How to run for local office in Michigan: the 2027 city guide

The short answer

In Michigan, the local races of 2027 are city races, and only in cities whose charters set their elections in odd-numbered years. To run for one of those city offices, you file two copies of a notarized Affidavit of Identity and a nominating petition, signed by registered voters of your city or ward, with your city clerk. In a city that nominates at a primary, the deadline is 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20, 2027, for the primary on Tuesday, August 3. In a city whose charter nominates by petition straight to the November ballot, the deadline is 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20, 2027, for the election on Tuesday, November 2. The number of signatures comes from your city charter or, if the charter sets none, from a state chart based on population. For example, a nonpartisan candidate in a city of 10,000 to 24,999 people needs at least 40 valid signatures and may file no more than 100.

School boards, townships, villages and judges are not on the 2027 ballot, because Michigan elects them in even-numbered years. If you hoped to run for one of those offices, ask your county clerk when the seat is next elected.

The rules below come from the Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL) and the Bureau of Elections' manuals and forms. We found no 2027 Bureau of Elections calendar, so the 2027 dates are computed from state law and marked that way. Your charter controls much of the process, so confirm every number and date with your city clerk. This is not legal advice. 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 Michigan's 2027 ballot, and what is not.

City offices. The Bureau of Elections lists city offices as "Mayor, City Clerk, City Council, and other offices provided for in the city charter." The charter decides which of these are elected. Under the Home Rule City Act, a charter provides for an elected mayor and an elected council, but it may let the council choose the mayor, and it may provide for the clerk and treasurer to be elected or appointed (MCL 117.3). State law says a city officer's qualifications, nomination, election, term and removal follow the city charter, except where specific election law sections apply (MCL 168.321).

Not on the 2027 ballot:

• School boards. School board members are elected at the November general election in even-numbered years (MCL 168.642c).
• Townships. Township officers are elected at the November election in even-numbered years (MCL 168.358).
• Villages. Villages hold their regular election at the even-year general election and hold no regular primary (MCL 168.642).
• Judges. Judicial offices are elected in even years.

Cities on other schedules. A city may move its elections to even years by council resolution (MCL 168.642a), and a few cities may hold their regular election in May, so neighboring cities can be on different schedules.

Step 1

Find out whether your city votes in 2027.

We found no official statewide list of the cities that elect in 2027. The Bureau of Elections tells election officials to "consult your city charter and any associated resolution to determine your schedule," and that is also the right first step for a candidate.

1. Call or visit your city clerk. The city clerk runs city elections and accepts city candidate filings. You can look up your clerk's office at Michigan.gov/Vote.
2. Read the election chapter of your charter. Ask the clerk for a copy, and ask whether a council resolution has moved the city's elections.
3. Ask which seats are up. A council may have staggered terms, so only some seats may be on the 2027 ballot. As one example, Grosse Pointe Farms posted for its 2025 election that "City elections are held every odd year," with a two-year term for mayor and staggered four-year terms for council members.
4. Ask how your city nominates. The answer tells you your deadline: an August primary, a petition straight to November, or, in a few cities, a May election.

Key 2027 dates at a glance.

Our Michigan 2027 city election calendar lists every date in order, including voter registration and write-in deadlines.

Step 2

Check that you qualify.

Your charter sets the qualifications. Because a city officer's qualifications follow the charter (MCL 168.321; MCL 117.3), ask your clerk for the charter section on qualifications for your office. A charter may set a minimum period of residence in the city, or in a ward for a ward seat. The Bureau of Elections notes that candidates generally must be "qualified and registered" electors in the jurisdiction where they file.

You will swear to it. On the Affidavit of Identity, you state that you are a United States citizen and that you meet the constitutional and statutory qualifications for the office (MCL 168.558). The affidavit is signed in front of a notary, and a false statement on it is perjury, a felony punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to five years in prison, or both.

Run for one office at a time. If you file for more than one office with terms that overlap, you must choose one within three days after the filing deadline, unless the offices are combined or not incompatible. If you do not choose, you are disqualified for each of them (MCL 168.558).

Our guides on running for city council in Michigan and running for mayor in Michigan cover each office in more detail.

Step 3

Learn how your city nominates.

The Home Rule City Act lets each charter choose how candidates are nominated: by partisan or nonpartisan primary, by petition, or by convention (MCL 117.3). Your route determines your deadline.

Cities with an August primary

Under state law, an officer elected at the odd-year general election on Tuesday, November 2, 2027 is nominated at the odd-year primary on Tuesday, August 3, unless the charter provides another route (MCL 168.644e). Nominating petitions are due by 4 p.m. on the fifteenth Tuesday before the primary, which is Tuesday, April 20, 2027 (MCL 168.644f, based on state law). The same deadline applies where a charter elects at the primary any candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the votes for the office (MCL 168.644e).

Cities that nominate by petition straight to November

If your charter provides for nomination by petition or affidavit directly for the general election, the deadline is 4 p.m. on the fifteenth Tuesday before the November election: Tuesday, July 20, 2027 (MCL 168.644e, based on state law). These candidates skip the primary.

Cities that elect in May

A few cities may hold their regular election on the May date under a resolution adopted years ago, with no primary (MCL 168.642). If such a charter nominates by petition directly for the May election, the deadline is 4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 19, 2027 (MCL 168.322, based on state law). Ask your clerk whether this applies to you.

When there is no primary

Even in a primary city, a race may skip the primary. If, when the filing period closes, no more than twice as many candidates as seats have filed nonpartisan petitions for an office, no primary is held for that office, and the candidates with valid petitions become the nominees, unless the charter provides otherwise (MCL 168.644f). For example, if one seat is open and two candidates file, both go straight to the November ballot.

Partisan or nonpartisan

A charter may provide for partisan, nonpartisan or other ballots (MCL 117.3). Nonpartisan candidates use a nonpartisan nominating petition, which "shall contain no reference to any political party" (MCL 168.544a). Party candidates in a partisan city use a partisan nominating petition, which needs half as many signatures. A candidate with no party in a partisan city files a different form, a qualifying petition, so ask your clerk for the rules that apply.

Step 4

Collect your petition signatures.

How many

If your charter sets a number, the charter controls. If it does not, the minimum comes from a state chart based on the population of the district involved, according to the most recent federal census (MCL 168.544f, 168.644f).

A charter may set its own numbers. Two examples from 2025 city clerk pages show how different they can be. Holland required mayor and at-large council candidates to file "not less than 60 signatures of qualified electors with at least 10 from each of the six wards," and ward candidates to file "not less than 20 and not more than 40" from their ward. Grosse Pointe Farms required "no less than 50 valid signatures and no more than 70." Ask your clerk for your own office's numbers for 2027.

The maximum matters as much as the minimum. The Bureau of Elections says a candidate "may only submit up to the maximum number of signatures" for the office. Before the deadline, you may file supplemental signatures if you are short, as long as your total stays within the maximum.

Who can sign and who can circulate

• Signers must be registered to vote in your city, and in your ward or district if the seat has one, on the date they sign.
• One city or township per sheet. Each sheet lists one city or township, and every signer on it must be registered there (MCL 168.544c). If your city crosses a county line, each signer must use a sheet that lists their county.
• One signature per seat. A voter may not sign more petitions for the same office than there are people to be elected to it (MCL 168.544c).
• Circulators (the people who collect the signatures) must be at least 18 and United States citizens. They do not have to be registered voters or Michigan residents, but a non-resident must check the out-of-state line on the circulator's certificate. Only one circulator may work on each sheet.

In person, on paper

Every signature is made in the circulator's physical presence. The Bureau of Elections states that "a signature made outside of sight of a circulator, including a virtual signature, is not valid," and that a circulator "may not leave a petition sheet unattended at any time." After the last signature, the circulator signs and dates the certificate at the bottom of the sheet. Any signature dated after the certificate is invalid.

Beacon's guide to Michigan nominating petitions goes through the sheet line by line, with the rules for signers and circulators and how to plan a petition drive door to door.

Step 5

Complete your Affidavit of Identity and file.

Use the current form. The Bureau of Elections' form for non-judicial offices is the "Affidavit of Identity and Receipt of Filing." It asks for your legal name and registered address, the office and ward or district, the election date, the term, and exactly how your name should appear on the ballot, in upper and lowercase letters, without titles such as "Dr."

Sign it in front of a notary. The notary's section must be complete, and the date of notarization must match the date you signed. If you find an error, you cannot fix it at the counter; you complete and notarize a new affidavit before the deadline.

File two copies with your petitions. File two copies of the affidavit, or an original and a photocopy, with your nominating petition sheets at the city clerk's office (MCL 168.558). A filing counts only when every part is in the clerk's physical possession, so a mailed filing that arrives after 4 p.m. on the deadline is late. Someone else may deliver your filing if it is complete and notarized. Ask for a filing receipt showing the date, the time and the number of sheets.

Know the dates that follow. For an April 20 filing, you may withdraw in writing until 4 p.m. on Friday, April 23, 2027, and written challenges naming specific signatures may be filed until Tuesday, April 27, 2027 (both based on state law). The clerk checks each signer's registration and compares each signature with the one on file.

Step 6

Plan the campaign around the August 3 primary.

From the April 20 deadline to the August 3 primary is fifteen weeks. The voter dates that matter most in that stretch are these:

• Thursday, June 24, 2027: absent voter ballots become available. Any registered voter may vote one without giving a reason during the 40 days before an election (based on state law).
• Monday, July 19, 2027: the last day to register online or by mail (based on state law). From Tuesday, July 20 through election day, voters can register in person at their clerk's office with proof of residency.
• Saturday, July 31 or Sunday, August 1, 2027: the clerk must be available at least eight hours on that weekend for absent voter ballots.
• Tuesday, August 3, 2027: polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Early in-person voting is guaranteed for statewide and federal elections. For a local-only election, the clerk may offer it but does not have to, so ask before you mention it to supporters.

Most local campaigns are won at the door. Ask your clerk how to obtain a list of registered voters in your city or ward, divide it into areas you can cover in an evening, and return to undecided households. Our campaign plan to the August 3, 2027 Michigan city primary turns these dates into a week-by-week schedule. If your race goes straight to November, the same pattern applies to the fall: absent voter ballots on Thursday, September 23, online and mail registration through Monday, October 18, and the election on Tuesday, November 2, 2027.

Step 7

Text the supporters who asked to hear from you.

Texts help you reach supporters when absent voter ballots go out and in the last days of the campaign. 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. In Michigan, a city candidate's committee files its statement of organization with the county clerk, not the city clerk.
2. Check that your filing is viewable online. Before you request Campaign Verify, ask the county clerk whether your committee filing can be found online. If it cannot, 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. A request made on or after November 15, 2026 lasts until Wednesday, January 31, 2029, which covers every 2027 city election.
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, and the free texts can be used once your number is bought and approved. After that, pay-as-you-go texting costs $0.06 per SMS segment, and the Basic plan is $55 a month for 1,000 texts. For the full setup, read texting voters in a Michigan 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.

• Michigan 2027 city election calendar for candidates
• How to run for city council in Michigan
• How to run for mayor in Michigan
• A campaign plan to the August 3, 2027 Michigan city primary
• Texting voters in a Michigan local race: consent and setup