The short version.
Delaware runs elections through the Delaware Department of Elections, with a county office in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. If you're running with a party, you file a notice of candidacy and pay a filing fee set by your party; if more than one candidate files for the same party and office, you meet in a closed primary in September, and the winner advances to the November general election. If you're running unaffiliated, you skip the primary and reach the general ballot by petition instead of a fee. Delaware's primaries are closed: only voters registered with a party may vote in that party's primary.
This page covers how that works for Kent County. It is not legal advice. Your county Department of Elections and the Delaware Department of Elections' get-on-the-ballot page are the sources of truth.
Kent County at the ballot box.
- In 2024, Kent County cast 88,141 votes for president: 48.2% Republican, 50.2% Democratic.
- Turnout has moved from 87,025 votes in 2020 to 88,141 in 2024.
Public presidential-election returns for Kent County. In a closed primary, the nomination is often decided by a few hundred reliable party voters, which is where a real field operation pays off.
How to get on the ballot in Delaware.
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 the Kent County voter file the moment you're set up, so you can start finding your people now.
Which route you take depends on how you're running: with a party, or unaffiliated.
Path 1: Run with a party.
File a notice of candidacy with the Department of Elections by noon on the second Tuesday in July of the election year, and pay the filing fee set by your party, typically a percentage of the office's salary, paid to your party committee rather than to the state. If you're the only candidate from your party for that office, you go straight to the November ballot; if others file too, you run in the closed September primary and the winner becomes the party's nominee.
Path 2: Run unaffiliated (or with a minor party).
Unaffiliated candidates skip the primary and the party fee. Instead you file a declaration and a petition signed by at least one percent of the registered voters in the state or your district by September 1, which secures a spot on the November general ballot. Minor-party candidates are nominated at their party's convention and certified to the Department of Elections.
How the filing calendar works.
Delaware's calendar repeats every cycle even though the exact dates shift year to year:
- The notice of candidacy for major-party candidates is due by noon on the second Tuesday in July of the election year, a firm deadline. For 2026 that deadline (July 14) has passed, but unaffiliated candidates can still petition until September 1, 2026.
- Unaffiliated candidates file their petition by September 1; write-in candidates file a separate declaration closer to the election.
- The primary election is held in September (only where a party's race is contested), and the general election is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Key Delaware dates.
Delaware holds a school board election every single year, including 2027
That is unusual and it is the nearest thing on the calendar. County offices are even-year.
- Fri Mar 5, 2027, 4:30 p.m. COMPUTED notice of candidacy for a board of education, due the first Friday in March (14 Del. C. sec. 1075(a)(1)a).
- Tue May 11, 2027 COMPUTED school board election, the second Tuesday in May, held every year (14 Del. C. sec. 1072(c)).
- Tue Jul 11, 2028, 12:00 noon COMPUTED county filing deadline, the second Tuesday in July (15 Del. C. sec. 3101(1)). Filed with the Department of Elections office for the county in which you reside.
- Fri Jul 14, 2028, 4:30 p.m. COMPUTED withdrawal deadline, the first Friday after (sec. 3101(2)).
- Tue Sep 12, 2028 COMPUTED primary, the second Tuesday after the first Monday in September (sec. 3101(3)).
- Tue Nov 7, 2028 COMPUTED general election.
Delaware's incorporated towns run their own charter elections on their own dates throughout the year, including odd years. Those are not on any state calendar -- ask the town.
Status as of November 4, 2026: dates that have passed are greyed out and marked CLOSED.
The 2026 dates come from the Delaware Department of Elections' published 2026 State Election Calendar and title 15 of the Delaware Code, read on 2026-08-20. No 2028 calendar exists yet, so those dates are arithmetic from statute. Confirm with your county Department of Elections office.
The 2027 ballot in Kent County.
These 2027 dates are confirmed against the state's own published calendar or statute. Anything our research could not confirm is left off this page rather than estimated.
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January 11, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Which local offices are on this ballot varies by jurisdiction; the Kent County Department of Elections can tell you which of yours is.
Source -
February 27, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Wyoming (Council); Houston (Council); Camden (Mayor 2-yr / Council 3-yr).
Candidate filing: opens Dec 7, 2026, closes Jan 29, 2027.
Source -
March 1, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Which local offices are on this ballot varies by jurisdiction; the Kent County Department of Elections can tell you which of yours is.
Source -
March 6, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Which local offices are on this ballot varies by jurisdiction; the Kent County Department of Elections can tell you which of yours is.
Source -
March 27, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Farmington (Council); Woodside (Council).
Candidate filing: closes Feb 26, 2027.
Source -
March 30, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Which local offices are on this ballot varies by jurisdiction; the Kent County Department of Elections can tell you which of yours is.
Source -
April 20, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
City of Dover: Mayor (at-large, 4-year term) + 4 councilmembers, one elected by each of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Districts (4-year terms). No at-large council seat in 2027.
Candidate filing: opens Jan 4, 2027, closes Jan 29, 2027.
Source -
April 24, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Which local offices are on this ballot varies by jurisdiction; the Kent County Department of Elections can tell you which of yours is.
Candidate filing: closes Feb 23, 2027 (Milford) / Mar 26, 2027 (Elsmere, Hartly).
Source -
April 27, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Which local offices are on this ballot varies by jurisdiction; the Kent County Department of Elections can tell you which of yours is.
Source -
May 4, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Which local offices are on this ballot varies by jurisdiction; the Kent County Department of Elections can tell you which of yours is.
Source -
August 7, 2027
Municipal General — Municipal.
Which local offices are on this ballot varies by jurisdiction; the Kent County Department of Elections can tell you which of yours is.
Candidate filing: closes Jun 25, 2027.
Source
2027 dates can move, and a municipality can change its own election date by ordinance. Which seats are on a given ballot depends on when each was last filled. Confirm anything you are relying on with the Kent County Department of Elections before you act on it.
Kent County at a glance.
Kent County had an estimated 192,690 residents in July 2024, the least populous of Delaware's 3 counties, up 6.0% since the 2020 census. Of those, 149,408 are 18 or older, the voting-age population, and 19.2% are 65 or older. It covers 586 square miles of land (329 people per square mile), and 57.9% of residents live outside any incorporated city or town.
The largest cities and towns are Dover (40,191), Smyrna (part) (13,293), Milford (part) (6,034), Clayton (part) (4,511) and Camden (4,191). The American Community Survey (2020-2024) puts it at a median age of 39.0, a median household income of $81,117, 31.3% of adults 25 and older holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 76.8% of occupied homes owned by the people living in them. In 2024, 88,141 votes were cast for president, about 59.0% of the voting-age population; the Democratic ticket took 50.2% and the Republican ticket 48.2%.
The two-party margin moved from D+9.8 in 2008 to D+2.0 in 2024.
- Population (2024 estimate)
- 192,690
- Population (2020 census base)
- 181,844
- Voting-age population (18+)
- 149,408
- Residents 65 and older
- 19.2%
- People per square mile
- 329
- Living outside incorporated places
- 57.9%
- Land area
- 586 sq mi
- Median age
- 39.0
- Median household income
- $81,117
- Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree
- 31.3%
- Owner-occupied homes
- 76.8%
Largest cities and towns
- Dover 40,191
- Smyrna (part) 13,293
- Milford (part) 6,034
- Clayton (part) 4,511
- Camden 4,191
Presidential vote, 2008–2024
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Margin | Votes cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 50.2% | 48.2% | D+2.0 | 88,141 |
| 2020 | 51.2% | 47.1% | D+4.1 | 87,025 |
| 2016 | 44.9% | 49.8% | R+4.9 | 74,253 |
| 2012 | 51.7% | 46.8% | D+4.9 | 68,669 |
| 2008 | 54.4% | 44.6% | D+9.8 | 66,925 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 population estimates and 2024 Gazetteer; American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates; certified county presidential returns. Growth, density and turnout are simple arithmetic on those figures.
Counties next to Kent.
Running in a district that crosses a county line? Each of these has its own guide.
Offices on the ballot.
Delaware voters elect federal offices (U.S. House and Senate); statewide offices such as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Treasurer, State Auditor, and Insurance Commissioner; the General Assembly (State Senate and House); county offices such as county executive, county council, sheriff, register of wills, recorder of deeds, and clerk of the peace; and municipal seats.
For the official list of Kent County seats up in a given cycle, check with your Department of Elections office below.
Your county Department of Elections.
Delaware runs elections through the Department of Elections and its three county offices. The Kent County office is where county candidates file and the source of truth for local dates, districts, and forms.
- Office
- 100 Enterprise Pl, Ste 5, Dover, DE 19904
- Phone
- (302) 739-4498
Contact details verified 2026-07-23. If a field is wrong or out of date, the official Delaware Department of Elections office directory is the canonical source.
After you qualify: building a field operation.
The paperwork ends the day you file. What starts then is the actual campaign: knocking on doors, recruiting volunteers, and identifying the voters who'll show up for you in the primary and in November.
That's what Motion51 is built for: scoping a district, recruiting volunteers, cutting turf, and knocking doors from one app that works offline for areas with bad cell coverage and logs every door with a timestamp. Sign up for the free tier to see how a real field operation comes together.
If qualifying is settled and you're thinking about the field operation, our For Candidates page walks through the next steps.