Committeepersons

A Precinct Committeeperson's Two-Year Calendar

An Illinois precinct committeeperson's term runs from one general primary to the next. If you were elected outside Cook County on March 17, 2026, you serve "until the date of the primary to be held in the second year after" your election (10 ILCS 5/7-8(b)), which is the 2028 general primary. In between sit the 2027 consolidated elections, with two separate tracks: a February 23, 2027 election and an April 6, 2027 election.

So the two years break into four seasons: getting set up in 2026, the fall 2026 petition and filing season for 2027, the 2027 elections themselves, and the run-up to your own reelection in 2028. Below is what happens in each, with the dates from the ISBE 2027 calendar and the activities county parties typically expect. The statute sets the term, the weighted vote and the election judge lists; the rest is party expectation, and it varies by county and party.

For the role as a whole, including why many counties still say precinct committeeman or committeewoman, see the precinct committeeperson handbook.

Season 1: Spring and summer 2026, getting set up

You were elected at the March 17, 2026 primary. That primary matters for the rest of your term, because your vote on the county central committee is set by it: "each precinct committeeperson shall have one vote for each ballot voted in his precinct by the primary electors of his party at the primary at which he was elected" (10 ILCS 5/7-8(d)).

What county parties typically expect in these first months:

• Attend the county central committee meetings. The committee is made up of the party's township, precinct and ward committeepersons in the county (10 ILCS 5/7-8(d)).
• Learn your precinct. Get a current walk list from your county party, confirm the boundaries, and start knocking. Notes from these first walks become the baseline for the next two years.
• Help with the general election later in 2026. Most county parties ask committeepersons to remind supporters to vote and to help recruit election judges.

Season 2: Fall 2026, petitions for 2027

This is the busiest stretch for petitions. Two tracks run at once, and the filing periods moved about three weeks earlier this cycle (P.A. 103-0586 and 103-0600).

February 23, 2027 track (partisan municipal offices in towns over 5,000, nonpartisan municipal primaries, council-manager cities, and all City of Chicago offices):

• Circulation began July 28, 2026
• Filing: October 19 to 26, 2026
• Objections due: November 2
• Ballot certified: December 17

April 6, 2027 track (school, park, library, community college, fire protection and forest preserve boards; independent and new-party municipal candidates; most nonpartisan villages, confirmed village by village):

• Circulation began August 25, 2026
• Filing: November 16 to 23, 2026
• Objections due: December 1 or 2
• Ballot certified: January 28, 2027

No township offices are on the 2027 ballot; the next township elections are in April 2029.

What county parties typically expect in this season:

• Carry petitions for slated candidates. If your party is backing candidates for municipal or local offices, you may be asked to collect signatures in your precinct. Petitions are signed in ink on the official form, with a notarized circulator statement. There are no electronic signatures for Illinois candidate petitions.
• Collect with margin. Objections strike invalid signatures. Many campaigns aim for 1.5 to 2 times the minimum as common practice, not law.
• Record what you learn at each door. Petition walks are some of the best door conversations of the cycle, and the notes help in January and February.

Season 3: Winter and spring 2027, the consolidated elections

February 23, 2027. Early voting starts January 14, 2027. In Chicago, this is the municipal general election, where a candidate with over 50% wins outright, and the April 6 date is the runoff.

April 6, 2027. Early voting starts February 25, or March 12 where a February primary ran.

What county parties typically expect:

• Turnout for the party's candidates in partisan races, and any work the party asks for in nonpartisan races.
• Election judges. Under 10 ILCS 5/13-1, the county board appoints judges in each precinct from lists certified by the county chairs of the two leading parties, three from one and two from the other. The chairs are to list people who live in the precinct where possible, which is why most county parties ask committeepersons to recruit judges. We cover that in recruiting election judges for your precinct.
• Registration help for new neighbors and anyone who has moved within the precinct.

Season 4: Summer 2027 to the 2028 primary, your own reelection

Your seat is on the ballot at the 2028 general primary. Petitions for that primary are circulated in the year before, so your reelection work starts in 2027. Check the ISBE calendar for the 2028 general primary for the exact circulation and filing dates.

What this season typically involves:

1. Your own petition. You need at least 10 signatures of your party's primary electors in the precinct (10 ILCS 5/7-10(i)). Aim well above 10, since objections can strike signatures.
2. Petitions for slated candidates in the same primary, often carried on the same walks.
3. Primary turnout. The ballots your party's primary voters cast in your precinct at the 2028 primary set your weighted vote for the next term. Turning out your party's primary voters is the most direct way to strengthen your precinct's voice on the county central committee.
4. Judge recruitment for the 2028 primary and general elections.

Two things that can interrupt the calendar

Moving. "A vacancy exists in the office of precinct committeeperson when a precinct committeeperson ceases to reside in the precinct" (10 ILCS 5/7-8(b)). You lose the rights and duties of the office right away. The vacancy is filled under your party's rules, usually through the county chair. If a move is coming, tell your county party early and hand over your precinct notes.

Eligibility. A person who is ineligible to vote because of a felony conviction cannot hold the position, and a conviction vacates it (10 ILCS 5/7-8).

If you are in Cook County

Cook County does not elect precinct committeepersons. Ward and township committeepersons are elected every four years at the general primary (10 ILCS 5/7-8(b)), and precinct work is usually done by volunteer captains the ward or township organization recruits. The 2027 dates above still apply, including all City of Chicago offices on the February 23 track.

Keeping the calendar in one place

The pattern repeats every two years: learn the precinct, carry petitions, turn out voters, recruit judges, run again. What makes each round easier is knowing what happened at each door last time. Beacon keeps that history on a map: walk lists, route optimization, offline mode that syncs later, and door results such as contacted, not home, moved or come back later, with notes and survey answers. During petition walks you can add a survey question for "signed: yes or no," while the signatures themselves stay on the paper petition.

If you coordinate committeepersons for a county or township party, see how Beacon works for party organizations, with unlimited canvassers on every plan. A 14-day trial is enough time to set up your precincts before the April track filing closes on November 23.