The two-week filing period for candidates in the Nov. 7 municipal election begins today. All 13 City Council seats are on the 2023 ballot.

Candidates must file in person at the Elections & Voter Services office at 980 E. Hennepin Ave. The office is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The last day to file is Tuesday, Aug. 15, with the office closing at 5 p.m. that day. The deadline for candidates to withdraw is 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17.

In order to be eligible to hold local elected office in Minnesota, a candidate must be eligible to vote in the state, not have filed for the same or any other office on the ballot in the same election, be 21 or older upon assuming office and have maintained residence in the election district for at least 30 days before the election.

View the full candidate filing process at vote.minneapolismn.gov/run-for-office/filing-for-office.

What candidates need to bring

• A valid ID for notarization purposes.
• Payment for filing fees or petition in lieu of filing fee.
• The filing fee for City Council candidates is $250.
• In lieu of a filing fee, candidates for municipal offices can submit a petition. The number of signatures required on the petition differs depending on the office sought. A list of the signature requirements can be found at vote.minneapolismn.gov/candidates/filing-for-office/filing-fees-and-petition-signatures.

What candidates can expect when filing for office

• If arriving on the first or last day of filing, there could be a wait.
• City officials need to verify eligibility at the time of filing.
• All paperwork will be completed on site with the filing officer and needs to be signed and notarized.
• Filing fees must be paid at the time of filing, or a petition must be filed at the time of filing.
• All candidates will receive the 2023 candidate information packet at the time of filing.

Throughout the candidate filing period, the City’s election website (vote.minneapolismn.gov) will be updated with information about the candidate filings received to date.

This election uses ranked choice voting

Minneapolis voters use ranked choice voting to elect members of the City Council. Ranked choice voting is a way of voting that eliminates the need for separate primary elections. For each of the 13 wards, voters rank up to three candidates for each office in order of preference. Ranked choice voting is used only for municipal elections in Minneapolis. 

More information on ranked-choice voting is available at vote.minneapolismn.gov/rcv.

Early voting opens Sept. 22

The Early Vote Center at 980 E. Hennepin Ave. opens 8 a.m. on Sept. 22 for voters who wish to cast their ballot early and in-person. Also on Sept. 22, Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services begins mailing ballots to voters who have requested to vote early by mail. Learn more about how to vote early this year at vote.minneapolismn.gov/voters.