//Run for office · Arizona

How to run for local office in Arizona

Most Arizona votes arrive by mail through the Active Early Voting List, and county recorders must hand party chairs a free list of returned early ballots, so a local campaign lives on the early-voting file.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

Arizona is an early-voting state. Any voter can join the Active Early Voting List (AEVL) and get a ballot by mail for every election, or make a one-time request; early voting opens 27 days before election day and mailed ballots must be back in the recorder's hands by 7 p.m. on election day. Since 2014 state law has pushed candidate elections onto two even-year dates, the August primary and the November general, so most city council, school board, and county races share a ballot with the state ticket.

Local candidates deal with local officers, not the Secretary of State. Nomination papers for a city or town go to the city or town clerk, school board papers go to the county school superintendent, and county papers go to the county elections office; campaign finance reports follow the same split. The state sets the filing clock (120 to 150 days before the election), the signature formulas, and the contribution limits, and the counties sell the voter file at a statutory fee.

Election authority: Arizona Secretary of State, Election Services Division
Voter file: Available for political and election purposes · Statutory fee schedule in A.R.S. 16-168(E), applied by every county: $93.75 plus $0.0005 per record for 1 to 124,999 records; $156.25 plus $0.000375 per record for 125,000 to 249,999; $203.13 plus $0.00025 for 250,000 to 499,999; $265.63 plus $0.000125 for 500,000 to 999,999; $328.13 plus $0.0000625 per record for 1,000,000 or more (Maricopa County posts the same table, checked 2026-09-09)
Campaign finance: Arizona Secretary of State, Campaign Finance
How voters vote: In person, with no-excuse mail voting
Registration deadline: Registration must be received by the county recorder by midnight of the 29th day before the election (A.R.S. 16-120): October 5, 2026 for the November 3, 2026 general. There is no same-day registration.
Local offices: County offices (supervisor, recorder, treasurer, assessor, sheriff, county attorney, school superintendent, constable, justice of the peace) are partisan with an even-year primary. City and town offices are nonpartisan in practice under their charters and ordinances. School district governing boards and special taxing district boards are nonpartisan.

Who runs elections in Arizona

Arizona Secretary of State, Election Services Division The Secretary of State is the filing officer for statewide and legislative candidates, publishes the Elections Procedures Manual that binds county recorders and city clerks, sets the biennial contribution-limit chart, and maintains the master election calendar. A local candidate uses the Secretary's site for the limit chart, the calendar, and statute references, but files nomination papers and finance reports with the county or the city.

Each of Arizona's 15 counties has an elected county recorder who maintains voter registration, the Active Early Voting List, and early voting, and a county elections department (under the board of supervisors) that runs polling places, tabulation, and candidate filing for county, school district, and special taxing district offices. City and town clerks run municipal elections and are the filing officer for city and town candidates, usually contracting with the county to print ballots and count votes. The county school superintendent accepts school board nomination papers.

Getting the Arizona voter file

The voter file is the list of every registered voter, with the fields a campaign needs to target: address, party where the state records it, and vote history. In Arizona it comes from County recorders (statewide file also available from the Secretary of State) under A.R.S. 16-168.

Access: Available for political and election purposes
Cost: Statutory fee schedule in A.R.S. 16-168(E), applied by every county: $93.75 plus $0.0005 per record for 1 to 124,999 records; $156.25 plus $0.000375 per record for 125,000 to 249,999; $203.13 plus $0.00025 for 250,000 to 499,999; $265.63 plus $0.000125 for 500,000 to 999,999; $328.13 plus $0.0000625 per record for 1,000,000 or more (Maricopa County posts the same table, checked 2026-09-09)
Format: Electronic delivery only under the Elections Procedures Manual: Maricopa invoices through its public-records portal, Pima delivers by password-protected SFTP or on a CD/USB picked up at the counter
Vote history: Included
Phone numbers: Included where on file
Updated: Each order is a snapshot produced within 30 days of the request; the roll changes daily, so re-order after the registration deadline (29 days before the election) if you want the final universe.

Who can get it: Anyone with an authorized use: political or political party activity, a political campaign, an election, or redistricting (A.R.S. 16-168(E)). Sale to a candidate or registered political committee is expressly not a commercial use. The recorder must produce the file within 30 days of the request. County and state party chairs receive the precinct lists free after each registration count.

Permitted use: Political, campaign, election, and redistricting purposes only; commercial use as defined in A.R.S. 39-121.03 is prohibited, and no part of the file may be posted or distributed on the internet (16-168(E) and (F)).

County option: The county recorder is the normal source and can limit the pull to your city, district, or precincts. Maricopa County takes requests through its elections records portal (non-commercial and commercial request forms); Pima County requires its Voter Registration Data Request Form signed by the candidate or the committee chair, with the committee's Statement of Organization attached.

Fields in the statutory precinct list (16-168(C)): full name, party preference, date of registration, residence and mailing address, ZIP, phone if given, birth year, occupation if given, voting history for the prior four years, and all early-voter data including ballot requests and returns.
Never released: month and day of birth, Social Security number, driver license number, and the other identifiers listed in 16-168(F). Protected voters under 16-153 are withheld.

Whatever file you get, Culper imports it as a CSV and maps the columns for you. See how to read a voter file for what the fields mean.

Filing to run for local office in Arizona

Arizona has no filing fees; you qualify by petition. File a Statement of Interest with your filing officer before collecting the first signature (signatures gathered earlier are invalid, A.R.S. 16-311(H)), then file the nomination paper, the nomination petitions, and a financial disclosure statement in one packet no less than 120 and no more than 150 days before the election (16-311). Partisan county candidates count back from the primary; nonpartisan city, town, school district, and special district candidates count back from their election, though a city may adopt the primary-based clock by ordinance. Signature minimums come from 16-322 and are recomputed from the registration count on January 2 of the election year.

File with: City or town clerk (municipal offices); county school superintendent (school district governing board); county elections officer (county offices, justice of the peace, constable, special taxing districts); Secretary of State (statewide and legislative only).
Filing fee: None. Arizona qualifies candidates by nomination petition under A.R.S. 16-311 and 16-322; there is no statutory filing fee for local office.
Petition: A.R.S. 16-322 minimums: county office, 1% of qualified signers in the county (0.25% in counties of 200,000 or more); mayor or at-large city office, 5% to 10% of the designated party vote, or in nonpartisan cities the lesser of 1,000 signatures or 5% if the city so provides by ordinance; city ward or district seat, 5% to 10% of the vote, or the lesser of 250 or 5% in nonpartisan cities; town at-large, 5% to 10% or the lesser of 1,000 or 5%; school district governing board, 0.5% of total voter registration in the district (1% in a single-member district), capped at 400; special district board, 0.5% of the district vote, never fewer than 5 or more than 250.
Partisan?: County offices (supervisor, recorder, treasurer, assessor, sheriff, county attorney, school superintendent, constable, justice of the peace) are partisan with an even-year primary. City and town offices are nonpartisan in practice under their charters and ordinances. School district governing boards and special taxing district boards are nonpartisan.

Filing window: Not less than 120 nor more than 150 days before the election (nonpartisan offices) or before the primary (partisan county offices), A.R.S. 16-311(A)-(B); 5 p.m. on the last day. For the July 21, 2026 primary that was February 21 to March 23, 2026. Candidate elections are held only in even years on the primary date (first Tuesday in August by statute, moved to July 21 for 2026) and the November general (16-204(E)), except for charter cities that keep their own calendar under 16-204.01.

Key Arizona dates
What	When	Note
Last day to register to vote, Nov. 3, 2026 general election	October 5, 2026	Midnight of the 29th day before the election, A.R.S. 16-120; Secretary of State calendar.
Early voting begins and early ballots mailed, Nov. 3, 2026 general election	October 7, 2026	27 days before the election, A.R.S. 16-542(C); AEVL ballots go out by the first day of early voting.
Nomination paper window, city, town, school board, or special district candidate	Varies	Not less than 120 nor more than 150 days before the election (A.R.S. 16-311(B)); cities may adopt the primary-based clock by ordinance. Charter cities with odd-year elections publish their own 2027 calendar.
Nomination papers due, partisan county offices (Aug. 1, 2028 primary)	April 3, 2028	120 days before the statutory first-Tuesday-in-August primary (16-204(E)(1), 16-311(A)); window opens March 4, 2028. The Legislature moved the 2026 primary to July 21, so confirm the 2028 date on the Secretary of State calendar.
Nomination papers due, school district governing board (Nov. 7, 2028 general)	July 10, 2028	120 days before the election (16-311(B)); window opens June 10, 2028; file with the county school superintendent (16-311(F)).

The Statement of Interest requirement does not apply to special taxing district candidates or precinct committeemen (16-311(H)).
A filing officer must reject the packet if the candidate owes $1,000 or more in unpaid campaign finance penalties (16-311(J)).

Campaign finance rules in Arizona

State-level campaign finance in Arizona is overseen by Arizona Secretary of State, Campaign Finance.

Where local candidates file: A.R.S. 16-928 names the filing officer: the city or town clerk for city and town candidates; the county officer in charge of elections for county, school district, community college district, and special taxing district candidates; the Secretary of State only for statewide and legislative races. Each filing officer must offer electronic filing (Maricopa County and the City of Phoenix run their own portals). You must register a candidate committee within 10 days of raising or spending the threshold: $1,000 under 16-905(A), adjusted upward $100 each odd-numbered year, so Maricopa County applies $1,500 for the 2025-2026 cycle; city and town candidates register at $500 (16-905(B); Phoenix applies $500). Below the threshold you do not file, but keep records.

Contribution limits: The Secretary of State's 2025-2026 chart (effective January 1, 2025, from A.R.S. 16-912 as adjusted under 16-931) sets $6,750 per election cycle from an individual, a partnership, or an ordinary PAC to a candidate for city, town, county, or district office; $13,500 from a mega PAC; $10,500 from a political party to its nominee. Corporations, LLCs, and unions may not give to candidate committees at all. Each limit rises $100 in January of odd-numbered years, so expect $6,850 for the 2027-2028 cycle. Phoenix applies the state chart; some charter cities layer their own rules and disclosure ordinances on top (Phoenix requires election-funding disclosure from outside spenders at $1,000), so ask the city clerk.

Reporting: Statutory quarterly reports due January 15, April 15, July 15, and October 15 for the previous quarter, plus a pre-election report and a post-election report around each primary and general (2026 example: post-primary report due August 5, 2026). Local filers follow the same statutory periods with their county or city; Maricopa County charges $10 per day for the first 15 days late and $25 per day after that (A.R.S. 16-937).

Contributions over $100 from an in-state individual must be itemized with occupation and employer (16-926).
A city candidate committee may not transfer funds to that candidate's later statewide or legislative committee (16-913).

Limits and thresholds change. Treat the figures here as a starting point and confirm the current schedule with Arizona Secretary of State, Campaign Finance before you accept a check. Our campaign finance basics guide covers the bookkeeping every local candidate needs on day one.

How voting works in Arizona

In person, with no-excuse mail voting. Voters can vote at the polls on election day, in person at county early voting sites from the first day of early voting, or by mail. Any voter may get an early ballot by joining the Active Early Voting List (a ballot for every eligible election, A.R.S. 16-544) or by a one-time request within 93 days of the election (16-542). Mailed ballots must be received by the recorder or dropped at any polling place in the county by 7 p.m. on election day; postmarks do not count (16-548).

Early voting: Early voting opens 27 days before election day (A.R.S. 16-542(C)): October 7, 2026 for the November 3, 2026 general. County recorders open on-site early voting locations the same day ballots are mailed and may add more sites; voters must show ID to vote early in person.
Mail ballots: AEVL members are mailed a ballot automatically no later than the first day of early voting (16-544(F)); to get a ballot for a particular election you must be on the list at least 11 days before election day (Secretary of State). One-time requests made by the 31st day before the election are mailed between the 27th and 24th day (16-542(C)). Ballots can be returned by mail, at a drop box, or at any polling place in the county until 7 p.m. on election day.
Registration deadline: Registration must be received by the county recorder by midnight of the 29th day before the election (A.R.S. 16-120): October 5, 2026 for the November 3, 2026 general. There is no same-day registration.
Same-day registration: No

Knowing who has already voted: A.R.S. 16-168(D) is the key: during the 33 days before an election the county recorder must give county and state party chairs, at no cost, a daily list of voters who requested an early ballot and a weekly list of voters who returned one, through the Friday before the election; in counties over 800,000 people (Maricopa and Pima) the chair can demand the returned-ballot list daily, Monday through Friday, from the first Monday after early voting starts through the Monday before the election. Ask your county or state party chair to forward that file each morning. Campaigns that cannot get it through a party request the early-voter data (ballot requests and returns are part of the statutory precinct-list data under 16-168(C)(11)) from the county recorder as a voter data request under 16-168(E), at the statutory fee; Maricopa handles this through its elections records portal and Pima through its data request form. Aggregate early-ballot counts are posted daily by the larger recorders (Pima publishes early voting statistics on its site).

Local government in Arizona: what you can run for

Arizona has 15 counties, each governed by an elected board of supervisors alongside separately elected recorder, treasurer, assessor, sheriff, county attorney, school superintendent, clerk of the superior court, constables, and justices of the peace. Cities and towns are either charter cities or general-law municipalities under Title 9; most are run by a mayor and council with an appointed manager, and their clerks administer municipal elections. School districts (elementary, union high, and unified) are separate taxing districts with three- or five-member governing boards under A.R.S. 15-421. Community college districts and Title 48 special taxing districts (fire, water, irrigation, healthcare) elect their own boards.

County supervisor
County recorder
County treasurer
County assessor
Sheriff
County attorney
County school superintendent
Justice of the peace
Constable
Mayor
City or town council member
School district governing board member
Community college district board member
Special taxing district board member (fire, water, irrigation)

When local elections happen: A.R.S. 16-204(E) requires every political subdivision to hold candidate elections only in even-numbered years, on the primary date (first Tuesday in August by statute; the Legislature set July 21 for 2026) and the November general. County offices are partisan with a primary and general; school boards are elected at the November general of even years; most city and town councils are elected on the same two dates, with a runoff only if the city's charter requires a majority. Charter cities that litigated the issue (City of Tucson v. State, 2014) may keep their own dates unless turnout falls significantly, in which case 16-204.01 forces them onto the state calendar. Non-candidate elections (bonds, overrides) may also use the March and May consolidated dates.

Running your Arizona campaign on Culper

Culper does not license voter data in Arizona today. You upload the Arizona voter file described above as a CSV, and every feature runs on it: search and lists, plain-English queries, texting and email, block walking, and volunteer coordination. Online donation processing is in development; ask about timing on the onboarding call. Your file stays in your campaign's workspace and is never shared with another campaign.

Set up your Arizona campaign in an afternoon

Upload the voter file, ask for your first list in plain English, and hand your volunteers the walking app. Signup is open to candidates in every state. Pricing is set after a short call so it matches the size of the race.

Get started Book a demo

Arizona questions we get asked

How do I buy the voter file for a city council or school board race in Arizona?

Request it from your county recorder under A.R.S. 16-168. You sign a form attesting to political use, and the recorder produces the file within 30 days at the statutory fee: $93.75 plus $0.0005 per record for files under 125,000 records, up to $328.13 plus $0.0000625 per record for files of a million or more. The Arizona file includes name, party, addresses, phone if given, birth year, four years of vote history, and early-ballot request and return data, but never month and day of birth or ID numbers. Maricopa County takes requests through its elections records portal; Pima County requires its data request form signed by the candidate or committee chair.

How can an Arizona campaign find out who has already returned an early ballot?

Under A.R.S. 16-168(D), the county recorder must give county and state party chairs a free daily list of early-ballot requests and a weekly list of returned ballots during the 33 days before the election, and a daily returned-ballot list in Maricopa and Pima counties. The simplest route in Arizona is to ask your party chair to forward it. If you are not working with a party, request the early-voter data from the recorder as a voter data request at the statutory fee. Aggregate counts are posted online by the larger recorders.

When do I file to run for city council or school board in Arizona?

Arizona nomination papers are due not less than 120 nor more than 150 days before your election (A.R.S. 16-311). For nonpartisan city, town, and school board seats the clock runs from the election itself; for partisan county offices it runs from the August primary. Since candidate elections are held only in even years on the primary and general dates (16-204), the next windows for most local offices fall in spring and early summer 2028: for example, school board papers for the November 7, 2028 general would be due July 10, 2028, and the county-office window for an August 1, 2028 primary would close April 3, 2028. File a Statement of Interest before gathering any signatures.

Where do local candidates file campaign finance reports in Arizona?

Not with the state. A.R.S. 16-928 makes the city or town clerk the filing officer for Arizona city and town candidates and the county elections officer the filing officer for county, school district, community college, and special district candidates. You register a candidate committee within 10 days of crossing the threshold ($500 for city and town candidates; $1,000 adjusted to $1,500 for the 2025-2026 cycle for county and district candidates) and then file quarterly plus pre- and post-election reports with that officer. Maricopa County and Phoenix both run online filing portals.

What are the contribution limits for local candidates in Arizona?

For the 2025-2026 cycle an individual, a partnership, or a regular PAC may give an Arizona city, town, county, or district candidate $6,750 per election cycle; a mega PAC may give $13,500 and a political party $10,500 to its nominee. Corporations, LLCs, and unions cannot contribute to candidates. The Secretary of State raises each limit by $100 every odd-numbered January under A.R.S. 16-931, so the 2027-2028 figure should be $6,850. Contributions over $100 must be itemized with the donor's occupation and employer.

When are local elections held in Arizona, and are they partisan?

Since 2014 Arizona law (A.R.S. 16-204(E)) has required candidate elections for cities, towns, counties, school districts, and community college districts to be held only in even-numbered years, on the primary date (August by statute; July 21 in 2026) and the November general. County offices are partisan; city, town, school board, and special district seats are nonpartisan. A few charter cities kept odd-year elections after City of Tucson v. State, subject to the turnout test in 16-204.01, so check your city clerk's calendar if you live in one.

Is there same-day voter registration in Arizona?

No. In Arizona a registration must reach the county recorder by midnight of the 29th day before the election (A.R.S. 16-120), which is October 5, 2026 for the November 3, 2026 general. Voters who register online through AZMVDNow can also join the Active Early Voting List at the same time; to receive a mailed ballot for a given election they must be on the list at least 11 days before election day.

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Sources

Facts on this page were checked against the official sources below on September 9, 2026. Rules change between cycles; when a number here and the agency disagree, the agency is right.