The short version.
A plain-language guide to how county ballot access works in every one of Arizona's 15 counties. Arizona runs on nomination petitions, not filing fees -- every county candidate for 2026 needed to file a Statement of Interest and enough valid petition signatures with their County Elections Department by March 23, 2026 at 5 p.m., and that door, along with the July 21, 2026 primary, has already closed. A write-in door for the November 3, 2026 general election is still open through September 4, 2026. This guide covers what is left of the 2026 calendar and carries your county's Elections Department, the office that actually takes a candidate filing.
Arizona's county officers -- the Board of Supervisors, Sheriff, County Attorney, Assessor, Treasurer, Recorder, School Superintendent and Clerk of the Superior Court -- all serve four-year terms and are elected together with the Governor (Ariz. Const. art. XII, Sec. 3), which put a full slate of county offices on the 2026 ballot. The next regular county election is expected in 2030. Most counties elect three supervisors; Maricopa and Pima elect five. Your County Elections Department can confirm exactly which seats were on your county's 2026 ballot.
This page covers that for Navajo County and points you at your local election office for anything specific to your county. It is not legal advice; the official rules live with your election office and the Arizona Secretary of State.
Navajo County by the numbers.
- In 2024, Navajo County cast 50,706 votes for president: 58.1% Republican, 40.9% Democratic.
The campaigns that win the field are the ones who start building their list of supporters and volunteers before qualifying even opens, not after. Motion51 is ready to load your Navajo County voter file the moment you send it over, so you can start finding your people now.
Arizona election calendar (2026).
Arizona runs one statewide election calendar, administered locally by each county's own Elections Department. The dates below cover the 2026 cycle -- candidate filing and the primary have already closed -- plus the still-open write-in door and the November 3, 2026 general election.
- Sat Feb 21, 2026First day of the 2026 candidate filing period for traditionally funded candidates -- already closed. (Feb 21 fell on a Saturday, so in-person filing offices opened Monday, Feb 23, 2026.)
- Mon Mar 23, 2026, 5:00 p.m.Statewide candidate filing deadline for the 2026 cycle -- already closed. Every county office candidate's nomination petitions were due at their County Elections Department by this time (A.R.S. Sec. 16-311).
- Tue Jul 21, 2026Arizona's 2026 primary election -- already held. This was Arizona's first primary on its new, earlier date; state law permanently moved the primary to the second-to-last Tuesday in July, in place of the first Tuesday in August used in past cycles.
- Fri Sep 4, 2026, 5:00 p.m.Deadline to file as an official write-in candidate for the November 3, 2026 general election -- still open as of this guide (2026-08-14). No petition signatures are required for a write-in filing, only a nomination paper (and a financial disclosure statement, if applicable) with your County Elections Department.
- Tue Nov 3, 2026Arizona's 2026 general election -- still ahead.
- Expected 2026 + 4 years (2030)Best estimate for the next regular county election, since Arizona's county officers are elected together with the Governor. Confirm the exact 2030 filing calendar with your County Elections Department closer to the cycle.
These filing rules are set statewide by Arizona election law, but city, town, school district and special-district elections in your county can run on their own separate calendar. Confirm any deadline with your County Elections Department before relying on it.
Offices on the ballot in Navajo County.
Arizona's counties elect eight officers, each serving a four-year term alongside the Governor. Your County Elections Department, listed below for every county, is the filing officer for every one of these races and administers the county's elections.
- Board of Supervisors -- governs the county; three members in most counties, five in Maricopa and Pima. 4-year term.
- Sheriff -- 4-year term.
- County Attorney -- the county's chief prosecutor and legal advisor. 4-year term.
- Assessor -- values property for tax purposes. 4-year term.
- Treasurer -- 4-year term.
- Recorder -- administers voter registration and recorded documents, and in most counties also directs early voting. 4-year term.
- County School Superintendent -- 4-year term.
- Clerk of the Superior Court -- 4-year term.
All eight county officer positions serve four-year terms under Ariz. Const. art. XII, Sec. 3. In some counties the Elections Department that takes candidate filings is a division of the Recorder's office; in others, including the five largest counties, it is a separate department. Either way, it is the right first call for a candidate filing question.
How to get on the ballot.
Arizona has no monetary filing fee for any county office -- ballot access runs entirely on nomination petitions. Every 2026 filing door closed months before this guide was built (2026-08-14), but a write-in door for the November 3, 2026 general election is still open, and the next full filing window follows Arizona's 2030 cycle.
Nomination petition route -- filing closed for 2026 (was Feb 21-Mar 23).
A candidate for county office first files a Statement of Interest with their County Elections Department, before circulating any petition or collecting a single signature (A.R.S. Sec. 16-311). The nomination petition itself, with enough valid signatures, was due at the same office by 5:00 p.m. on March 23, 2026. There is no fee alternative -- Arizona does not charge a filing fee for county office.
- The signature minimum for a partisan county office candidate is at least 1% and not more than 10% of the qualified signers in the county, based on voter registration as of January 2, 2026 -- except in a county with a population of 200,000 or more, where the minimum drops to at least 1/4 of 1% (A.R.S. Sec. 16-322(A)(4)).
- A candidate running without a party files the same window with a different formula: at least 3% of the county's registered voters who are not members of a qualified party (A.R.S. Sec. 16-341); an unaffiliated candidate appears only on the November general election ballot, not the primary.
- For 2026, this window closed March 23, 2026. The next one is expected ahead of Arizona's 2030 election cycle.
Write-in route -- still open for the Nov 3, 2026 general.
A candidate who missed the petition window can still become an official write-in candidate for the November 3, 2026 general election. No petition signatures are required -- only a write-in nomination paper, and a financial disclosure statement if the candidate meets the reporting threshold, filed with the County Elections Department (A.R.S. Sec. 16-312, 16-343(D)).
- The deadline to file as a write-in candidate for the November 3, 2026 general election is 5:00 p.m. on September 4, 2026 -- still open as of this guide (2026-08-14).
- A separate, earlier write-in door for the July 21, 2026 primary has already closed.
Statutory references: A.R.S. Sec. 16-311 (Statement of Interest and nomination paper filing; sets the uniform statewide filing deadline) · A.R.S. Sec. 16-314 (filing and form of nomination petitions) · A.R.S. Sec. 16-322(A)(4) (county office signature requirement: 1%-10% of qualified signers in the county, or 1/4 of 1%-10% in a county with 200,000 or more people) · A.R.S. Sec. 16-341 (candidates without a party designation; 3% of non-party-affiliated registered voters) · A.R.S. Sec. 16-312 and Sec. 16-343(D) (write-in nomination papers; no petition signatures required) · Ariz. Const. art. XII, Sec. 3 (county officer terms of four years) · A.R.S. Sec. 16-168 (unauthorized use, disclosure or distribution of the precinct register or voter-registration data derived from it is a class 6 felony) · Arizona Secretary of State 2026 Election Info (2026 primary Tue Jul 21, 2026; 2026 general Tue Nov 3, 2026). Fees and signature counts change; confirm before you file.
The Navajo County Elections Department.
Arizona county ballot access runs through a nomination petition filed with the county, not the Secretary of State -- but the Elections Department below actually administers the election, accepts every candidate filing and petition, and is the right first call for anything this page cannot answer.
- Office
- 100 East Code Talkers Drive, Holbrook, AZ 86025
- Phone
- (928) 524-4062
Contact details verified 2026-08-14. Official statewide sources: Arizona Secretary of State: Running for Office · Arizona Secretary of State: 2026 Candidate Filing · Arizona Secretary of State: County Election Officials Contact Information · Arizona Secretary of State: 2026 Election Info.
Common questions.
Can I still get on the ballot for county office in Navajo County in 2026?
No. The 2026 nomination petition window closed March 23, 2026 at 5 p.m., and the July 21, 2026 primary has already happened. A write-in door for the November 3, 2026 general election is still open through September 4, 2026 -- contact the Navajo County Elections Department for the write-in nomination paper. The next full filing window for county office follows Arizona's 2030 election cycle.
How much does it cost to run for county office in Navajo County?
Nothing -- Arizona charges no filing fee for county office. A partisan candidate instead needed a nomination petition signed by at least 1% (or, in a county of 200,000 or more people, at least 1/4 of 1%) and not more than 10% of Navajo County's qualified signers (A.R.S. Sec. 16-322(A)(4)); a candidate without a party needed signatures from at least 3% of Navajo County's non-party-affiliated registered voters (A.R.S. Sec. 16-341).
Which county offices are on the ballot in Navajo County?
Eight: the Board of Supervisors, Sheriff, County Attorney, Assessor, Treasurer, Recorder, School Superintendent and Clerk of the Superior Court -- all four-year terms elected together with the Governor (Ariz. Const. art. XII, Sec. 3). Confirm Navajo's exact lineup, including how many supervisor seats it elects, with the Navajo County Elections Department.
When is the next chance to run for county office in Navajo County?
Arizona elects county officers together with the Governor, so the next regular county election is expected in 2030. The Secretary of State has not yet published the official 2030 calendar, so confirm the date with the Navajo County Elections Department closer to the cycle.
Where do I file to run for office in Navajo County?
With the Navajo County Elections Department -- the office and contact details are above. Arizona does not route county candidate filing through the Secretary of State; every county race files locally, starting with a Statement of Interest before any petition signature is collected.
After you qualify: the field operation.
Arizona's county races span Maricopa's dense Phoenix metro, home to more than half the state's population, down to Greenlee's and Santa Cruz's few thousand square miles of small towns and open country. A compact urban county can be organized block by block; the state's larger rural counties, where a single county attorney or supervisor district can stretch further than a knock can reach in a day, often turn on phone calls and personal networks as much as door-to-door canvassing.
That is the part Motion51 was built for. You scope your district, cut turf, and send volunteers out with a phone instead of a clipboard. It works offline, so canvassing does not stop where the cell signal does, and every door is logged with a timestamp for your records. Our For Candidates page walks through what that looks like.
Counties next to Navajo.
Running in a district that crosses a county line? Each of these has its own guide.