//Run for office · Delaware

How to run for local office in Delaware

Delaware gives filed candidates the statewide voter file free, caps every non-statewide contribution at $600 per election period, and lets each of its 57 towns run its own election on its own date.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

Delaware has no secretary of state running elections. The State Election Commissioner and the Department of Elections, with an office in each of the three counties, register voters, run state, county, and school board elections, and administer campaign finance. State and county offices are elected in even years with a September primary, so 2027 has no county or legislative races; what is on the 2027 calendar is the May 11 school board election (filing closes March 5) and the municipal elections that towns schedule for themselves under Title 15, Chapter 75.

Running here is cheap and fast. Once you file, the voter file with party, voting history, phone numbers, and years of birth costs nothing. Contribution limits are low and flat: $600 per election period for any office that is not statewide, and municipal and school board candidates who stay under $5,000 file a one-page Certificate of Intention instead of reports. The catch is the calendar. Every town sets its own election date, filing deadline, and residency rule in its charter, so the first call you make is to the town clerk.

Election authority: Delaware Department of Elections (Office of the State Election Commissioner)
Voter file: Public record — anyone can obtain it · Free for filed or nominated candidates; $25.00 per request for everyone else (Voter Registration File Request form VRFM006, checked 2026-09-09)
Campaign finance: Delaware Campaign Finance Reporting System (CFRS), cfrs.elections.delaware.gov (Delaware Department of Elections, Campaign Finance Section)
How voters vote: In person, with excuse-required absentee voting
Registration deadline: The fourth Saturday before a primary or general election (October 10, 2026 for the November 2026 general). School board and municipal elections use the same statewide registration, but towns may impose their own 30-day residency and registration cutoffs for town elections.
Local offices: County and legislative offices are partisan with a September primary. School board elections are nonpartisan; candidates appear alphabetically with no party label (14 Del. C. §1076). Municipal elections are nonpartisan under nearly every charter.

Who runs elections in Delaware

Delaware Department of Elections (Office of the State Election Commissioner) The Department of Elections registers voters, maintains the statewide voter file, conducts state, county, and school board elections through its New Castle, Kent, and Sussex county offices, and runs the Campaign Finance Reporting System (CFRS) where every candidate, including municipal and school board, files a Statement of Organization or Certificate of Intention. For municipal elections it prepares voting machines, trains election officers, and posts the municipal election calendar, but the town's own board of elections conducts the vote.

The Department of Elections county offices in Wilmington (New Castle), Dover (Kent), and Georgetown (Sussex) register voters, mail absentee ballots, staff early voting sites, and run polling places for state, county, and school board elections. Municipal elections outside Wilmington and a handful of exceptions are run by each town's own municipal board of elections under 15 Del. C. Chapter 75, with the Department supplying machines, materials, and training and each town posting its notices on its website.

Getting the Delaware 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 Delaware it comes from Delaware Department of Elections (Voter Registration File Request).

Access: Public record — anyone can obtain it
Cost: Free for filed or nominated candidates; $25.00 per request for everyone else (Voter Registration File Request form VRFM006, checked 2026-09-09)
Format: Tab-delimited text, CSV, or Excel (XLSX), delivered by secure email; statewide or any specified subset
Vote history: Included
Phone numbers: Included where on file
Updated: On request, one active request at a time, delivered within 10 business days; parties receive monthly files under §304 but candidates simply re-order

Who can get it: Anyone. 15 Del. C. §304 gives filed or nominated candidates, major and minor parties, government bodies, and the public access; the Department's page states there is no charge for filed or nominated candidates.

Permitted use: Electoral process only. The request form's sworn affirmation bars commercial solicitation, any purpose not related to the electoral process, and republishing the data to the public or third parties.

County option: Not needed. The same request form lets you specify statewide or any smaller geography (county, district, town, school district), and the price is the same $25 or free for candidates.

15 Del. C. §304(h) sets the fields for candidates and parties: name, address, party affiliation, voting history, legislative district information, telephone numbers, and year of birth. Full dates of birth go only to government requesters; the public gets the same list as candidates minus phone numbers.
Order on the state form (VRFM006) and cite Title 15, Chapter 3, §304(e) for the no-cost candidate option. Submit to the State Election Commissioner or your county office.

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 Delaware

Three different doors. State and county candidates file with the Department of Elections office in their county (statewide with the State Election Commissioner) by noon on the second Tuesday in July of an even year (15 Del. C. §3106), paying a fee the party sets at up to 1% of the office's total salary for the term (§3103); 2026 fees ran from $300 to $2,363 for legislative and county seats. School board candidates file a notice of candidacy, with proof that they requested the required background check, with the Department by 4:30 p.m. on the first Friday in March; Title 14 sets no fee and no petition (14 Del. C. §1075). Municipal candidates file with their town under the charter and Chapter 75, then file a Certificate of Intention or Statement of Organization with the State Election Commissioner within 7 days of declaring.

File with: Department of Elections county office for county and legislative seats; State Election Commissioner for statewide; Department county office for school board; the municipality (town clerk or municipal board of elections) for town offices, with a Certificate of Intention to the State Election Commissioner within 7 days.
Filing fee: County and legislative: set by each party at no more than 1% of the total salary for the term (15 Del. C. §3103); 2026 fees ranged from $300 (Republican, New Castle state representative) to $2,363 (Democrat, New Castle County Council). School board: none. Municipal: set by charter, usually none.
Petition: None for party candidates, school board, or most towns. A candidate who cannot pay the party fee may file an indigency petition with voter signatures instead (§3103). Unaffiliated candidates for state or county office qualify by petition circulated through mid-July of the election year.
Partisan?: County and legislative offices are partisan with a September primary. School board elections are nonpartisan; candidates appear alphabetically with no party label (14 Del. C. §1076). Municipal elections are nonpartisan under nearly every charter.

Filing window: State and county: filing closes at 12:00 noon on the second Tuesday in July in even-numbered years (15 Del. C. §3106); withdrawal without forfeiting the fee is allowed for three more days. School board: no later than 4:30 p.m. on the first Friday in March each year (14 Del. C. §1075). Municipal: the charter sets the deadline and the town must post a notice of solicitation of candidates at least 20 days before it (15 Del. C. Chapter 75).

Key Delaware dates
What	When	Note
School board notice of candidacy due	March 5, 2027	4:30 p.m. on the first Friday in March, filed with the Department of Elections office that runs the district, 14 Del. C. §1075.
School board election	May 11, 2027	Second Tuesday in May every year, 14 Del. C. §1072.
Municipal election filing deadline	Varies	Set by each town's charter; the town must post a notice of solicitation of candidates 20 days before the deadline and a notice of election 20 days before the vote (15 Del. C. Chapter 75). Check the Department's municipal calendar.
County and legislative candidate filing (next cycle)	July 11, 2028	12:00 noon on the second Tuesday in July of the even year, 15 Del. C. §3106; no county or legislative seats are on the 2027 ballot.

The Department's 2026 municipal calendar lists more than 50 town elections between January and December, and roughly half were cancelled for lack of a contest. Small-town seats are often uncontested, which is an opening for a first-time candidate.

Campaign finance rules in Delaware

State-level campaign finance in Delaware is overseen by Delaware Department of Elections, Campaign Finance Section through Delaware Campaign Finance Reporting System (CFRS), cfrs.elections.delaware.gov.

Where local candidates file: Everything goes to the State Election Commissioner through CFRS; there is no county or town filing. Candidates for county council, Levy Court, or the General Assembly must file a notarized Statement of Organization within 24 hours of the point where contributions or expenditures exceed $500 (15 Del. C. §8005) and then file reports electronically. Municipal and school board candidates who plan to raise or spend $5,000 or less file a Certificate of Intention with the Department instead and file no reports; if they cross $5,000 they must file a Statement of Organization and full reports (Department 2026 reporting periods notice; 15 Del. C. §8004).

Contribution limits: 15 Del. C. §8010: any person other than a political party may give a candidate at most $600 per election period for a non-statewide office (county council, Levy Court, town council, school board, state legislature) and $1,200 for a statewide office. The same $600 applies to corporations, PACs, and other entities. Political parties may give $3,000 to a state representative or other non-statewide candidate and $5,000 to a state senate candidate. The election period for a first-time candidate runs from the first contribution through December 31 after the general election, so the limit is per cycle, not per primary and general.

Reporting: 15 Del. C. §8030: reports covering through the 30th and 8th days before each election you are on the ballot for, due two days after each period closes, plus a year-end report through December 31 due January 20. For 2026 school board candidates the 30-day report was due April 14 and the 8-day report May 6; the Department posts the dated table each year.

The contribution table treats municipal, school board, county, and legislative candidates alike as non-statewide: $600 from an individual, $600 from an entity, $600 from a PAC, per election period.

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

How voting works in Delaware

In person, with excuse-required absentee voting. Delaware votes in person, on Election Day or during a ten-day early voting period, with absentee ballots only for the reasons listed in the state constitution. The Delaware Constitution (Article V, §4A) enumerates the absentee excuses, which is why the state has no no-excuse mail voting.

Early voting: Ten days before Election Day at any early voting site in your county, for primary and general elections (Department of Elections, Ways to Vote). For the November 3, 2026 general the schedule ran October 22 through November 1 with one day off. Municipal elections follow the town's own absentee rules under 15 Del. C. Chapter 75, Subchapter V.
Mail ballots: Excuse-required absentee only. 15 Del. C. §5502 and the constitution list the reasons: public service of the U.S. or the state, business or occupation (including caregiving), sickness or physical disability, vacation, religious tenets, and military or overseas status. Apply through the state voter portal or the paper form; the Department must receive the request by noon the day before the election (§5503) and the voted ballot by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Registration deadline: The fourth Saturday before a primary or general election (October 10, 2026 for the November 2026 general). School board and municipal elections use the same statewide registration, but towns may impose their own 30-day residency and registration cutoffs for town elections.
Same-day registration: No

Knowing who has already voted: Delaware does not post a running who-has-voted list. The reliable source is the voter file itself: voting history is written into the file after each election and, because candidates get the file free and can re-order it, you pull a fresh copy after the primary to see who turned out. During the ten-day early voting window and the absentee period, ask your county Department of Elections office for early voting counts and the absentee ballot applicant list; absentee applications close at noon the day before the election, so the applicant list is stable by then.

Local government in Delaware: what you can run for

Three counties and 57 incorporated municipalities chartered individually by the General Assembly. New Castle County elects a County Executive and County Council; Kent County is governed by an elected Levy Court; Sussex County by a County Council (Delaware Code Title 9; Department of Elections filing fee schedule). Each county also elects a sheriff, register of wills, and recorder of deeds. Public school districts elect boards of education. Towns range from Wilmington (its own election chapter) to villages with a few hundred residents, each with a council or commission defined by charter.

Town council member or commissioner
Mayor
County council member (New Castle, Sussex)
Levy Court commissioner (Kent)
County executive (New Castle)
Sheriff, register of wills, recorder of deeds
School board member
State representative

When local elections happen: County, legislative, and statewide offices: even-numbered years, primary on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in September (15 Del. C. §3101) and general in November. School boards: second Tuesday in May every year (14 Del. C. §1072). Municipalities: whenever the charter says, spread across the whole calendar; the Department's 2026 list ran from January 3 (Ellendale) to December 5 (Dagsboro), with clusters in March, April, and May.

The Department publishes a statewide municipal elections calendar each year with every town's date, website, and cancellation status; it is the fastest way to see when your seat comes up.

Running your Delaware campaign on Culper

Culper does not license voter data in Delaware today. You upload the Delaware 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 Delaware 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

Delaware questions we get asked

Is the Delaware voter file really free for candidates?

Yes. The Delaware Department of Elections charges nothing for voter registration files requested by filed or nominated candidates under 15 Del. C. §304(e); everyone else pays $25 per request. You get name, address, party, voting history, legislative districts, telephone numbers, and year of birth, statewide or for your district, as a tab-delimited, CSV, or Excel file by secure email within about 10 business days. Order with form VRFM006.

What is the contribution limit for a town council or school board candidate in Delaware?

$600 per election period from any individual, business, or PAC, under 15 Del. C. §8010, the same limit that applies to every non-statewide office in Delaware including county council and the General Assembly. Statewide candidates may take $1,200. The election period runs from your first contribution through December 31 after the election, so the $600 is per cycle, not per primary and general.

Do Delaware municipal and school board candidates have to file campaign finance reports?

Only if they raise or spend more than $5,000. Below that, Delaware lets municipal and school board candidates file a Certificate of Intention with the State Election Commissioner and skip reporting. Above it, you file a notarized Statement of Organization and electronic reports through CFRS covering the 30th and 8th days before the election plus a year-end report. County and legislative candidates must file once they pass $500.

When are Delaware town elections and how do I file?

Each of Delaware's 57 municipalities sets its own election date, filing deadline, and candidate qualifications in its charter, and its own municipal board of elections runs the vote under 15 Del. C. Chapter 75. The Department of Elections posts an annual municipal calendar; 2026 dates ran from January through December. File with the town, then file a Certificate of Intention or Statement of Organization with the State Election Commissioner within 7 days of declaring.

When is the Delaware school board election and what is the filing deadline?

The second Tuesday in May every year (May 11, 2027), run by the Department of Elections county office for the district. Candidates file a notice of candidacy with that office by 4:30 p.m. on the first Friday in March (March 5, 2027) under 14 Del. C. §1075. Title 14 requires only the notice and proof of a requested background check, no fee or petition, and the ballot lists candidates alphabetically with no party label.

Does Delaware have no-excuse mail voting or same-day registration?

No to both. The Delaware Constitution (Article V, §4A) limits absentee voting to listed reasons such as work, illness, disability, vacation, religious tenets, and public service, and 15 Del. C. §5502 tracks that list. Registration closes the fourth Saturday before a primary or general election. What Delaware does offer is ten days of in-person early voting at any site in your county before primary and general elections.

Are there county or legislative elections in Delaware in 2027?

No. Delaware elects county council, Levy Court, row officers, the General Assembly, and statewide offices in even-numbered years, with candidate filing closing at noon on the second Tuesday in July (July 11, 2028 for the next cycle) and a September primary. In 2027 the ballot is school boards on May 11 and whichever towns hold municipal elections under their charters.

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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.