//Run for office · West Virginia

How to run for local office in West Virginia

West Virginia sells its whole statewide voter file for $500 and a daily early-voter list for $200, but your city or town runs its own election on its own charter date, at least until 2032.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

West Virginia local elections split into two systems. County offices (county commission and the county constitutional officers) and county boards of education run on the state calendar: file with the county clerk in January of an even year, primary on the second Tuesday in May, general in November. Municipal offices (mayor, recorder, council) are run by the city or town itself, under its charter, on whatever date the charter sets, with the municipal recorder or city clerk taking candidate filings and campaign finance reports. A 2025 law now requires every municipal election to move onto a statewide primary or general election date by July 1, 2032.

The voter data side is unusually open and cheap. West Virginia Code 3-2-30 makes the registration list available to anyone for noncommercial use: the Secretary of State charges $500 for the statewide file, $500 for the master voting history, and $200 each for the statewide early-voter and absentee lists, updated daily during voting, and county clerks sell their lists at one cent per name. Phone numbers, email addresses, and license numbers are stripped by statute.

Election authority: West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections Division
Voter file: Public record — anyone can obtain it · Secretary of State price list (revised August 14, 2026): Statewide Voter Registration List $500; Master Voter History List Export $500; Election Cycle Subscription (the statewide list updated monthly and then daily for the 30 days before election day, plus the history export and the daily absentee and early-voter lists) $1,000; Statewide Early Voters List $200; Statewide Absentee Requests List $200; Statewide Absentee Received List $200; partial lists (county, municipal, district, precinct), voter history lists, and updates $25 per staff hour, estimated before the work starts. County clerks charge one cent per name (W. Va. Code 3-2-30). Payment is due before delivery.
Campaign finance: Campaign Finance Reporting System (CFRS), mandatory for state-level filers; county and municipal candidates file on paper forms (West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections Division (campaign finance))
How voters vote: In person, with excuse-required absentee voting
Registration deadline: 21 days before the election, or the next business day (W. Va. Code 3-2-6): October 13, 2026 for the November 3 general; online registration closes at 11:59 p.m. and in-person at close of business.
Local offices: County commission and county constitutional officers are partisan, nominated in the May primary of even years. County boards of education are nonpartisan by law, elected at the primary. Municipal offices are partisan or nonpartisan as the charter provides; most municipalities are nonpartisan without a primary.

Who runs elections in West Virginia

West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections Division The Secretary of State is the chief election official: it publishes the annual election calendar and candidate forms, sells statewide voter data, runs the Campaign Finance Reporting System for state-level filers, certifies multi-county candidates, and publishes the Municipal Elections Guide that city recorders follow. County candidates deal mostly with the county clerk, and municipal candidates with the recorder or city clerk, but the deadlines and forms come from here.

The 55 county clerks register voters, accept certificates of announcement and campaign finance reports for county offices (including magistrate), issue absentee ballots, and run early voting at the courthouse, its annex, and approved community voting sites; the county commission sits as the board of canvassers. Municipal elections are conducted by the municipality: the recorder or city clerk takes candidate filings, prints ballots, runs early voting at town hall, and receives municipal candidates' finance reports, and the municipality pays for the election (W. Va. Code 8-5-14).

Getting the West Virginia 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 West Virginia it comes from West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections Division (and county clerks).

Access: Public record — anyone can obtain it
Cost: Secretary of State price list (revised August 14, 2026): Statewide Voter Registration List $500; Master Voter History List Export $500; Election Cycle Subscription (the statewide list updated monthly and then daily for the 30 days before election day, plus the history export and the daily absentee and early-voter lists) $1,000; Statewide Early Voters List $200; Statewide Absentee Requests List $200; Statewide Absentee Received List $200; partial lists (county, municipal, district, precinct), voter history lists, and updates $25 per staff hour, estimated before the work starts. County clerks charge one cent per name (W. Va. Code 3-2-30). Payment is due before delivery.
Format: Delimited text (.csv or .txt), Excel where file size allows, or PDF; delivered by cloud transfer or email.
Vote history: Included
Phone numbers: Not included
Updated: The statewide list is a snapshot on request. The $1,000 subscription refreshes it monthly all year and daily from 30 days before election day through election day; absentee lists update daily from 30 days before to 10 days after; the early-voter list updates daily during early voting.

Who can get it: Anyone. The Secretary of State and county clerks make registration lists available to any requester for noncommercial purposes (W. Va. Code 3-2-30); you do not need to be a candidate.

Permitted use: Any noncommercial purpose. Lists may not be used for commercial or charitable solicitation or advertising, and may not be sold or reproduced for resale (W. Va. Code 3-2-30(f)).

County option: Yes: the county clerk sells the county list at one cent per name, and the Secretary of State will cut a county, municipal, district, or precinct list at $25 per hour, filtered by party, active or inactive status, and voting history in elections you name.

Every list automatically includes name, residence address and county, party affiliation, active or inactive status, and registration date; you can add birthdate, mailing address, precinct, and congressional, state senate, delegate, and magisterial districts.
By statute no list from the state or a county contains telephone numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, or driver's license numbers (W. Va. Code 3-2-30).
Voting history is optional on a partial list (name the elections you want) or comes as the $500 statewide history export, refreshed after each primary, general, and odd-year election is certified.

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 West Virginia

County offices: file a certificate of announcement and the filing fee with the county clerk between the second Monday in January and the last Saturday in January of the even election year (W. Va. Code 3-5-7); partisan candidates then run in the May primary. Board of education: same window, nonpartisan, decided at the May primary (W. Va. Code 3-5-6). Municipal offices: file a certificate of announcement (municipal form) with the recorder or city clerk during the window the charter or ordinance sets, with the fee the charter sets; most municipalities have no primary and use a nominating petition or a plurality general election.

File with: County clerk for offices voted on by one county or part of a county, including county commission, county officers, board of education, and magistrate. Municipal recorder or city clerk for mayor, recorder, and council. Secretary of State for offices covering more than one county.
Filing fee: County offices: 1% of the office's annual salary, paid to the county clerk at filing (W. Va. Code 3-5-8); a candidate who cannot pay may file an oath and a petition in lieu of the fee (3-5-8a). Municipal offices: set by charter or ordinance; the Secretary of State suggests 1% of salary, and a fee waiver by oath and petition must be offered.
Petition: None for a partisan county candidate (the fee is the qualifier). Independent and minor-party candidates for county office need signatures equal to 1% of the total vote for the office at the last general election, filed by the day before the primary after obtaining petition credentials (W. Va. Code 3-5-23). Municipal petition counts are set by charter.
Partisan?: County commission and county constitutional officers are partisan, nominated in the May primary of even years. County boards of education are nonpartisan by law, elected at the primary. Municipal offices are partisan or nonpartisan as the charter provides; most municipalities are nonpartisan without a primary.

Filing window: County and school board: not earlier than the second Monday in January and not later than the last Saturday in January before the May primary (W. Va. Code 3-5-7); county clerk offices take filings until noon on the final Saturday, and mailed certificates must be postmarked before midnight. For 2028 that is January 10 through January 29. Municipal: the charter or ordinance sets the window relative to the municipal election date; the Secretary of State's guide expects the filing period to close about the 70th day before a general with no primary.

Key West Virginia dates
What	When	Note
Municipal elections held in 2027 (filing window and fee set by city or town charter)	Varies	File with the municipal recorder or city clerk. Many charters close filing roughly 70 days before a no-primary general; ask the recorder for the ordinance and the Secretary of State's calendar for your city.
Filing period opens, 2028 county and board of education offices	January 10, 2028	Second Monday in January (W. Va. Code 3-5-7). File the certificate of announcement and 1% fee with the county clerk.
Filing deadline, 2028 county and board of education offices	January 29, 2028	Last Saturday in January (W. Va. Code 3-5-7). County clerk offices take in-person filings until noon; mailed certificates must be postmarked before midnight.
Primary election, 2028 (county nominations; board of education decided)	May 9, 2028	Second Tuesday in May of even years (W. Va. Code 3-5-1); board of education seats are on a nonpartisan ballot this day (3-5-6). Registration closes April 18, 2028.
General election, 2028 county offices	November 7, 2028	Registration closes 21 days before (W. Va. Code 3-2-6).

Campaign finance rules in West Virginia

State-level campaign finance in West Virginia is overseen by West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections Division (campaign finance) through Campaign Finance Reporting System (CFRS), mandatory for state-level filers; county and municipal candidates file on paper forms.

Where local candidates file: Where you file follows the office (W. Va. Code 3-8-5; Secretary of State calendar). County office, including magistrate: the county clerk. City or town office: the municipal recorder (or city clerk). Statewide, legislative, multi-county, and judicial offices: the Secretary of State through CFRS. Local candidates use the Secretary of State's Campaign Financial Statement long or short form, designate a treasurer or financial agent, and file every report on the state schedule.

Contribution limits: State limits apply to every candidate, including county and municipal: $2,800 per election to a candidate's committee from a person, party, or PAC, counted separately for the primary and the general (W. Va. Code 3-8-5c). PACs may take $5,000 per election and state party committees $10,000 per calendar year. A candidate may put unlimited personal funds into his or her own campaign.

Reporting: Quarterly reports due within 6 days after January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 (covering the prior quarter), plus a pre-primary report and a pre-general report due on the 15th day before each election and filed within 4 days (W. Va. Code 3-8-5). Municipal elections follow the same structure on dates the Secretary of State publishes per election (for example, separate 2026 schedules for June 2 and June 9 municipal elections).

The Secretary of State's forms page includes a Pre-Candidacy Registration for candidates who begin raising money before the filing period, and separate municipal versions of the certificate of announcement and petition forms.

Limits and thresholds change. Treat the figures here as a starting point and confirm the current schedule with West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections 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 West Virginia

In person, with excuse-required absentee voting. West Virginians vote in person on election day or during 10 days of early voting; any registered voter may vote early with no excuse. Mail absentee ballots are limited to voters with a listed reason: confined by disability, illness, injury, or medical reason; absent from the county for work, travel, or school for the whole in-person voting period; and military and overseas voters (W. Va. Code 3-3-1).

Early voting: Begins the 13th day before the election and ends the 3rd day before (a Saturday), weekdays during business hours at the county courthouse, its annex, or approved community sites, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays (W. Va. Code 3-3-3). For the November 3, 2026 general: October 21 through October 31. Municipal elections run early voting at town hall on the same 13-to-3-day schedule.
Mail ballots: Excuse required (see the list in W. Va. Code 3-3-1). The county clerk must receive the application by the 6th day before the election and mails ballots starting 46 days out. Return by mail postmarked by election day and received before the canvass (which starts the 5th day after), or hand-deliver to the clerk by the day before the election.
Registration deadline: 21 days before the election, or the next business day (W. Va. Code 3-2-6): October 13, 2026 for the November 3 general; online registration closes at 11:59 p.m. and in-person at close of business.
Same-day registration: No

Knowing who has already voted: The Secretary of State sells it during voting. The Statewide Early Voters List ($200) is updated daily from the first day of early voting through election day; the Statewide Absentee Requests List and Absentee Received List ($200 each) update daily from 30 days before election day through 10 days after; all three are bundled in the $1,000 election-cycle subscription, and updates to a purchased list run $25 per hour. The Secretary of State will also cut a county-level early-voter or absentee list at $25 per hour. For a municipal election ask the recorder, who runs early voting at town hall.

Local government in West Virginia: what you can run for

West Virginia has 55 counties, cities, towns, and villages, and county school districts; there are no townships (magisterial districts exist only for representation). Each county elects a county commission plus a county clerk, circuit clerk, sheriff, assessor, and prosecuting attorney, and one five-member board of education with no more than two members from the same magisterial district (W. Va. Code 18-5-1). Municipalities elect a mayor, recorder, and council unless the charter provides otherwise (W. Va. Code 8-5-7), with at least five council members in a municipality without wards. Conservation districts elect supervisors, and some special districts, such as the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, elect boards on the county ballot.

County commissioner
County clerk
Circuit clerk
Sheriff
Assessor
Prosecuting attorney
Magistrate
Board of education member
Mayor
Recorder
Council member
Conservation district supervisor

When local elections happen: County offices and boards of education: even years, primary on the second Tuesday in May and general on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November (2026, 2028); board of education seats are decided at the primary. Municipal elections: the charter date, which for many towns is in odd years or in June (the statutory default municipal election day is the second Tuesday in June; the Secretary of State published 2026 calendars for June 2 and June 9 municipal elections). W. Va. Code 3-1-31 (2025) now requires all municipal elections to be held with a statewide primary or general, and municipalities must amend charters to comply by July 1, 2032 (W. Va. Code 8-5-5).

Running your West Virginia campaign on Culper

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

West Virginia questions we get asked

Who runs a city council election in West Virginia, and where do I file?

The city or town itself. Municipal elections in West Virginia are conducted by the municipality under its charter: you file a certificate of announcement (the municipal form) and the charter's filing fee with the municipal recorder or city clerk, the recorder prints the ballots and runs early voting at town hall, and you file campaign finance reports with the recorder. County offices and school board seats are different: those go through the county clerk on the state calendar.

How much does the West Virginia voter file cost and who can buy it?

Anyone can buy it for noncommercial use. The Secretary of State charges $500 for the statewide registration list, $500 for the master voting history, $1,000 for a subscription that refreshes both and adds the daily early-voter and absentee lists, and $25 per hour for a county, city, or precinct cut. County clerks charge one cent per name. The file has name, address, party, status, and registration date, with birthdate and districts on request, and never phone numbers (W. Va. Code 3-2-30).

What are the contribution limits for a county commission or city council candidate in West Virginia?

$2,800 per election from any person, party, or PAC, and the primary and general are separate elections, so a supporter can give $5,600 across a contested cycle (W. Va. Code 3-8-5c). The limits apply to municipal and county candidates the same as legislators. Reports go to the county clerk (county office) or municipal recorder (city office) quarterly and 15 days before each election.

When do West Virginia county candidates file for 2028?

Between Monday, January 10 and Saturday, January 29, 2028, with the county clerk, paying 1% of the office's annual salary (W. Va. Code 3-5-7, 3-5-8). The primary is May 9, 2028 and the general November 7, 2028. Board of education candidates file in the same window and are elected on the nonpartisan primary ballot. If you cannot afford the fee, file the oath and gather signatures on the in-lieu-of-fee petition by the same deadline.

Can I get a daily list of who has voted early in West Virginia?

Yes. The Secretary of State's Statewide Early Voters List ($200) is updated every day from the first day of early voting (13 days before the election) through election day, and the absentee requests and received lists ($200 each) update daily from 30 days out. West Virginia mail voting is excuse-only, so the early-voter list is the one that matters; early voting ends the Saturday three days before election day.

Are West Virginia local elections partisan?

County commission and the county officers are partisan with a May primary. County boards of education are nonpartisan by statute and are elected on the primary ballot, with no more than two members from one magisterial district. Municipal offices follow the charter; most West Virginia towns are nonpartisan and skip a primary, and the Secretary of State's Municipal Elections Guide describes nominating petitions and plurality elections as the usual routes.

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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.