//Run for office · Wisconsin

How to run for local office in Wisconsin

Wisconsin's spring election is April 6, 2027, nomination papers are due at 5 p.m. on January 5, 2027, and the state sells its voter list with absentee-ballot status for $25 plus $5 per thousand records.

Facts checked against official sources · September 9, 2026

Wisconsin runs its local elections in the spring: a nonpartisan primary on the third Tuesday in February when a race draws more than twice the number of seats, and the spring election on the first Tuesday in April. City, village, and town offices, school boards, county supervisors and county executives, and judges are all on that ballot. You file with a local clerk, not with the state: the municipal clerk for municipal office, the county clerk for county office, the school district clerk for a school board seat. Campaign finance for local candidates also lives with that filing officer, on paper, until a law change moves it to the Ethics Commission in December 2027.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) supports the 1,851 municipal clerks and 72 county clerks who actually run elections, and it sells voter data through Badger Voters: name, address, districts, every election voted since 2006, and a separate absentee file showing when each request came in, when the ballot went out, and whether it came back. Absentee voting is no-excuse, in-person absentee runs the two weeks before the election, and voters can register at the polls, so the list keeps changing until the day itself.

Election authority: Wisconsin Elections Commission
Voter file: Public record — anyone can obtain it · $25 base fee plus $5 per 1,000 records (rounded up), capped at $12,500 (Wis. Admin. Code EL 3.50; Badger Voters FAQ checked 2026-09-09). Custom requests add $75 per half hour of staff time. An absentee-data subscription adds $25, with updates at $5 per 1,000 new records for 365 days.
Campaign finance: CFIS (Sunshine) for state candidates; local candidates file paper CF-2L or CF-2LE reports with the local filing officer (Wisconsin Ethics Commission)
How voters vote: In person, with no-excuse mail voting
Registration deadline: By mail or online: the third Wednesday before the election (March 17, 2027 for the April 6 spring election; Wis. Stat. 6.28). In person at the municipal clerk's office: through the Friday before (April 2, 2027; Wis. Stat. 6.29). At the polls on election day with proof of residence (Wis. Stat. 6.55).
Local offices: Nonpartisan. All spring election offices (municipal, school, county supervisor and executive, judicial) are nonpartisan by statute (Wis. Stat. 5.02). Partisan county officers (sheriff, clerk, treasurer, district attorney) are elected in November of even years.

Who runs elections in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Elections Commission The WEC is the six-member bipartisan commission that administers Wisconsin's election statutes, trains and supports clerks, maintains the WisVote statewide voter registration system, publishes the ballot access checklists and nomination paper forms every candidate uses, and sells voter and absentee data through Badger Voters. Local candidates file their papers with the local filing officer, and campaign finance questions go to the separate Wisconsin Ethics Commission.

Elections are conducted by over 1,900 local election officials: municipal clerks in Wisconsin's towns, villages, and cities (and the City of Milwaukee Election Commission) establish polling places, maintain the voter list, administer absentee voting, and run election day; 72 county clerks prepare county-level ballots and canvass; school district clerks are the filing officers for school board candidates. The WEC's clerk directory lists every one of them.

Getting the Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin it comes from Wisconsin Elections Commission, Badger Voters (WisVote data).

Access: Public record — anyone can obtain it
Cost: $25 base fee plus $5 per 1,000 records (rounded up), capped at $12,500 (Wis. Admin. Code EL 3.50; Badger Voters FAQ checked 2026-09-09). Custom requests add $75 per half hour of staff time. An absentee-data subscription adds $25, with updates at $5 per 1,000 new records for 365 days.
Format: CSV, zipped for large files; opens in Excel, Access, or a SQL database. Nomination paper scans come as PDF.
Vote history: Included
Phone numbers: Included where on file
Updated: Each request is a fresh extract from WisVote at the time you order; files stay downloadable for 6 months. Absentee subscriptions notify you when new records appear and let you buy only the new rows.

Who can get it: Anyone who creates a Badger Voters account (a My Wisconsin ID login is required since December 22, 2025). There is no eligibility test, and no free list for candidates, parties, academics, or the press.

Permitted use: Wisconsin law does not place any restrictions on the use of data obtained through this website (Badger Voters FAQ). Confidential electors under Wis. Stat. 6.47 and protected judicial officers are excluded from every request.

County option: Not needed. Badger Voters lets you request by county, municipality, ward, aldermanic district, supervisory district, or school district, so a single-ward alder race can pull only its own voters. Poll lists for a past election are available from the municipal or county clerk at the cost of reproduction (EL 3.50(7)).

A voter record includes name, address, any phone or email the voter gave when registering, electoral districts, the elections the voter participated in back to 2006, and whether each ballot was cast at the polls or absentee (Badger Voters FAQ).
Never provided: date of birth, age or age range, driver license or Social Security numbers, party preference, demographics, or how anyone voted. Wisconsin has no party registration.
Candidate nomination papers are scanned and viewable on Badger Voters free of charge, which is how you check an opponent's signatures.

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 Wisconsin

Every spring candidate files three things with the local filing officer by 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in January: a campaign registration statement (CF-1), a declaration of candidacy (EL-162), and nomination papers (EL-169) with the required signatures, circulated no earlier than December 1 (Wis. Stat. 8.10). Towns and villages may instead nominate by caucus in January (Wis. Stat. 8.05). If more than twice as many candidates file as there are seats, a spring primary on the third Tuesday in February narrows the field. The WEC posts a checklist for each office type every cycle; the Spring 2027 versions are already published.

File with: Municipal clerk (city, village, or town; the Milwaukee City Election Commission in Milwaukee) for municipal offices; county clerk for county supervisor and county executive; school district clerk for school board; WEC for state offices (WEC local candidates page).
Filing fee: None. The WEC's Spring 2027 ballot access checklists list only the CF-1, EL-162, and EL-169 forms (plus a statement of economic interests for municipal judges); no filing fee is required for local office.
Petition: Nomination paper signature ranges under Wis. Stat. 8.10(3), as printed on the WEC Spring 2027 checklists: village and town offices 20 to 100; 4th class cities 50 to 100 city-wide and 20 to 40 for a district alderperson; 2nd and 3rd class cities 200 to 400 city-wide, 100 to 200 for at-large alderpersons, 20 to 40 by district; Milwaukee 1,500 to 3,000 city-wide and 200 to 400 by district; school board 20 to 100 (100 to 200 if the district includes territory in a 2nd class city; 400 to 800 in Milwaukee); county supervisor 20 to 100 in counties under 100,000, 100 to 200 from 100,000 to 750,000 (50 to 200 where the county has passed an ordinance), 200 to 400 above 750,000. Circulators must be qualified Wisconsin electors under 2025 Wisconsin Act 126, signed March 30, 2026.
Partisan?: Nonpartisan. All spring election offices (municipal, school, county supervisor and executive, judicial) are nonpartisan by statute (Wis. Stat. 5.02). Partisan county officers (sheriff, clerk, treasurer, district attorney) are elected in November of even years.

Filing window: Circulate nomination papers from December 1 of the year before the election and file by 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in January (Wis. Stat. 8.10(2)(a)). If an incumbent neither files nor gives notice of non-candidacy by 5 p.m. on the second Friday before the deadline, other candidates get 72 more hours. The spring primary is the third Tuesday in February and the spring election the first Tuesday in April (Wis. Stat. 5.02).

Key Wisconsin dates
What	When	Note
First day to circulate nomination papers, Spring 2027	December 1, 2026	Wis. Stat. 8.10(2)(a); WEC Spring 2027 ballot access checklists.
Nomination papers, declaration of candidacy, and CF-1 registration due to the filing officer	January 5, 2027	5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in January (Wis. Stat. 8.10(2)(a)); original nomination papers only, and faxed or emailed forms must be followed by originals postmarked by this date.
Statement of economic interests due, municipal judge candidates	January 8, 2027	4:30 p.m. to the Ethics Commission (Wis. Stat. 19.43(4)); some municipalities require one from other candidates by ordinance (WEC checklist ELIS-7).
Spring primary (held only where more than twice the seats have candidates)	February 16, 2027	Third Tuesday in February (Wis. Stat. 5.02).
Voter registration by mail or online closes, April 6 spring election	March 17, 2027	5 p.m. (mail) or 11:59 p.m. (online) on the third Wednesday before the election (Wis. Stat. 6.28); in-person registration continues at the clerk's office until Friday, April 2 (6.29) and at the polls on election day (6.55).
In-person absentee voting may begin	March 23, 2027	No earlier than 14 days before the election and no later than the Sunday before (Wis. Stat. 6.86(1)(b)); each municipal clerk sets its own hours.
Spring pre-election campaign finance report, local candidates	March 29, 2027	Ethics Commission Schedule A; the 2026 report was due March 30 for an April 7 election, eight days before. Confirm the 2027 date on the Commission's filing calendar.
Deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail	April 1, 2027	5 p.m. on the 5th day before the election (Wis. Stat. 6.86(1)(b)).
Spring election	April 6, 2027	First Tuesday in April (Wis. Stat. 5.02).

Campaign finance rules in Wisconsin

State-level campaign finance in Wisconsin is overseen by Wisconsin Ethics Commission through CFIS (Sunshine) for state candidates; local candidates file paper CF-2L or CF-2LE reports with the local filing officer.

Where local candidates file: A candidate for county, municipal, or school district office registers (form CF-1L) and files every campaign finance report with the local filing officer: the clerk of the most populous jurisdiction for the office (county clerk, or city, village, or town clerk) or the school district clerk (Wis. Stat. 11.0102(1)(b) and (d)). Registration is required before you raise or spend anything and must be on file by the nomination paper deadline for your name to reach the ballot. Nothing goes to the Ethics Commission for a local race until 2023 Wis. Act 126 (as affected by 2025 Wis. Act 7) takes effect on December 1, 2027 and moves all committee filings to the Commission.

Contribution limits: For local offices an individual may give the greater of $500 or 2 cents times the population of the jurisdiction or district, up to $6,000, for the entire primary and election campaign combined (Wis. Stat. 11.1101(1)(h)); another candidate committee has the same limit; a PAC may give $400 or 2 cents per resident up to $5,000. A district of 25,000 people or fewer is at the $500 floor, a city of 100,000 allows $2,000, and only jurisdictions above 300,000 reach $6,000. Corporations, associations, labor organizations, and tribes may not contribute to candidate committees at all (Ethics Commission).

Reporting: Local candidate committees follow the Ethics Commission's Schedule A: a spring pre-primary report in February, a spring pre-election report in late March (March 30, 2026 for the April 7, 2026 election), a July continuing report on July 15, and a January continuing report on January 15. A committee that raises and spends under $2,500 in a calendar year can claim a limited-activity exemption on its registration and file no reports (Wis. Stat. 11.0104).

Write-in candidates must file the CF-1L registration by noon on the Friday before the election or their votes are not counted (Wis. Stat. 7.50(2)(em); WEC local candidates page).

Limits and thresholds change. Treat the figures here as a starting point and confirm the current schedule with Wisconsin Ethics Commission before you accept a check. Our campaign finance basics guide covers the bookkeeping every local candidate needs on day one.

How voting works in Wisconsin

In person, with no-excuse mail voting. Wisconsin voters vote at the polls on election day, in person at the municipal clerk's office during in-person absentee voting, or by mail with a no-excuse absentee ballot. Photo ID is required to receive a ballot in person or by mail, and proof of residence is required to register, including at the polls on election day.

Early voting: In-person absentee voting at the municipal clerk's office (or sites the municipality designates) may start no earlier than 14 days before the election and must end no later than the Sunday before it (Wis. Stat. 6.86(1)(b)); hours vary by municipality, and small towns may offer only a few. Check with each clerk in your district.
Mail ballots: Any qualified elector who is unable or unwilling to appear at the polls may vote absentee (Wis. Stat. 6.85). Request a ballot through MyVote.wi.gov or your clerk; mailed requests must reach the clerk by 5 p.m. on the 5th day before the election, the Thursday before (Wis. Stat. 6.86(1)(b)). Clerks send ballots to voters with valid requests on file by a statutory mailing deadline for each election (September 17, 2026 for the November 3, 2026 general election, per the WEC calendar).
Registration deadline: By mail or online: the third Wednesday before the election (March 17, 2027 for the April 6 spring election; Wis. Stat. 6.28). In person at the municipal clerk's office: through the Friday before (April 2, 2027; Wis. Stat. 6.29). At the polls on election day with proof of residence (Wis. Stat. 6.55).
Same-day registration: Yes

Knowing who has already voted: Buy the absentee data set on Badger Voters: for each voter who requested a ballot it shows when the clerk received the request, when the ballot was issued, whether it was received, and whether it was counted or rejected and why, with a subscription that emails you when new records land and charges only for the new rows (Badger Voters FAQ). In-person absentee voters appear in the same file. The WEC also publishes aggregate absentee ballot reports by county and municipality before and after each election, and clerks post a voter's own status on MyVote. After the election, the poll list from the clerk shows who voted.

Local government in Wisconsin: what you can run for

Wisconsin has 72 counties (Wis. Stat. 2.01) governed by elected county boards of supervisors, some with an elected county executive, and 1,851 municipalities: towns (unincorporated, governed by a town board), villages, and cities of the first through fourth class by population. Public schools are organized into school districts with elected boards and a district clerk who doubles as the candidates' filing officer. Technical college, sanitary, and metropolitan sewerage districts also elect or appoint boards. Milwaukee has its own City Election Commission and a first-class-city signature schedule.

Alderperson or common council member
Mayor
Village trustee or village president
Town board supervisor or town chair
Town or village clerk and treasurer (where elected)
School board member
County board supervisor
County executive
Municipal judge
Sanitary or sewerage district commissioner

When local elections happen: Local offices are filled at the spring election on the first Tuesday in April every year, with terms staggered so most bodies have seats up annually or every other year; a spring primary on the third Tuesday in February is held only in races with more than twice as many candidates as seats. Partisan county officers and state and federal offices run at the November general election in even years with an August partisan primary (Wis. Stat. 5.02). Spring 2027: primary February 16, election April 6.

Running your Wisconsin campaign on Culper

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

Wisconsin questions we get asked

How do I get the voter list for a Wisconsin alder or school board race?

Order it on Badger Voters, the Wisconsin Elections Commission's self-service portal. Filter down to your county, municipality, ward, aldermanic district, or school district, get an instant quote ($25 plus $5 per 1,000 records), pay by card or ACH, and download a CSV. The file includes each voter's participation in every election since 2006 and whether they voted at the polls or absentee, plus any phone or email they gave at registration. It never includes birth dates, and Wisconsin has no party registration.

When do I file to run for local office in Wisconsin in 2027?

By 5 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2027, with your filing officer: the municipal clerk for city, village, or town office, the county clerk for county supervisor or executive, the school district clerk for school board. You file a CF-1 campaign registration, an EL-162 declaration of candidacy, and EL-169 nomination papers with signatures collected no earlier than December 1, 2026 (Wis. Stat. 8.10). Wisconsin charges no filing fee for local office. A spring primary on February 16 happens only if more than twice as many candidates file as there are seats.

What are the contribution limits for a Wisconsin local candidate?

An individual can give the greater of $500 or two cents per resident of your jurisdiction, up to $6,000, for the whole primary-plus-election campaign (Wis. Stat. 11.1101(1)(h)). A school board or village race in a community of 25,000 or fewer is at the $500 limit; a city of 100,000 residents allows $2,000. PACs are capped at $400 or two cents per resident up to $5,000, and corporations and unions cannot give to Wisconsin candidates at all. The Ethics Commission publishes the table.

Where does a Wisconsin city council or school board candidate file campaign finance reports?

On paper with your local filing officer, the same clerk who took your nomination papers (Wis. Stat. 11.0102). Local candidates use the CF-1L registration and CF-2L or CF-2LE report forms from the Wisconsin Ethics Commission and follow its Schedule A calendar: spring pre-primary, spring pre-election, July 15, and January 15. If you will raise and spend under $2,500 in the year, claim the limited-activity exemption on your registration and skip the reports. Starting December 1, 2027, 2023 Wis. Act 126 moves all Wisconsin committees to filing with the Ethics Commission.

How can a Wisconsin campaign see who has already returned an absentee ballot?

Buy the absentee data on Badger Voters and subscribe to updates. The Wisconsin Elections Commission's absentee file lists every voter who requested a ballot, when the request arrived, when the ballot was issued, whether it was received, and whether it was counted or rejected; the subscription emails you when new records appear and bills only for the new rows ($5 per 1,000). In-person absentee voters at the clerk's office are in the same data. Pull it daily from mid-March 2027 through the April 6 spring election.

Can Wisconsin voters register on election day, and what ID do they need?

Yes. A Wisconsin voter can register at the polls on election day with a proof-of-residence document such as a Wisconsin driver license or state ID, a utility bill from the last 90 days, a lease, or a current property tax bill (Wis. Stat. 6.55; WEC registration page). Everyone then shows an acceptable photo ID to get a ballot. Registration by mail or online closes the third Wednesday before the election and in-person registration at the clerk's office the Friday before, but election day registration means your Wisconsin voter list keeps growing until the polls close.

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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.