Illinois candidate resources

Pick your county to see what running for office takes.

A plain-language guide to how county ballot access works in every one of Illinois's 102 counties. Almost every route onto the November 3, 2026 ballot has already closed: the general primary was held March 17, 2026, independent and new-party petitions were due June 22, and the window for a party to fill an office nobody ran for closed 75 days after the primary. One route is still open. A declared write-in candidacy costs nothing, needs no signatures, and can be filed up to Thursday, September 3, 2026. Click the map or use the list.

Adams County — how to run for office Alexander County — how to run for office Bond County — how to run for office Boone County — how to run for office Brown County — how to run for office Bureau County — how to run for office Calhoun County — how to run for office Carroll County — how to run for office Cass County — how to run for office Champaign County — how to run for office Christian County — how to run for office Clark County — how to run for office Clay County — how to run for office Clinton County — how to run for office Coles County — how to run for office Cook County — how to run for office Crawford County — how to run for office Cumberland County — how to run for office De Witt County — how to run for office DeKalb County — how to run for office Douglas County — how to run for office DuPage County — how to run for office Edgar County — how to run for office Edwards County — how to run for office Effingham County — how to run for office Fayette County — how to run for office Ford County — how to run for office Franklin County — how to run for office Fulton County — how to run for office Gallatin County — how to run for office Greene County — how to run for office Grundy County — how to run for office Hamilton County — how to run for office Hancock County — how to run for office Hardin County — how to run for office Henderson County — how to run for office Henry County — how to run for office Iroquois County — how to run for office Jackson County — how to run for office Jasper County — how to run for office Jefferson County — how to run for office Jersey County — how to run for office Jo Daviess County — how to run for office Johnson County — how to run for office Kane County — how to run for office Kankakee County — how to run for office Kendall County — how to run for office Knox County — how to run for office LaSalle County — how to run for office Lake County — how to run for office Lawrence County — how to run for office Lee County — how to run for office Livingston County — how to run for office Logan County — how to run for office Macon County — how to run for office Macoupin County — how to run for office Madison County — how to run for office Marion County — how to run for office Marshall County — how to run for office Mason County — how to run for office Massac County — how to run for office McDonough County — how to run for office McHenry County — how to run for office McLean County — how to run for office Menard County — how to run for office Mercer County — how to run for office Monroe County — how to run for office Montgomery County — how to run for office Morgan County — how to run for office Moultrie County — how to run for office Ogle County — how to run for office Peoria County — how to run for office Perry County — how to run for office Piatt County — how to run for office Pike County — how to run for office Pope County — how to run for office Pulaski County — how to run for office Putnam County — how to run for office Randolph County — how to run for office Richland County — how to run for office Rock Island County — how to run for office Saline County — how to run for office Sangamon County — how to run for office Schuyler County — how to run for office Scott County — how to run for office Shelby County — how to run for office St. Clair County — how to run for office Stark County — how to run for office Stephenson County — how to run for office Tazewell County — how to run for office Union County — how to run for office Vermilion County — how to run for office Wabash County — how to run for office Warren County — how to run for office Washington County — how to run for office Wayne County — how to run for office White County — how to run for office Whiteside County — how to run for office Will County — how to run for office Williamson County — how to run for office Winnebago County — how to run for office Woodford County — how to run for office

All 102 Illinois counties. Click any county for its guide.

All 102 Illinois counties

Alphabetical. Each links to that county’s “how to run for office” guide.

Running somewhere in Illinois?

Motion51 does not hold the Illinois voter file, and Illinois is a state where you buy it yourself. Under 10 ILCS 5/4-8 your election authority furnishes voter registration data to a local political committee at the cost of duplication plus 15% for administration, once your committee's representative signs an affidavit that it will be used only for bona fide political purposes, including by or for candidates for office. Canvassing your own district for your own campaign is squarely inside that permitted purpose. What the statute forbids, and makes a Class 4 felony, is using the data for commercial solicitation or other business purposes. Register your committee, buy your county's list, bring it here, and we will load it in, cut turf, and send volunteers out with a phone instead of a clipboard. The free tier costs nothing to try.

Try the free tier

Already a candidate? See how canvassing works →