Petitions
Illinois Petition Filing Day and the Ballot Lottery
On filing day you hand your complete packet (a notarized Statement of Candidacy on top, your numbered and fastened petition sheets, and your Statement of Economic Interests receipt) to the office that handles your race, during the filing window. When you file decides where you land on the ballot. Candidates in line when the office opens on the first day are treated as filing at the same moment, and a lottery decides which of them is listed first. Candidates who file in the last hour of the last day are drawn by lottery for the last position. Everyone in between is listed in the order they filed.
For 2027, filing runs October 19 to 26, 2026 for the February 23 elections and November 16 to 23, 2026 for the April 6 elections. The lotteries must be held by November 4 and December 2, 2026. This post covers what to bring, where to go, what happens at the counter, and what comes next. For the full petition process, see our guide to Illinois nominating petitions.
Step 1: Assemble the packet
The 2027 Candidate's Guide lists what candidates file (Guide pp. 15, 17):
- Statement of Candidacy, sworn or affirmed, signed and notarized (Guide p. 19), attached at the front.
- Petition sheets, originals, one uniform size, numbered consecutively starting with "1" on top, and fastened in book form at one edge. Paper clips and clipboards do not count as fastening (Guide p. 19).
- Receipt for your Statement of Economic Interests.
- Certificate of Deletions, if any signatures were struck before filing (Guide p. 15).
- Certificate of Officers (SBE Form P-8C), for new-party candidates only (Guide p. 10).
Two optional documents: the Loyalty Oath, which ISBE notes courts have held unconstitutional to require (Guide p. 18), and the Code of Fair Campaign Practices, which is voluntary and filed with the State Board (Guide pp. 18, 24). If you file a Loyalty Oath, your name on it must match your petition and Statement of Candidacy exactly (Guide pp. 19 to 20).
Copy everything before you go. Once filed, the petition "cannot be modified, altered, or added to in any way" (Guide p. 19), and your copy is how you will follow any objection.
The SEI receipt has its own deadline
The SEI is filed with the county clerk of the county where your unit of government has its principal office, and forms come from that clerk (Guide pp. 22 to 23). The receipt then goes to the office where you file your petition. It does not have to be in the packet, but it must arrive by 5:00 p.m. (or close of business) on the last day of filing, which is November 23, 2026 on the April track (Guide p. 23; Calendar p. 24). Filing the receipt later in the period does not change your petition's filing time. If your SEI is filed with the same officer who takes your petition, as with county offices, no separate receipt is needed (Guide p. 23).
Step 2: Know where you file
Filing in the wrong office is an easy mistake when several local governments overlap. For April 6, 2027 offices, the Guide's office pages say:
| Office | Where you file |
|---|---|
| Board of Education member | County clerk or county board of election commissioners for the county where the district's principal office is (not the school district office) (Guide p. 48) |
| Park district | Park District Secretary (Guide p. 40) |
| Public library district | Library District Secretary (Guide p. 42) |
| Township or municipal library trustee | Local municipal or township clerk (Guide p. 44) |
| Community college board | Secretary of the college board (Guide p. 54) |
| Fire protection district | Secretary of the district board (Guide p. 56) |
| Municipal offices, including independents and new parties | City or village clerk, or the clerk of the Board of Election Commissioners in cities that have one (Guide p. 33) |
If you are on the February track or your office is not listed, call the local election official and ask where your nomination papers go and what hours the office keeps during the filing period.
Step 3: Choose when to file
Filings are accepted from 8:00 a.m. (or the office's opening) on the first day through 5:00 p.m. (or close of business, whichever is later) on the last day (Guide p. 17). You may file in person, by mail or through an agent (Guide pp. 17, 68).
Timing matters for ballot position (Guide pp. 18, 27 to 28; 10 ILCS 5/10-6.2):
- Opening of the first day. Everyone in line when the office opens, plus papers in the first U.S. Postal Service delivery that day, is treated as filed at the same time. A lottery decides their order at the top of the ballot. Only USPS counts as mail for this purpose (Guide p. 18).
- The last hour of the last day. Papers filed between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. on the last day are also treated as filed at once, and a lottery decides their order for the last positions.
- Everything in between. Listed in the order filed.
Being first in line does not guarantee being first on the ballot (Guide p. 68). It puts you in the lottery for the top spot.
School board candidates: the ballot-order section of the statute begins "Except as provided by Article 9 of The School Code" (10 ILCS 5/10-6.2). Ask your county clerk how ballot order is set for your race before you plan around the rules above.
Step 4: At the counter
Check the packet one last time before you hand it in: Statement of Candidacy on top, sheets in number order, fastened at one edge, your name the same everywhere. Ask the clerk how the office records your filing date and time, write it down yourself, and keep it with your copy. The filing office will also give you a notice of your obligations under the campaign finance law (Guide p. 23).
Step 5: Avoid two after-filing traps
Filing a second set. If you file a second set of papers for the same office, you must cancel the first in writing within the notice window, or only the first set counts (Guide p. 18; 10 ILCS 5/7-12(11), 10-6.2). File once, correctly.
Incompatible offices. If you filed for offices that cannot be held together, you must withdraw from all but one within five business days after the last filing day. On the April track that deadline is December 2, 2026 (Guide p. 18; Calendar p. 25).
Step 6: Watch the objection window
Once the filing period closes, any legal voter of the district may file an objection to your papers (10 ILCS 5/10-8). Objections are due within five business days after the last filing day: November 2, 2026 on the February track and December 2, 2026 on the April track, or December 1 if the filing office is open Friday, November 27 (Guide p. 25; Calendar pp. 5, 25). They are filed with the office where you filed, with an original and two copies (Guide p. 25).
Your filed petition is open to public inspection (Guide p. 69). If an objection is filed, you receive a copy, the electoral board meets within days to hear it, and its decision can be taken to circuit court within 5 days (Guide pp. 25 to 26; 10 ILCS 5/10-10.1). Which board hears it depends on the office: municipal candidates go before the Municipal Officers Electoral Board, school district and special district candidates before the County Officers Electoral Board, and community college candidates before the Education Officers Electoral Board (10 ILCS 5/10-9). See our post on petition objections in Illinois, and if you receive one, contact an election attorney promptly.
Step 7: The ballot lottery
The lottery for simultaneous filers must be held "within nine days following the last day to file," is open to the public, and requires seven days' written notice (Guide p. 18; 10 ILCS 5/10-6.2). Names are listed alphabetically and numbered, numbers are drawn from a container, and group petitions count as one entry (Guide p. 27, citing 26 Ill. Adm. Code 201.40 and 202.40).
The 2027 deadlines (Calendar pp. 5, 24 to 25, 29):
| Track | Lottery held by | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| February 23, 2027 | November 4, 2026 | |
| April 6, 2027 | December 2, 2026 | Notice by November 25 |
| Established-party placement (caucus towns or no primary) | January 28, 2027 |
If you were in line at opening, watch for the written notice; the drawing is public.
Step 8: Keep knocking while you wait
Between filing and certification (December 17 on the February track, January 28, 2027 on the April track) comes a quiet stretch. The doors you knocked for signatures are your best start on voter contact.
Use that record. In Beacon, every door your circulators visited still carries its result: contacted, not home, refused, come back later and the rest, along with any survey answers such as "Signed petition: yes / no." Look at where the not-home and come-back-later doors cluster, and send volunteers back to those streets on routed walk lists. Add a survey question or two for the campaign phase so the same doors start telling you what voters care about. Beacon works offline and syncs when the signal returns.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone else file my petition for me?
Yes. The Guide allows filing by mail or through an agent (Guide pp. 17, 68). If you want to be in the first-day lottery by mail, only the first USPS delivery that day counts (Guide p. 18).
Can I add signatures after I file?
No. Once filed, a petition cannot be modified, altered or added to. The only item that can be added later is your SEI receipt, by the end of the last filing day (Guide p. 19).
What if I need to fix a mistake I find after filing?
You cannot change the filed petition. Talk with your election authority about your options, and with an election attorney if an objection is likely. Our checklist for checking your own petition before you file is the way to find those mistakes in time.
Get ready for the campaign that starts after filing
Our page on canvassing software for political campaigns shows how candidates carry their petition walk into early voting and Election Day. To keep your door records and routes in one place, start a free 14-day Beacon trial. Unlimited canvassers are included on every plan.