Filing period now open for city council, school elections
Deadline to submit papers is Sept. 21
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City and school board elections will be held on Nov. 7.
Residents wishing to earn a spot on their local school boards and city councils have until mid-September to get their name on the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
The filing period opened Aug. 28 and runs until Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. Residents can pick up nomination papers at their respective city hall, county auditor's office or by visiting the Iowa Secretary of State's website. Candidates must turn in all nomination materials to their city clerk or county auditor for council elections and board secretary for school board elections.
School and city elections are now held in conjunction with each other due to a change in state law. School board elections were previously held in September, while city elections were held in November. Local seats up for election this year are listed below.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn school board: Kyle McCarter and Ryan Haack.
Clay Central/Everly school board: Brian Schmidt and Allyn Heikens.
Hartley City Council: Mayor Rodney Ahrenstorff and council members Greg Cotter and Jerry Olson.
Everly City Council: Mayor Ron Thompson and council members Denise Cook, Tara Patrick and Shaun Iske.
Royal City Council: Mayor Josh Toft and council members Matt Goyette, Jeff Van Westen and Jim Virelli.
Interested residents must complete notarized affidavits of candidacy and nomination petitions before filing. Affidavits missing the following information will be rejected: Candidate's name, office sought, candidate's signature and signature of notary public. The candidate's party affiliation should be left blank, as city council and school board elections are non-partisan.
Candidates must gather a set number of signatures when completing their nomination petition. At least 10 signatures are needed for cities with populations between 2,499 or less.
Candidates need 17 signatures to get on the CC/E school ballot, while H-M-S candidates need 31.
Eligible electors of the city or school district may sign nomination petitions. Candidates can sign their own petitions if they are eligible electors. Candidates may begin collecting signatures at any time; however, the signers must still be eligible electors when the papers are filed in order for the signatures to count.
All signers must include a signature and address of their residence on the petition. Providing a post office box only is not sufficient. There is no limit on the number of nomination petitions one elector may sign for different candidates.
Visit the Iowa Secretary of State's website for a complete list of candidacy rules.
