//Run for office · Indiana

How to run for local office in Indiana

Indiana city and town offices are on the ballot in 2027 with a May 4 primary and a November 2 election, and your county election board is both where you file and where the voter data lives.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

Indiana elects its city and town officers in odd-numbered years, so 2027 is the municipal cycle: mayors, city clerks, city and town councils, and town clerk-treasurers. Major-party candidates get on the ballot by filing a declaration of candidacy with the county election board and winning the May primary; independents and minor parties petition instead. School boards, township boards, and county offices are on the even-year ballot, so a 2027 school board run really means planning for November 2028.

Indiana's data rules push you toward the county. The Election Division sells a statewide registration file, but it will not release voting history, and it reserves the unrestricted version for state party committees. Your county voter registration office, on the other hand, must give a candidate on the ballot a copy of the registered voter list on written request, and county lists do carry vote history. Absentee voting by mail requires an excuse, but 28 days of in-person early voting at the clerk's office draws a large share of the vote.

Election authority: Indiana Election Division (Office of the Secretary of State)
Voter file: Available for political and election purposes
Campaign finance: Indiana Campaign Finance Online (state-level filers); county election boards accept local reports on paper, by email, or by fax (Indiana Election Division, Campaign Finance)
How voters vote: In person, with excuse-required absentee voting
Registration deadline: 29 days before the election (April 5, 2027 for the May primary; October 4, 2027 for the municipal election), at the close of business in person or midnight online at indianavoters.in.gov.
Local offices: City and town offices are partisan, nominated at a party primary or by petition. School board seats are nonpartisan and appear on the even-year general election ballot. County and township offices are partisan and also run in even years.

Who runs elections in Indiana

Indiana Election Division (Office of the Secretary of State) The Election Division is the bipartisan agency inside the Secretary of State's office that publishes the annual Candidate Guide, Campaign Finance Manual, and election calendar, maintains the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS), and receives campaign finance reports from statewide and legislative candidates. Local candidates file candidacy paperwork and campaign finance reports with the county election board, but almost every rule and form comes from the Division.

Each county election board, usually housed in the office of the clerk of the circuit court (in Lake, Porter, and Tippecanoe counties a board of elections and registration), conducts primaries, municipal elections, and general elections, runs in-person absentee voting at the clerk's office and satellite sites or vote centers, receives local candidate filings, and administers local campaign finance. The county voter registration office maintains the county's records in SVRS and fills voter list requests.

Getting the Indiana 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 Indiana it comes from Indiana Election Division (statewide SVRS compilation) or your county voter registration office.

Access: Available for political and election purposes
Cost: Confirm with Indiana Election Division (statewide SVRS compilation) or your county voter registration office
Format: Confirm with Indiana Election Division (statewide SVRS compilation) or your county voter registration office
Vote history: Not confirmed
Phone numbers: Not confirmed
Updated: Confirm with Indiana Election Division (statewide SVRS compilation) or your county voter registration office

Who can get it: From the county: the committee of any candidate whose name will be on the next ballot, and the county chair of any party with a candidate on the ballot, on written request (IC 3-7-28-5); other requesters use the Access to Public Records Act with a signed VRG-24 statement. From the state: state major party committees and certain other entities may buy an annual subscription to the unrestricted file; everyone else can obtain a restricted copy with date of birth and gender redacted (IC 3-7-26.4; 2026 Voter Registration Guidebook).

Permitted use: Political activities and political fundraising only. Requesters sign State Form VRG-24 agreeing not to use the data to solicit merchandise, goods, services, or subscriptions and not to sell, loan, or give it to anyone for a non-political purpose (2026 Voter Registration Guidebook; IC 5-14-3-8).

County option: Yes, and it is the better route for a local race. The county voter registration office must furnish a copy of the registered voter list to a candidate's committee on the ballot on written request (IC 3-7-28-5), and Indiana's public access counselor has held that voter history is not confidential at the county level even though the state Division will not release it (IC 3-7-26.4-8(c)), as recounted in the Voter Registration Guidebook.

The state compilation excludes voting history: IC 3-7-26.4-8(c) bars voter-history requests to the Election Division. County lists are where you get the history.
Statewide subscriptions include updates and expire on a schedule set in IC 3-7-26.4-12. The Division did not publish a price on its website as of 2026-09-09, so ask the Election Division or your county clerk for the current charge before budgeting.
Parties with a candidate on the ballot and independent candidates' committees can also request reports of new registration applications, forwarded daily from 65 to 29 days before the election (IC 3-7-28-2, 3-7-28-3).

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 Indiana

For 2027 city and town offices, a Democrat or Republican files a declaration of candidacy (Form CAN-42) with the county election board and is nominated at the May 4, 2027 primary; local offices need no petition signatures. Independent and minor-party candidates skip the primary and file a petition of nomination signed by registered voters equal to 2 percent of the district's vote for Secretary of State in 2022, which the county voter registration office must certify. Some small towns nominate by town convention instead of a primary (IC 3-8-5). The Division's 2026 Candidate Guide is the working reference until the municipal-year edition for 2027 is posted.

File with: County election board, in the office of the clerk of the circuit court (the boards of elections and registration in Lake, Porter, and Tippecanoe counties); small towns that nominate by convention follow the separate procedure in IC 3-8-5.
Filing fee: Confirm with the filing officer
Petition: None for major-party candidates. Independents and minor parties: signatures of registered voters equal to 2 percent of the total votes cast in the district for Secretary of State in 2022, on the local petition form (CAN-21 for local offices in the 2026 guide), certified by the county voter registration office and then filed with the candidate's consent (CAN-20) and statement of economic interest (2026 Candidate Guide).
Partisan?: City and town offices are partisan, nominated at a party primary or by petition. School board seats are nonpartisan and appear on the even-year general election ballot. County and township offices are partisan and also run in even years.

Filing window: Major-party declarations of candidacy may be filed no earlier than 118 days before the primary and no later than noon, prevailing local time, 88 days before the primary (IC 3-8-2-4, 3-8-2-5, 3-8-2-6). Withdrawal is allowed until noon 81 days before (IC 3-8-2-20). Independent and minor-party petitions must be submitted to the county for signature verification by noon June 30 (IC 3-8-6-10). Different deadlines apply in certain small towns (IC 3-8-5-10.5, 3-8-5-13).

Key Indiana dates
What	When	Note
First day to file a declaration of candidacy, May 4, 2027 municipal primary	January 6, 2027	118 days before the primary (IC 3-8-2-4; 2026 Candidate Guide).
Declaration of candidacy deadline, May 4, 2027 municipal primary	February 5, 2027	Noon, prevailing local time, 88 days before the primary (IC 3-8-2-4); filed with the county election board.
Withdrawal deadline for primary candidates	February 12, 2027	Noon, 81 days before the primary (IC 3-8-2-20).
Voter registration closes, May 4, 2027 primary	April 5, 2027	29 days before the election, matching the Division's 2026 calendar (October 5, 2026 for November 3, 2026).
In-person absentee (early) voting begins at the clerk's office, May 4 primary	April 6, 2027	28 days before the election (Election Division absentee voting page).
Independent and minor-party petition of nomination due to the county for certification	June 30, 2027	Noon, prevailing local time (IC 3-8-6-10). Certified petitions, consent (CAN-20), and economic interest statement are then filed by noon July 15 (IC 3-8-6-12; 2026 calendar). Confirm on the Division's 2027 calendar.
Voter registration closes, November 2, 2027 municipal election	October 4, 2027	29 days before the election.
In-person absentee (early) voting begins, November 2, 2027 municipal election	October 5, 2027	28 days before; ends at noon on Monday, November 1 (Election Division absentee voting page).
Pre-election campaign finance report due	October 15, 2027	Noon; the period closes October 8, 25 days before the election, and the report is due 7 days later (2026 Campaign Finance Manual; 2026-2027 schedule).
Mail absentee ballot application deadline, November 2, 2027	October 21, 2027	11:59 p.m., 12 days before the election; must be received, not postmarked (Election Division absentee voting page).

Campaign finance rules in Indiana

State-level campaign finance in Indiana is overseen by Indiana Election Division, Campaign Finance through Indiana Campaign Finance Online (state-level filers); county election boards accept local reports on paper, by email, or by fax.

Where local candidates file: Candidates for city, town, township, county, and school board offices file the CFA-1 statement of organization and CFA-4 receipts and expenditures reports with the county election board, generally in the circuit court clerk's office; a school board candidate whose district crosses county lines files in each county (2026 Campaign Finance Manual). You become a candidate for reporting purposes once you raise or spend more than $100 for an office paying more than $5,000 a year (IC 3-5-2.1-16). Candidates for local offices paying under $5,000, and school board candidates, are exempt unless they raise or spend more than $500.

Contribution limits: Indiana places no limit on contributions from individuals, PACs, or party committees to local candidates. Corporations and labor organizations are capped by IC 3-9-2-4 at $2,000 per calendar year apportioned among all candidates for local and school board offices combined (with separate $5,000 and $2,000 caps for statewide, legislative, and party committees), and their contributions through a PAC must be earmarked to a category (IC 3-9-2-5). Foreign nationals may not contribute (IC 3-9-2-11).

Reporting: Pre-primary report covering January 1 through 25 days before the primary, due at noon 7 days after the period closes; pre-election report covering through 25 days before the general or municipal election, due at noon 7 days later; contributions of $1,000 or more received after those periods reported within 48 hours; annual report due at noon in mid-January (January 21, 2026 and January 20, 2027 on the Division's schedule). Late filings cost $50 a day up to $1,000 (2026 Campaign Finance Manual; 2026-2027 reporting schedule).

Limits and thresholds change. Treat the figures here as a starting point and confirm the current schedule with Indiana Election Division, 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 Indiana

In person, with excuse-required absentee voting. Indiana votes in person on election day (polls 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.) or in person early at the circuit court clerk's office and satellite sites for the 28 days before the election with no excuse. Voting by mail requires one of eleven statutory reasons, such as being 65 or older, disabled, or absent from the county all 12 hours the polls are open. Photo ID is required to vote in person.

Early voting: Counties must offer in-person absentee voting at the clerk's office for 28 days before the election, ending at noon the day before, and must open at least seven hours on each of the two Saturdays before the election (four hours in counties under 20,000). Vote-center counties must also open at least one vote center for early voting (Election Division absentee voting page; 2026 calendar).
Mail ballots: Only voters with a qualifying reason may vote by mail: expected absence from the county all day, disability, age 65 or older, election duties outside the precinct, work during all 12 polling hours, confinement or caregiving, religious observance, the address confidentiality program, military or public safety officer status, serious sex offender status, or lack of transportation. Applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. 12 days before the election and must include a driver's license or ID number, the SVRS voter ID, the last four Social Security digits, or a copy of a photo ID.
Registration deadline: 29 days before the election (April 5, 2027 for the May primary; October 4, 2027 for the municipal election), at the close of business in person or midnight online at indianavoters.in.gov.
Same-day registration: No

Knowing who has already voted: The county election board is the source. Before election day, ask the board (in the circuit court clerk's office) for its list of absentee ballot applications and ballots returned; once such a list exists in SVRS it is a public record under the Access to Public Records Act (2026 Voter Registration Guidebook). Parties with a candidate on the ballot and independent candidates' committees are entitled to SVRS absentee activity reports on election day at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. (IC 3-7-27-6.5) and to electronic poll book reports (2026 Election Administrator's Manual). Early in-person voters are recorded as absentee voters in SVRS, so the same list covers both.

Local government in Indiana: what you can run for

Indiana's local units are counties (three commissioners and a county council, plus clerk, auditor, treasurer, recorder, sheriff, and other elected officers), townships (a trustee and a three-member board), cities (mayor, clerk, common council) and towns (council and clerk-treasurer), and school corporations governed by boards that are usually elected, sometimes appointed, under each corporation's organization plan (IC 20-23). Lake, Porter, and Tippecanoe counties have boards of elections and registration instead of a clerk-run election board.

Mayor
City clerk or clerk-treasurer
City common council
Town council
Town clerk-treasurer
Town judge or city judge
School board member
Township trustee
Township board member
County commissioner
County council
Clerk of the circuit court and other county officers

When local elections happen: City and town offices are elected in municipal election years (2027, 2031) with the primary on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May and the municipal election on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November (IC 3-10-6). Towns may stagger some council seats into even years by ordinance (IC 3-10-6-2.5). School boards are elected at the November general election in even years (some in 2028 rather than 2026), and county and township offices run in even years.

Running your Indiana campaign on Culper

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

Indiana questions we get asked

How does an Indiana city council candidate get the voter list?

Write to your county voter registration office. Under IC 3-7-28-5 the county must furnish a copy of the registered voter list to the committee of any candidate whose name will appear on the next ballot; you sign the VRG-24 political-use statement. County lists can include voting history, which matters because the Indiana Election Division's statewide file cannot (IC 3-7-26.4-8(c)). Ask for a filter by precinct, city or town, and district, and ask what the county charges.

When do I file to run for city or town office in Indiana in 2027?

Democratic and Republican candidates file a declaration of candidacy (CAN-42) with the county election board between January 6, 2027 (118 days before the primary) and noon local time on February 5, 2027 (88 days before the May 4 primary), per IC 3-8-2-4 through 3-8-2-6. Independent and minor-party candidates instead submit a petition with signatures equal to 2 percent of the 2022 Secretary of State vote in the district to the county for verification by noon on June 30, 2027 (IC 3-8-6-10). The Indiana Candidate Guide lists no filing fee for these offices; confirm with your county clerk.

Are there contribution limits for local candidates in Indiana?

Not for individuals or PACs: Indiana sets no limit on what a person or political action committee can give a candidate for mayor, council, or school board. The limits fall on the giver's side for corporations and labor unions, which may give at most $2,000 per calendar year spread across all Indiana candidates for local and school board offices (IC 3-9-2-4). Report everything on the CFA-4 with your county election board.

Can Indiana voters vote by mail without an excuse?

No. Indiana requires a statutory reason to vote by mail, such as being 65 or older, having a disability, working all 12 hours the polls are open, or being away from the county on election day. Anyone can vote early in person, though: the circuit court clerk's office opens for in-person absentee voting 28 days before the election through noon the day before, plus the two Saturdays before. Plan your Indiana turnout program around the clerk's office and satellite sites, not the mailbox.

How do I find out who has already voted in an Indiana election?

Ask the county election board for its absentee list. Indiana counts early in-person voters as absentee voters in the Statewide Voter Registration System, and once the county has generated a list of applications or returned ballots it is a public record. Parties and independent candidates on the ballot are also entitled to SVRS absentee activity reports at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. on election day (IC 3-7-27-6.5). There is no statewide download; it is county by county.

Which Indiana local offices are on the ballot in 2027, and which wait until 2028?

2027 is Indiana's municipal election year: mayors, city clerks, city and town council members, town clerk-treasurers, and city and town judges, with a May 4 primary and a November 2 election. School board seats, township trustees and boards, county commissioners and council, and other county officers are elected in even years, so those candidates are looking at the November 7, 2028 ballot. Some towns stagger council seats into even years by ordinance.

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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.