Run for Office 2026

Thank you for your interest in running for office and serving our community. This page will help you find information related to running for local office in 2026, including dates, deadlines, and helpful resources. Check back frequently as information will be posted to this page as it becomes available.

Run for Local Office - It's Your Right!

Any registered voter in Sudbury has the right to run for local office. Boards and committees do not choose who may run to join them. You can learn more about your right to run and the steps for running here.

Campaign Finance

You can find information about campaign finance here. In the program, Jason Tait of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance demystifies the campaign finance filing requirements and process and offers tips, tricks, and tools to make campaign finance filings easier.

Open Positions

The open positions for the March 30 Annual Town Election will post to the Town Clerk's website sometime in mid to late December 2025. We will post a link to them here when available.

Save the Date

Each year, the LWV Sudbury includes a "Save the Date" for the Candidates' Forum recordings and the Meet the Candidates event in the nomination packet that prospective candidates receive from the Town or L-S District Clerk when they "pull papers"; we also email a digital copy to each candidate. There is a downloadable copy here for your convenience.

Important Dates and Deadlines (click on the date for more information)

January 8, 2026 - Prospective candidates can begin to "pull papers" and collect signatures to run for office

February 6, 2026 - Deadline to "pull papers"

February 9, 2026 - Deadline to return signatures

February 13, 2026 - Deadline to submit form and photo for LWV Voters' Guide; see last year's guide here

Feb. 28, March 1, 7, 8 - LWV Sudbury Candidates' Forum recording sessions; please save the date for all dates

March 9, 2026 (approximate) - Mail ballots will be mailed to voters; voters must apply via form or online

March 15, 2026 - LWV Sudbury Meet the Candidates event (snow date: March 22)

March 20, 2026 - Deadline to register to vote

March 30, 2026 (Monday) - Annual Town Election

FAQs – Annual Town Election 2026

I want to run next year. When will the Candidates’ Forum and Meet the Candidates be?

The Candidates’ Forum is recorded the first weekend after the deadline to withdraw from the ballot. To calculate the date, begin with the last Monday in March (the legal date of the Annual Town Election) and count backwards five weekends. This will be the weekend of the Candidates’ Forum (usually the last weekend in February). Meet the Candidates will be two weekends later, on the third Sunday before the election. Both events have snow dates one week after their scheduled date.

I see that other people have already pulled papers to run for the seat I want. Should I still pull?

Yes! There is no limit on the number of candidates who can run for an office. When people “pull papers” they file an intention to run. Not everyone who files an intention will return nomination papers. Prospective candidates can and do change their minds about running, and they are not required to notify the Clerk of their decision. Nearly every year some people will exit the race by not returning their nomination papers. If you want to run for a seat, file an intention and return your nomination papers. You can’t win if you don’t run.