//Run for office · Pennsylvania

How to run for local office in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania sells its full statewide voter file, with vote history and date of birth, for a flat $20, and every local office is on the odd-year municipal ballot with a May 18, 2027 primary.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

Pennsylvania elects every county, city, borough, township, and school board office at the municipal election in odd-numbered years (Election Code §602), so 2027 is a full local cycle: the municipal primary is May 18, 2027 and the municipal election is November 2, 2027. You get on the primary ballot by nomination petition filed with your county board of elections during a three-week window in February and March. Signature counts for most local offices are tiny, ten for school director and other municipal offices, and borough, township, and school board petitions carry no filing fee at all.

Two things make Pennsylvania unusually friendly to a first-time candidate. The Department of State sells the Full Voter Export, every registered voter with party, date of birth, districts, and vote history, for $20, refreshed weekly. And there are no contribution limits for individuals; the only statewide rules are a ban on corporate and union money and a $100 cap on cash, though Philadelphia layers its own limits on city races.

Election authority: Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Elections
Voter file: Available for political and election purposes · $20.00 flat for the Full Voter Export (PA Voter Services purchase page, checked 2026-09-09)
Campaign finance: Pennsylvania Department of State, Campaign Finance
How voters vote: In person, with no-excuse mail voting
Registration deadline: 15 days before the election: May 3, 2027 for the municipal primary and October 18, 2027 for the municipal election. Register online, by mail, or at PennDOT and other agencies; the county voter registration office processes it.
Local offices: Partisan. County, city, borough, township, and school board seats are nominated in the Democratic and Republican primaries. Independent and minor-party candidates reach the November ballot by nomination paper.

Who runs elections in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Elections The Department of State keeps the SURE voter registration system, sells the Full Voter Export, publishes the annual election calendar and the nomination petition forms, and receives campaign finance reports from statewide and legislative candidates. For a local candidate its main jobs are the voter file, the calendar, and the petition packet; your county board of elections is where you actually file.

Every county has a county board of elections made up of the county commissioners (or the county legislative body in home-rule counties) that registers voters, accepts nomination petitions for county and municipal offices, mails and receives mail-in ballots, runs the polls, and receives campaign finance reports from local candidates (Election Code §301 and §913; Department of State campaign finance FAQ). In Philadelphia the elected City Commissioners serve as the board of elections. There is no separate municipal election office; boroughs, townships, and school districts all run through the county.

Getting the Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania it comes from Pennsylvania Department of State (Full Voter Export).

Access: Available for political and election purposes
Cost: $20.00 flat for the Full Voter Export (PA Voter Services purchase page, checked 2026-09-09)
Format: Delivered by emailed link after payment; one row per voter with a separate vote-history layout, as described on the purchase page.
Vote history: Included
Phone numbers: Not included
Updated: Weekly. The purchase page shows the data vintage and the next refresh date (for example current as of 09/07/2026, refreshed 09/14/2026 at midnight).

Who can get it: Any registered Pennsylvania elector. 25 Pa.C.S. §1404(b) makes the public information list available on written request and payment, and the Department sells it online through PA Voter Services.

Permitted use: Elections, political activities, and law enforcement only. 25 Pa.C.S. §1404(c) bars anyone who obtains names from the list from using them for unrelated purposes, and the Department's request forms add an affirmation that the data will not be published on the internet.

County option: The export is organized by county, so you can work with just your county's rows, but the price is the same $20 statewide. County boards also provide district registers under 25 Pa.C.S. §1404 at a cost they set; for most campaigns the state export is cheaper and fresher.

Fields listed on the purchase page: voter ID, name, sex, date of birth, registration date, status (active or inactive), date status last changed, party, residential and mailing address, polling place, date last voted, every district the voter votes in (congressional, legislative, school district, and so on), voter history, and date the record last changed. Phone and email are not in the export.
Vote history covers the most recent elections per county; the export includes both active and inactive voters, so filter on status before you build a walk list.

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 Pennsylvania

Party candidates for every local office get on the May primary ballot by nomination petition signed by registered members of their party. Election Code §912.1 sets the counts: ten signatures for school director and for any other municipal or party office not listed separately, 100 for a district council seat in Pittsburgh or an at-large office in a third-class city or a fifth- through eighth-class county, 250 for at-large offices in a second-class-A, third-, or fourth-class county or in Pittsburgh, 750 for a Philadelphia district council seat, and 1,000 for Philadelphia or Allegheny County at-large. Independent and minor-party candidates use nomination papers filed by August 2, 2027, with signature counts set by Election Code §951 that the Department of State publishes in a table each year.

File with: County board of elections for every county, city, borough, township, ward, and school district office; if a district spans counties, the county with the most registered voters (Election Code §913(a)). Only statewide, congressional, legislative, and judicial candidates file with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Filing fee: None for school director or for any borough, town, or township office, and none for any unpaid office (Election Code §913(b.2)). Otherwise: $100 for county-wide offices, General Assembly, Philadelphia district council, and city-wide non-school offices; $25 for third-class city offices; $50 for Pittsburgh district council and magisterial district judge; $10 for constable; $100 for judges of courts of record (§913(b.1)). Paid by certified check or money order, or cash at the county board; not refundable.
Petition: Ten signatures for school director and for any borough, township, or other local office not listed in Election Code §912.1; 100 or 250 for county-wide offices depending on county class; 750 for Philadelphia City Council district seats. Signers must be registered and enrolled in the candidate's party and live in the district.
Partisan?: Partisan. County, city, borough, township, and school board seats are nominated in the Democratic and Republican primaries. Independent and minor-party candidates reach the November ballot by nomination paper.

Filing window: Nomination petitions may be circulated and filed from the 13th Tuesday before the primary through the 10th Tuesday before the primary (February 16 to March 9, 2027, per the Department's 2027 calendar), by 5:00 p.m. on the last day at the county board. Nomination papers for independents and political bodies run from the day after petitions close through August 2, 2027. Withdrawals are due March 24, 2027.

Key Pennsylvania dates
What	When	Note
First day to circulate and file nomination petitions	February 16, 2027	13th Tuesday before the May 18, 2027 municipal primary (Department of State 2027 calendar).
Last day to file nomination petitions	March 9, 2027	10th Tuesday before the primary; 5:00 p.m. at the county board of elections (Election Code §913).
Last day to withdraw a nomination petition	March 24, 2027	Department of State 2027 calendar.
Voter registration deadline, municipal primary	May 3, 2027	15 days before the primary.
Municipal primary	May 18, 2027	Third Tuesday in May in odd-numbered years; mail-in ballot applications due May 11 at 5:00 p.m.
Last day to file nomination papers (independent and minor party)	August 2, 2027	Department of State 2027 calendar; objections due August 9.
Voter registration deadline, municipal election	October 18, 2027	15 days before the election.
Mail-in ballot application deadline, municipal election	October 26, 2027	Received by the county board by 5:00 p.m., seven days before the election.
Municipal election	November 2, 2027	Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years (Election Code §602); mail ballots must arrive by 8:00 p.m.

All 2027 dates above are from the Department of State's 2027 Pennsylvania Elections Important Dates sheet, which says they are subject to change; the county board's calendar controls for local filings.

Campaign finance rules in Pennsylvania

State-level campaign finance in Pennsylvania is overseen by Pennsylvania Department of State, Campaign Finance.

Where local candidates file: Candidates for county, city, borough, township, and school district offices file their campaign finance reports with the county board of elections in the county where they file their nomination petition, not with the Department of State (Campaign Finance FAQ; Election Code §§3241-3260). Only statewide and General Assembly candidates and their committees file with the Department in Harrisburg. Reports become required once you receive or spend more than $250; below that you file a statement instead of a full report.

Contribution limits: Pennsylvania has no dollar limit on contributions from individuals or PACs to candidates. The Election Code bans contributions from corporations and unions outright and caps cash contributions at $100 in aggregate from any one person (Campaign Finance FAQ). Philadelphia is the exception: under the city's campaign finance law, candidates for Mayor, District Attorney, City Controller, City Council, Sheriff, and City Commissioner may accept no more than $3,700 per year from an individual and $14,800 from a PAC or other organization, figures the Board of Ethics adjusted effective January 1, 2024 and will revisit in 2028.

Reporting: The second Friday before the primary (May 7, 2027), 30 days after the primary (June 17, 2027), the second Friday before the November election (October 22, 2027), 30 days after (December 2, 2027), and an annual report due January 31 (February 1 when the 31st falls on a weekend). The sixth-Tuesday pre-election reports apply only to statewide candidates. Dates computed from the Department's reporting-dates rule; the Department posts the official list each year.

The $250 threshold, the corporate and union ban, and the $100 cash cap are statewide. Philadelphia's limits and its Board of Ethics filing rules apply on top of county filing for city offices.

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

In person, with no-excuse mail voting. Most Pennsylvanians vote in person on Election Day. Since Act 77 of 2019 any registered voter may request a no-excuse mail-in ballot. There is no traditional early in-person voting; the substitute is on-demand mail ballot voting at the county election office.

Early voting: No early voting period as such. Once ballots are ready, a voter can go to the county election office (or another county-designated site), apply for a mail-in ballot, receive it, mark it, and hand it back in one visit, until the application deadline seven days before the election (5:00 p.m. October 26, 2027 for the municipal election).
Mail ballots: No-excuse mail-in ballots and traditional absentee ballots. Applications must reach the county board by 5:00 p.m. on the Tuesday seven days before the election; voted ballots must be received by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, by mail, at the county office, or at a county drop box. Voters can join the annual mail ballot list to receive an application automatically each year.
Registration deadline: 15 days before the election: May 3, 2027 for the municipal primary and October 18, 2027 for the municipal election. Register online, by mail, or at PennDOT and other agencies; the county voter registration office processes it.
Same-day registration: No

Knowing who has already voted: Two official feeds. (1) The Statewide Mail Ballot File from the Department of State is a voter-level, point-in-time extract of every mail-in and absentee application and ballot recorded in SURE, pulled once per day; any registered elector can request it by emailing the request form to RA-STBEST@pa.gov with an affirmation of political use and no internet publication. The Election Code (25 P.S. §§3146.9 and 3150.17) makes mail ballot lists public records, so your county board can also give you its applicant and returned-ballot lists directly. (2) The Department's Elections Data page posts a county-level daily mail ballot spreadsheet during election season. Election Day and mail votes are added to the Full Voter Export's vote history after the county finishes canvassing, and the weekly refresh picks them up.

Local government in Pennsylvania: what you can run for

Pennsylvania has counties, cities, boroughs, one incorporated town, and first- and second-class townships, each with elected governing bodies, plus separately elected school boards. Counties are classed by population (first class is Philadelphia, second class Allegheny) and the class changes signature counts and fees (Election Code §912.1, §913). Counties are governed by elected county commissioners who also sit as the board of elections, or by a home-rule council; Philadelphia is a consolidated city-county. Boroughs elect councils and mayors, townships elect supervisors or commissioners, and school districts elect school directors.

County commissioner
Row officer (sheriff, prothonotary, register of wills, treasurer, controller)
City council member
Mayor
Borough council member
Township supervisor
Township commissioner (first-class township)
School director
Magisterial district judge
Judge of elections and inspector of elections
Philadelphia City Council member

When local elections happen: All county, city, borough, township, ward, school district, and election offices are elected at the municipal election on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years, with the municipal primary on the third Tuesday in May of the same year (Election Code §602). State and federal offices run in even years, so local races never share a ballot with a governor or president.

Running your Pennsylvania campaign on Culper

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

Pennsylvania questions we get asked

How much does the Pennsylvania voter file cost and what is in it?

The Pennsylvania Department of State sells the Full Voter Export for $20 through PA Voter Services. It includes every registered voter with voter ID, name, sex, date of birth, registration date, status, party, residential and mailing address, polling place, all districts, date last voted, and vote history, and it is refreshed weekly. Phone numbers and email are not included. Any registered Pennsylvania elector can buy it for election or political use under 25 Pa.C.S. §1404.

Where do I file to run for borough council, township supervisor, or school board in Pennsylvania?

With your county board of elections, not Harrisburg. Election Code §913 sends every county, city, borough, township, ward, and school district petition to the county board; only statewide, congressional, legislative, and judicial candidates file with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. For 2027 the petition window is February 16 through March 9 at 5:00 p.m., and school director and most municipal offices need only ten party signatures (Election Code §912.1).

Does Pennsylvania limit campaign contributions to local candidates?

No. Pennsylvania has no cap on contributions from individuals or PACs to any candidate. It bans corporate and union contributions and limits cash to $100 total from any one contributor. The exception is Philadelphia, where the city's campaign finance law caps contributions to candidates for city offices at $3,700 from an individual and $14,800 from a PAC or organization per calendar year (Board of Ethics figures effective January 1, 2024).

Where does a local candidate in Pennsylvania file campaign finance reports?

With the county board of elections where you filed your nomination petition. Pennsylvania county, municipal, and school board candidates never file with the Department of State; that is only for statewide and General Assembly races. Reports are required once you raise or spend more than $250, on the second Friday before the primary, 30 days after the primary, the second Friday before the November election, 30 days after, and annually by January 31.

Does Pennsylvania have early voting?

Not in the usual sense. Pennsylvania has no in-person early voting period, but any voter can go to the county election office, apply for a mail-in ballot, and vote it on the spot, until 5:00 p.m. seven days before the election. Mail-in ballots have been no-excuse since Act 77 of 2019 and must be received by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Voter registration closes 15 days before the election.

How can a Pennsylvania campaign track who has already returned a mail ballot?

Request the Statewide Mail Ballot File from the Pennsylvania Department of State. It is a voter-level extract of every mail-in and absentee application and ballot recorded in SURE, refreshed once a day, available to any registered elector who signs the political-use affirmation on the request form and emails it to RA-STBEST@pa.gov. County boards also treat mail ballot lists as public records under the Election Code and will provide their own applicant and returned lists.

When are local elections held in Pennsylvania?

In odd-numbered years. Pennsylvania's Election Code §602 puts every county, city, borough, township, ward, and school district office on the municipal election, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd years, with the municipal primary on the third Tuesday in May. The next cycle is May 18 and November 2, 2027.

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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.