with "Reply STOP to opt out." STOP, HELP and START replies are handled automatically. Texts send only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone.

100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month. For the full setup, read texting voters in an Iowa local race. Our post on Campaign Verify for local candidates explains verification in more depth, and our Midwest campaign texting page covers texting across the region.

Guides for each part of the race.

• Iowa 2027 city and school election calendar for candidates
• How to run for city council in Iowa
• How to run for mayor in Iowa
• How to run for school board in Iowa
• How to run for community college board in Iowa
• A campaign plan to the November 2, 2027 Iowa election
• Texting voters in an Iowa local race: consent and setup