The short version.
Wisconsin runs county elections on two calendars that do not line up, and both are between windows right now. County Board Supervisors serve 2-year terms and are elected at the nonpartisan Spring Election in April of even years (Wis. Stat. §59.10(3)(d)) -- the April 7, 2026 election already happened, and the next one is April 4, 2028. County Clerk, County Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds and District Attorney serve 4-year terms and run on the partisan ballot alongside the Governor (Wis. Stat. §8.15) -- filing for the November 3, 2026 general election closed June 1, 2026, so those seats are already decided until November 2030.
There is no cash filing fee for any Wisconsin county office. Every candidate gets on the ballot the same way -- nomination papers signed by registered electors, filed with the county clerk -- and the number of signatures required is set by statute based on the office and your county's population, not by choice (Wis. Stat. §§8.10, 8.15).
This page covers that for La Crosse 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 Wisconsin Elections Commission.
La Crosse County by the numbers.
- In 2024, La Crosse County cast 72,242 votes for president: 44.6% Republican, 54.0% 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 La Crosse County voter file the moment you send it over, so you can start finding your people now.
Wisconsin election calendar (2026).
Two different clocks run county elections in Wisconsin, and neither has an opening right now. Here is where each one stands and when it opens next.
- Tue Apr 7, 2026This year's Spring Election already happened. County Board Supervisors elected then took office on the 3rd Tuesday in April (Apr 21, 2026) for 2-year terms (Wis. Stat. §59.10(3)(d)).
- Mon Jun 1, 2026, 5:00 PMFiling deadline for County Clerk, County Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, District Attorney and other partisan county offices has already passed for this cycle (Wis. Stat. §8.15(1)).
- Tue Nov 3, 2026General election. Wisconsin's county row offices elected this year serve 4-year terms running through 2030.
- Wed Dec 1, 2027Nomination papers may first be circulated for the next County Board Supervisor race (Wis. Stat. §8.10(2)(a)).
- Tue Jan 4, 2028, 5:00 PMFiling deadline for County Board Supervisor -- the first Tuesday in January preceding the Spring Election (Wis. Stat. §8.10(2)(a)).
- Tue Apr 4, 2028Spring Election. The next County Board Supervisor race.
- Mon Apr 15, 2030Nomination papers may first be circulated for County Clerk, County Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, District Attorney and the other county row offices on the November 2030 ballot (Wis. Stat. §8.15(1)).
- Sat Jun 1, 2030, 5:00 PMFiling deadline for those county row offices, as set by statute (Wis. Stat. §8.15(1)); confirm with your county clerk if this date falls on a weekend by the time it arrives.
City, village, town and school-district elections run on their own calendars, mostly tied to the same April Spring Election. Wisconsin holds a Spring Primary on the third Tuesday in February when a race is contested enough to need one, and a Partisan Primary on the second Tuesday in August before the November general. Confirm any date with the county clerk before you rely on it.
Offices on the ballot in La Crosse County.
These are the county-level offices Wisconsin elects, and the two very different clocks they run on (Wis. Stat. §§59.10, 8.10, 8.15):
- County Board Supervisor — 2-year term. The Spring Election already happened April 7, 2026; the next window opens December 1, 2027 for the April 4, 2028 election (Wis. Stat. §59.10(3)(d), 8.10(2)(a)).
- County Clerk, County Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds and District Attorney — 4-year terms. The 2026 filing window closed June 1, 2026 and these seats are already decided for the November 3, 2026 general election. The next filing window opens April 15, 2030 for the November 2030 general election (Wis. Stat. §8.15).
The five 4-year row offices -- County Clerk, County Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds and District Attorney -- are partisan, and they are elected at the November general election in gubernatorial years (Wis. Stat. §59.20); some prosecutorial units cover more than one county, so a district attorney race can be larger than the county you live in. County Board Supervisor is the nonpartisan one, elected at the Spring Election in April of even years (Wis. Stat. §59.10(3)(d)). Some of Wisconsin's smaller counties have eliminated or made appointive rather than elected a handful of additional row offices, most often Coroner and Surveyor. Every office on this list last stood for election in 2026 (County Clerk, Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds and District Attorney) or is next up in April 2028 (County Board Supervisor). Your county clerk holds the definitive list for your county.
How to get on the ballot.
Wisconsin's ballot access is the same everywhere in the state: no cash filing fee, just nomination papers signed by registered electors and filed with your county clerk by the statutory deadline (Wis. Stat. ch. 8).
There is no filing fee. File nomination papers instead.
Every Wisconsin candidate for county office gets on the ballot by circulating nomination papers and filing them with the county clerk -- there is no cash fee and no alternative petition-in-lieu-of-fee process, because a petition is already the only path (Wis. Stat. §§8.10, 8.15). Each nomination paper needs a qualified circulator's certification, and every signer must print their name, list their municipality of residence, street address and the date they signed.
- County Board Supervisor: 20-100 signatures in a county under 100,000 people, 100-200 in a county of 100,000-750,000 (a county board may lower this to as few as 50 by ordinance), and 200-400 in Milwaukee County, the only county over 750,000 (Wis. Stat. §8.10(3), (3m)). Papers circulate December 1 and are due by 5:00 p.m. the first Tuesday in January, ahead of the April Spring Election.
- County Clerk, Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, District Attorney: 200-400 signatures in a county of 100,000 or fewer people, 500-1,000 in a larger county (Wis. Stat. §8.15(6)). Papers circulate starting April 15 and are due by 5:00 p.m. on June 1, ahead of the November general election.
- Only registered Wisconsin electors who live in the district you are running to represent may sign your papers, and each person may sign only one candidate's papers per office.
A Declaration of Candidacy must be on file with your county clerk by the same deadline as your nomination papers, or your name will not appear on the ballot.
Statutory references: Wis. Stat. §59.10 (county board composition, election and terms) · Wis. Stat. §59.20 (county officer terms; 4 years) · Wis. Stat. §8.10 (nomination papers for the Spring Election; signature counts for County Board Supervisor) · Wis. Stat. §8.15 (nomination papers for the partisan primary and general election; signature counts for county row offices) · Wis. Stat. §8.21 (declaration of candidacy required with nomination papers) · Wis. Stat. §6.36(6); Wis. Admin. Code EL 3.50 (statewide voter registration list available for purchase by anyone). Fees and signature counts change; confirm before you file.
The La Crosse County Clerk.
Your county clerk is the filing officer for every county office in Wisconsin -- the office that takes your nomination papers and Declaration of Candidacy, and can tell you exactly which seats are on your county's ballot and when.
- Office
- 212 6th Street N Room 1500, La Crosse, WI 54601
- Phone
- (608) 785-9581
- [email protected]
Contact details verified 2026-08-13. Official statewide sources: Wisconsin Elections Commission: Candidate Filing · Wisconsin Elections Commission: Directory of Wisconsin Clerks.
Common questions.
When is the next election in La Crosse County?
It depends which office. County Board Supervisor is on a 2-year cycle and just had its Spring Election on April 7, 2026 -- the next one is Tuesday, April 4, 2028. County Clerk, Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds and District Attorney are on 4-year terms and are on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot; after that they are not up again until November 2030.
Can I still file to run for office in La Crosse County right now?
Not for 2026. Nomination papers for this year's county row offices (Clerk, Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, District Attorney) had to be filed with the La Crosse County Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on June 1, 2026 (Wis. Stat. §8.15), and that window has closed. The next one to open is for County Board Supervisor: papers may be circulated starting December 1, 2027 and are due by 5:00 p.m. on January 4, 2028, ahead of the April 4, 2028 Spring Election (Wis. Stat. §8.10).
Does it cost money to run for office in Wisconsin?
No. Wisconsin has no cash filing fee for county office -- the only route onto the ballot is nomination papers signed by registered electors (Wis. Stat. ch. 8). The number of signatures you need depends on the office and your county's population: County Board Supervisor needs as few as 20 (in a county under 100,000 people) up to 400 (in Milwaukee County); County Clerk, Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds and District Attorney need 200-400 signatures in a county of 100,000 or fewer people, or 500-1,000 in a larger county (Wis. Stat. §§8.10(3), 8.15(6)).
Where do I file to run for county office in La Crosse County?
With the La Crosse County Clerk, whose address and phone number are on this page. Wisconsin candidates file with their own county clerk (or county board of election commissioners, in the few counties that have one), not with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (Wis. Stat. §§8.10(6)(b), 8.15(8)(b)).
How many registered voters are in La Crosse County?
The Wisconsin Elections Commission publishes statewide and county voter-registration figures. Motion51 does not hold the Wisconsin voter file, so rather than republish a number that may be out of date we point you at the Commission's own figures and at the La Crosse County Clerk.
What offices does La Crosse County actually elect?
Every Wisconsin county elects a County Board of Supervisors (2-year terms, nonpartisan, Spring Election), and separately elects a County Clerk, County Treasurer, Sheriff, Register of Deeds and District Attorney to 4-year terms on the partisan November ballot in gubernatorial years. Some smaller counties have combined or appointed rather than elected additional row offices such as Coroner or Surveyor -- the La Crosse County Clerk can tell you exactly which seats La Crosse County elects.
After you qualify: the field operation.
Wisconsin's ballot access is inexpensive and the paperwork is short, which is exactly why the field is where county races get decided. With no filing fee standing in the way, county races can draw several candidates competing for the same small, identifiable pool of voters. Knowing which precincts actually turn out for a Spring Election -- turnout there routinely runs a fraction of a November general -- and reaching those doors first is most of the work.
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 La Crosse.
Running in a district that crosses a county line? Each of these has its own guide.