//Run for office · Ohio

How to run for local office in Ohio

Ohio posts its entire statewide voter file, vote history included, as free weekly downloads by county, and county boards publish daily lists of who has requested and returned absentee ballots.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

Running for city council, village council, township trustee, or school board in Ohio means dealing almost entirely with your county board of elections. You file your petition there, you file your campaign finance reports there, and the board runs early voting and counts the ballots. The Secretary of State sets the rules and publishes the data, but the county board is your counterpart. Most local offices are nonpartisan and are filled at the November general election in odd-numbered years, so the 2027 cycle is the one to plan for.

Two things make Ohio unusually good for a data-driven local campaign. The Secretary of State publishes the full registered-voter file, with every election each voter has cast a ballot in since 2000, as free weekly downloads by county or statewide. And during the 29 days of early voting, county boards keep public lists of every absentee application, ballot returned, and in-person early voter; Franklin County posts them as downloadable files that refresh nightly. There are no state contribution limits for local candidates, but photo ID and a 30-day registration deadline shape who can actually vote.

Election authority: Ohio Secretary of State, Elections Division
Voter file: Public record — anyone can obtain it · Free. No charge for county, district, or statewide files (download page checked 2026-09-09).
Campaign finance: Ohio Secretary of State, Campaign Finance
How voters vote: In person, with no-excuse mail voting
Registration deadline: 30 days before the election, postmarked or received (ORC 3503.19); moves to the next business day if it falls on a Sunday or legal holiday.
Local offices: Mixed. County offices are partisan and go through the May primary. Township trustees and fiscal officers, school boards, and villages under 2,000 are nonpartisan by statute. Cities of 2,000 or more are partisan or nonpartisan depending on their charter or an ORC 3513.01 determination; many large Ohio cities run nonpartisan council races.

Who runs elections in Ohio

Ohio Secretary of State, Elections Division The Secretary of State is Ohio's chief election officer. The office issues the directives and the annual Candidate Requirement Guide that county boards follow, publishes the statewide voter file and the absentee and early voting dashboard, and takes campaign finance reports only from statewide, legislative, and state-level committees. As a local candidate you will use its forms, its voter file, and its free training courses, but you file your petition and your finance reports with your county board of elections.

Each of Ohio's 88 counties has a four-member board of elections, two members from each major party, that registers voters, maintains the county's part of the statewide registration database, accepts petitions for every local and district office, runs early in-person voting at its office or a designated early vote center, mails absentee ballots, staffs the polls, and takes campaign finance reports from local candidates. The Secretary of State's directory lists every board's address, phone, and website.

Getting the Ohio 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 Ohio it comes from Ohio Secretary of State, Voter Files Download Page.

Access: Public record — anyone can obtain it
Cost: Free. No charge for county, district, or statewide files (download page checked 2026-09-09).
Format: Comma-delimited text (CSV), one row per active voter registration. The statewide file is split into four gzip archives of roughly 115 to 166 MB each (SWVF_1_22 through SWVF_67_88); county and district files are separate downloads.
Vote history: Included
Phone numbers: Not included
Updated: Weekly. The page says the files are updated every week; on 2026-09-09 the statewide files were dated 05-SEP-26.

Who can get it: Anyone. The download page has no login, no application, and no fee. The Secretary of State publishes the files as public records under Ohio law.

Permitted use: The download page states no use restriction and requires no signed agreement. It is a public record; the same data is what county boards give to candidates and parties.

County option: Yes. The same page offers one file per county, plus files by state senate, state house, and congressional district. Franklin County's Board of Elections also posts its own nightly exports by city, village, school district, and legislative district through its Election Vault portal.

Fields (per the Secretary of State's Voter File Layout, last updated April 2018): SOS voter ID, county number and county ID, name, date of birth, registration date, voter status, party affiliation, residential and mailing address, and district assignments for precinct, ward, township, village, city, city/local/exempted village school district, educational service center, career center, library district, court districts, congressional, state house, state senate, and state board of education.
Vote history is one column per election since 2000, coded with the party ballot pulled in a primary (D, R, and minor-party codes), X for a nonpartisan or general-election ballot, or blank if the voter did not vote. Party affiliation in Ohio is defined by the most recent primary ballot pulled, not by registration.
No phone numbers or email addresses are in the file; the layout has no such field.

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 Ohio

Every local petition in Ohio goes to the county board of elections, but the deadline depends on how your office is nominated. Partisan offices (county offices, and cities whose charter or ORC 3513.01 status puts them on the party primary) use a declaration of candidacy and petition due 90 days before the May primary. Nonpartisan offices (township trustee and fiscal officer, school boards, villages under 2,000, and cities that elect nonpartisan) use a nominating petition due 90 days before the November general election. Independents for partisan offices file the day before the primary. No petition may carry more than three times the minimum signatures.

File with: Board of elections of the county where the office is voted on (ORC 3513.05, 3513.251, 3513.253, 3513.254, 3513.257). Multi-county districts file with the board of the most populous county.
Filing fee: $80 for county office ($50 plus $30), $45 for city office ($20 plus $25), $30 for village office, $30 for township office, and $30 for board of education ($10 plus $20 each); both fees are paid when you file (ORC 3513.10(A) and (B), checked 2026-09-09).
Petition: Partisan primary: 50 party members for a county or city-wide office, 25 for a ward council seat (ORC 3513.05). Nonpartisan: 25 electors for township trustee or fiscal officer (3513.253); 25 for a local or exempted village school board, 25 to 300 for a city school board depending on district population (3513.254); 10 electors for a village under 2,000 (3513.251). Independent candidates: 1 percent of the votes cast for governor in the district, or 25 signatures where fewer than 5,000 voted (3513.257).
Partisan?: Mixed. County offices are partisan and go through the May primary. Township trustees and fiscal officers, school boards, and villages under 2,000 are nonpartisan by statute. Cities of 2,000 or more are partisan or nonpartisan depending on their charter or an ORC 3513.01 determination; many large Ohio cities run nonpartisan council races.

Filing window: Partisan candidates: 4 p.m. on the 90th day before the primary, which is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May in odd years (ORC 3513.05, 3501.01). Nonpartisan candidates: 4 p.m. on the 90th day before the November general election (3513.251, 3513.253, 3513.254). Independents: 4 p.m. the day before the primary (3513.257). The offsets are fixed in statute, so the dates can be computed years ahead.

Key Ohio dates
What	When	Note
Partisan filing deadline, May 4, 2027 primary (county and partisan city offices)	February 3, 2027	4 p.m. on the 90th day before the primary (ORC 3513.05). The 2027 primary is May 4, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May (ORC 3501.01).
Independent candidate petition deadline	May 3, 2027	4 p.m. the day before the May 4, 2027 primary (ORC 3513.257).
Nonpartisan petition deadline: township, school board, village, nonpartisan city offices	August 4, 2027	4 p.m. on the 90th day before the November 2, 2027 general election (ORC 3513.251, 3513.253, 3513.254).
Voter registration deadline, November 2, 2027 election	October 4, 2027	30 days before is Sunday, October 3; the Secretary of State's FAQ says a deadline on a Sunday or legal holiday moves to the next business day (ORC 3503.19).
Early in-person voting begins, November 2, 2027 election	October 5, 2027	Ballots are ready the day after registration closes (ORC 3509.01(B)); hours are set by Secretary of State directive.
Pre-election campaign finance report due	October 21, 2027	12th day before the election, covering activity through October 13, the 20th day before (ORC 3517.10(A)(1)).
Absentee ballot application deadline	October 26, 2027	Close of business on the 7th day before the election (ORC 3509.03); the Secretary of State's FAQ lists 8:30 p.m.
Post-election campaign finance report due	December 10, 2027	38th day after the election (ORC 3517.10(A)(2)).

Campaign finance rules in Ohio

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

Where local candidates file: Candidates for county, municipal, township, and school board offices file with the board of elections where they filed their petitions (ORC 3517.11); if the office spans more than one county, the board of the most populous county in the district. The Secretary of State's online filing system is for statewide, legislative, and state PAC filers. Ask your county board whether it accepts electronic reports or requires the paper forms (Form 30 series) posted on the Secretary of State's campaign finance page.

Contribution limits: Ohio's statutory limits in ORC 3517.102 apply only to statewide, General Assembly, and Supreme Court candidates ($10,000 per election period from an individual, with no inflation adjustment). There is no state limit on what an individual or PAC may give a candidate for county commissioner, mayor, city council, township trustee, or school board. Charter cities can set their own limits by ordinance, so read the charter and codified ordinances of the city you are running in before you set a fundraising ceiling.

Reporting: Pre-election report on the 12th day before the election, covering through the 20th day before (waived if the committee has both received and spent under $1,000 as of that date); post-election report on the 38th day after; annual report on the last business day of January covering through December 31; semiannual report on the last business day of July (ORC 3517.10(A)).

The Secretary of State's free online course 'Campaign Finance for Candidates' and the Campaign Finance Handbook cover the county-filer rules; both are linked from the campaign finance page.

Limits and thresholds change. Treat the figures here as a starting point and confirm the current schedule with Ohio 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 Ohio

In person, with no-excuse mail voting. Ohio votes in person on election day with a 29-day early in-person voting window at the county board, plus no-excuse absentee by mail. An unexpired photo ID such as an Ohio driver's license or state ID card is required at the polls; a voter without it casts a provisional ballot and has four days to show ID (ORC 3505.18).

Early voting: Early in-person voting starts the day after voter registration closes, 29 days before the election, at the county board of elections or its designated early vote center (ORC 3509.01(B)). Hours, including the final weekend, are set statewide by Secretary of State directive; Franklin County publishes its schedule week by week.
Mail ballots: Any registered voter may request an absentee ballot for any reason. Applications are due by close of business on the 7th day before the election (ORC 3509.03). Return the ballot to the board office or its single drop box by 7:30 p.m. on election day, or by mail so it arrives within four days after election day (Secretary of State FAQ). The identification envelope must carry your driver's license or state ID number, the last four digits of your Social Security number, or a copy of a photo ID (ORC 3509.05(B)).
Registration deadline: 30 days before the election, postmarked or received (ORC 3503.19); moves to the next business day if it falls on a Sunday or legal holiday.
Same-day registration: No

Knowing who has already voted: County boards of elections keep the absentee and early-vote records and will provide daily lists on request. Franklin County posts them for download in its Election Vault portal: an 'Absentee by Mail Voter List (Current Election)' and an 'Absentee In-Person Voter List (Current Election)', refreshed nightly (on 2026-09-09 both were stamped that morning). Ask your own board for its equivalent report before early voting starts. The Secretary of State's Absentee and Early Voting Data Dashboard shows daily county-level totals only, not names.

Local government in Ohio: what you can run for

Ohio has 88 counties, each with a board of elections. Municipalities are cities (5,000 or more people) and villages, and both have constitutional home rule (Ohio Constitution Article XVIII, Section 3), so charters decide partisanship, wards, and terms. Townships cover the unincorporated land and elect three trustees and a fiscal officer. Public schools are run by city, local, and exempted village school districts, each with an elected board of education; educational service centers, career centers, and library districts also appear as district fields in the state voter file.

City council (ward or at-large)
Mayor
Village council
Township trustee
Township fiscal officer
Board of education (city, local, or exempted village school district)
County commissioner
County auditor, treasurer, recorder, clerk of courts
Municipal court judge
Educational service center governing board

When local elections happen: Municipal, township, and school board offices are filled at the general election in odd-numbered years (first Tuesday after the first Monday in November), with a May primary in odd years for partisan municipal races (ORC 3501.01). County offices run with the state and federal cycle in even years. The 2027 dates are the May 4 primary and the November 2 general election.

Running your Ohio campaign on Culper

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

Ohio questions we get asked

Where do I get the voter list for my Ohio city council or school board race?

Download it free from the Ohio Secretary of State's Voter Files Download Page. Pick your county file (or the statewide file if you want it all), unzip the CSV, and filter by the city, village, township, ward, or school district columns. It includes every voter's election-by-election history since 2000. Files refresh weekly. Franklin County candidates can also pull nightly exports by city or school district from the county board's Election Vault.

When is the filing deadline for a 2027 local race in Ohio?

It depends on whether your office is partisan. Partisan offices (county offices, partisan city charters) file a declaration of candidacy and petition by 4 p.m. on February 3, 2027, 90 days before the May 4 primary. Nonpartisan offices (township trustee, school board, villages under 2,000, nonpartisan cities) file a nominating petition by 4 p.m. on August 4, 2027, 90 days before the November 2 general election. Independents for partisan offices file by May 3, 2027. Everything goes to your county board of elections.

Are there contribution limits for local candidates in Ohio?

Not at the state level. ORC 3517.102 limits contributions only to statewide, General Assembly, and Supreme Court candidates. A county commission, city council, township, or school board candidate in Ohio can accept any amount from an individual or PAC unless the city charter sets a local limit, so read the charter and ordinances of your city before you plan your finance program. You still report everything to the county board.

How do I know who has already voted early in Ohio?

Your county board of elections tracks every absentee application, returned ballot, and in-person early voter. Ask the board for its daily absentee report; Franklin County publishes an Absentee by Mail Voter List and an Absentee In-Person Voter List for the current election, updated nightly, in its Election Vault portal. Match those lists against your voter file each morning to pull voted households out of your walk and mail universes. Early voting runs the 29 days before the election.

Where does an Ohio city council candidate file campaign finance reports?

With the board of elections of the county where you filed your petition, not with the Secretary of State (ORC 3517.11). Reports are due 12 days before the election (unless you have both raised and spent under $1,000), 38 days after, and on the last business day of every January; use the Secretary of State's Form 30 series or your county's e-filing if it has one. Ohio's Secretary of State only receives reports from statewide, legislative, and state PAC committees.

What ID do Ohio voters need, and when does registration close?

Registration closes 30 days before the election (October 4, 2027 for the November 2 election, because the 30th day is a Sunday). Ohio has no same-day registration. At the polls voters must show an unexpired photo ID such as an Ohio driver's license or state ID card (ORC 3505.18). Mail voters put their license number or last four Social Security digits on the ballot envelope instead. Anyone without ID votes provisionally and has four days to bring ID to the county board.

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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.