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Are You Ready to Run?

Required Qualifications to Run for Local Office

  1. A minimum of 18 years of age.

  2. United States Citizenship.

  3. Not have been convicted of a felony in any court in the United States for which the candidate has not been pardoned.

  4. Residency: The residency requirement is specific to the position. 

    • Citywide: Must reside within the city limits at the time of election. Wis. Stat. § 62.09(2)(a)., Wis. Stat. §§ 120.06(2), (6)(b)2.

    • Aldermanic: Must reside within the aldermanic district when they take office. §.62.09(2)(a).

    • School Board of Director: Must reside within the school board district when they take office. Wis. Stat. §§ 120.05(1)(d), 120.06(2), (4)

The Milwaukee Election Commission (MEC) is the filing officer for 31 municipal elected offices, that includes:

  • Mayor
  • City Attorney
  • City Comptroller
  • City Treasurer
  • 15 Alderpersons
  • 3 Municipal Judges
  • 9 Board of School Directors for Milwaukee Public Schools

MEC handles all of the paperwork, campaign finance reports, and nomination signature review for candidates interested in getting on the ballot during the spring nonpartisan election and any special elections for the seats noted above.

The City of Milwaukee Board of Election Commission (BOEC) is responsible for certifying ballot access for those seats and certifying the canvass for all elections for the City of Milwaukee.

 

Campaign Finance Reporting for Current Campaign Committees

The process of running for office in the City of Milwaukee is guided by Wisconsin election and campaign laws found in State Statute Chapters five through 12, and by the guidance and rules set forth by the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) and the Wisconsin Ethics Commission (Ethics). 

 

Any person interested in running for office has the burden and responsibility of understanding and complying with candidate filing and campaign finance reporting requirements. 

 

If you are interested in running for a county office, please visit the Milwaukee County Election Commission (MCEC). 

If you are interest in running for a state or federal office, please visit the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) ballot access site.

Step-by-Step Overview to Get your Name on the Ballot

Candidates are ultimately responsible for ensuring their paperwork is accurate and submitted on time. Please carefully read all instructions, attestations, and details before submitting to our office. Submitting incorrect, inaccurate, or false information will prevent ballot access.

Step 1: File your CAMPAIGN REGISTRATION STATEMENT (CF1)

A CF1 creates your campaign committee. Candidates are prohibited from campaign fundraising or incurring campaign expenses until this form has been filed with MEC. Even if a committee does not intend to fundraise, a CF1 still must be submitted. This form requires you to identify:

  • The office you will be pursuing
  • List the bank information for your campaign finance account
  • Provide your name and contact information and that of your campaign treasurer

The contact information you provide will be the contact information that MEC uses to notify committees of updates regarding ballot access, campaign finance issues, and other important information about candidate filings. Therefore, it is critical that campaign committees keep their CF1 current and submit phone numbers and emails that will be checked daily and do not filter unknown phone numbers or emails.

 

Step 2: File your DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY (EL162) or DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY FOR SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES (EL-162SD)

The EL162 requires administering an oath and notary. MEC can administer the oath and notary during office hours. It is due no later than 5:00pm on the day of the deadline for filing nomination papers. This form requires you to identify:

  • Your name and address of residence
  • The office you will be pursuing
  • Your name as you wish it to appear on the ballot if you are successful in achieving ballot access

Your EL162 must be accurate. Errors after the deadline cannot be corrected.

Step 3: Begin Circulating and submit your NOMINATION PAPERS

Read all instructions relating to the distribution of nomination papers to ensure that each page of your signatures meets circulating requirements. All nomination signatures are reviewed by the City of Milwaukee Election Commission and may be challenged by other candidates running for office. 

If a signer’s address is not legible or valid, or the person resides outside of the area represented by the officeholder, the signature will be disqualified. While it is not required, you are encouraged to collect at least 100 signatures more than the minimum requirement. You are also encouraged to verify the addresses included on your nomination papers on Where Do I Vote? before submitting them. Once nomination papers are submitted, no changes can be made. 

Completed nomination papers must be submitted to the City of Milwaukee Election Commission no later than 5:00pm on the day of the deadline.

Step 4: Complete and Submit your STATEMENT OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS FORM

Municipal Candidates (Mayor, Alderpersons, City Attorney, City Comptroller, City Treasurer): The Statement of Economic Interests form and instructions will be posted on our website after December 1st each year. This form is due to the City of Milwaukee Election Commission by 4:30pm on the 3rd day following the deadline for filing nomination papers.

Municipal Judge Candidates: Complete and submit a Statement of Economic Interests (SEI) to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, 212 East Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor, P.O. Box 7984, Madison, WI, 53707-7984, no later than 4:30 PM on the 3rd day following the deadline for filing nomination papers. Any time after December 1st, a candidate may electronically enter and submit the Statement of Economic Interests form with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission at sei.wi.gov.

School Board Candidates: Milwaukee Board of School Director candidates are exempt from this filing requirement.

 

STEP 5: CERTIFICATION BY THE ELECTION COMMISSION

All nomination paper signatures will be reviewed after the deadline for submission. In some instances, the Election Commission may ask you to provide a corrective affidavit if errors have been made on a nomination page. If your nomination papers are complete (there are a sufficient number of valid signatures) and all other filing requirements have been met, your nomination papers will be certified as sufficient by the Election Commission and your name will appear on the ballot. If there are not enough valid signatures on your nomination papers or you did not complete all filing requirements, your name will not appear on the ballot.

If more than two candidates are certified for one office, there will be a primary election for that office. The order of candidate names on the ballot is determined through a random drawing selection process. Notice of the drawing is provided to all candidates and the public is invited to witness this process.

You may not remove your name from the ballot once your nomination papers have been certified.

 

STEP 6: SUBMIT CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS

Unless you have declared an exemption (you do not expect to raise or spend an aggregate of over $2,500 on your campaign in a calendar year), all candidate committees MUST file campaign finance reports. We will email a reminder prior to each filing due date as indicated on the Campaign Finance Report Filing schedule. However, you are responsible for filing a campaign finance report whether or not you receive the reminder. Campaign finance schedules and reporting requirements can be complex and require significant attention to detail and an ability to learn and understand reporting instructions.  You are encouraged to select a campaign treasurer that is reliable and organized.  All reports must be complete, accurate and meet full public disclosure requirements.

 

Filing Challenges to Nomination Papers

Anyone who has valid information that information contained in the papers or other ballot access documents violates the rules or state statutes applying to those documents may file a challenge. The burden of proof is on the challenger to establish any insufficiency, and if the challenger establishes the information is insufficient, the burden shifts to the challenged candidate to establish sufficiency.

A sworn complaint listing the insufficiencies and citing the statutes/rules that are violated must be submitted in writing to the filing officer for the office the candidate in question filed for. A template for a sworn affidavit can be found in the Elections Administrative Code EL 20.30(2) but is not required to be used. The complaint must be filed with the filing officer within 3 calendar days of the nomination paper filing deadline.  The Milwaukee Election Commission accepts electronic filings via email to [email protected].  Alternatively, the Milwaukee Election Commission also has notaries on staff and are happy to provide notary services for any complaints in our office.

Please utilize the following Wisconsin Election Commission rules and guides when filing challenges: