Montgomery County residents interested in running for their City Council or School Board can soon begin filing papers to place their name on the November 2, 2021, ballot.
Candidates will need to file a nomination petition and an affidavit of candidacy to get their name on the ballot. Those documents need to be filed with the Auditor’s office for a seat with the city or with the school secretary for a seat on the school board.
Candidates can begin filing those papers with those officials on August 23. The petitions are due to those officials before 5:00 p.m. on September 16.
Potential candidates in Montgomery County for city councils and school boards may be surprised how few signatures they will need to place their name on the ballot for this upcoming election. “We have some city and school seats that only require collecting 10 signatures to get on the ballot,” said Montgomery County Auditor & Commissioner of Elections Stephanie Burke. “I know the first roadblock for those thinking about running is collecting signatures on the nomination papers. However, I think that people might be surprised by how few they need to collect.”
The following are the races with signature requirements that will appear on the November 2 ballot:
• Red Oak Mayor – 25
• Red Oak Council Ward 2 – 25
• Red Oak Council at-large – 25
• Elliott Mayor – 10
• Elliott Council (3 at-large) – 10
• Grant Mayor – 5
• Grant Council (5 at-large) – 5
• Villisca Mayor – 10
• Villisca Council (2 at-large) – 10
• Stanton Council (3 at-large) – 10
• Coburg Mayor – 5
• Coburg Council (2 at-large) – 5
• Red Oak School District (3 at-large) – 48
• Stanton School District (3 at-large) – 10
• Villisca School District (2 at-large) – 15
• Southwestern Community College (District #1, #3, #5 and #6) – 50
Burke said interested candidates will find useful information at https://sos.iowa.gov/ or at
www.montgomerycountyia.gov. Forms can be printed from those websites. Candidates may also pick up
the required paperwork at the Auditor’s Office located in the Courthouse. For more information about the
2021 City/School Election, contact the Montgomery County Auditor’s Office at 712-623-5127.