Voter Registration And Election Information

2025 Municipal Elections

The 2025 Municipal Primary will take place on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

The 2025 petition circulation and filing period will run from Tuesday, February 18, 2025 to Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Petitions can be filed at the election office—130 N. Pitt St, Suite B, Mercer—between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday.  The office will be open until 4:30 pm on March 11^th, the last day for filing. 

Mercer County will hold Running for Office Information Sessions on the following days:

• Thursday, January 30 (Mercer County Elections Office, 130 N. Pitt Street);
• February 3rd (Hermitage City Building, 800 North Hermitage Rd); and
• February 5th (Hempfield Township Building, 278 South Mercer Street, Greenville).

Important 2025 Election Dates

The key dates for the primary election are listed below.  Remember that you may not circulate petitions to collect signatures before February 18, 2025. The last day to file your petitions with our office is March 11, 2025.

Candidate Packets

Candidate packets will be available starting on February 3^rd, 2025.  Mercer County does not provide candidate packets online.  You must get the forms from our office, located at 130 North Pitt St., Suite B, Mercer. 

Offices on the Ballot

Please refer to the Unofficial List of Offices to see what offices will be on the ballot for the Primary Election.

• This list will be unofficial until February 18^th, when the petition filing period begins.

Running for Countywide or Municipal Office

There are three ways to run for office.

Seeking Party Nomination

A candidate can seek the nomination of either the Democratic or Republican Party.  All candidates must file: (1) a nomination petition containing the correct number of signatures and (2) a candidate affidavit.  Almost all candidates—except Judges of Election and Inspectors of Election—must also file a Statement of Financial Interests when they file for office. 

The number of petition signatures required and any filing fees required can be seen on the table below.  All signatures must be from registered voters living in the district the candidate seeks to represent.  For example, a candidate for Jackson Center Mayor can only collect signatures from individuals who live in the Borough of Jackson Center. A signature from a registered voter who lives in Jackson Township could be challenged and stricken. 

The Statement of Financial Interests form must be filed along with the petition. The form set forth information regarding the candidate’s sources of income. The original Statement of Financial Interests is filed with the Elections Office and a copy must be filed with the governing authority of the office you are seeking (e.g., the Municipality’s Secretary or the School Board’s Business Manager) by the petition filing deadline. For more information regarding the Statement of Financial Interests, contact the State Ethics Commission: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/ethics.html or call 1-800-932-0936.

It is important to know that a candidate’s personal party affiliation does not have to match the Party whose nomination they are seeking. Instead, the person circulating the petition must be a member of the party whose petition is being circulated. This means that only a registered Republican can circulate a Republican Party petition and only a registered Democrat can circulate a Democratic Party petition. 

Running as a Candidate for a Minor Party or Political Body

A candidate can seek access to the November ballot by means of nomination papers, which are filed by candidates running as a member of a minor political party or other political body.  To run as a candidate for a minor party or a political body, you must not be affiliated with either the Democratic Party or Republican Party as of May 5, 2025.  The period to collect signatures is from March 12, 2025 until August 1, 2025.  The paperwork to run as a Minor Party/Political Body candidate can be obtained from the Mercer County Election Office starting on March 11^th.

Candidates filing nomination papers must obtain signatures from registered voters of the district in an amount equal to at least 2% of the largest entire vote cast for an elected candidate at the last election within the district. The number of signatures required may not be less than the number of signatures required for party candidates for the same office. Candidates seeking access to the November ballot through Nomination Papers must contact the Board of Elections to calculate the required number of signatures needed for the office they are seeking.

Running as a Write-in Candidate

Individuals can also run a write-in campaign for a party nomination.  To do so, you need to receive more votes than any other candidate on the ballot.  In the case of a contest where multiple candidates are being nominated—such as a “Vote for No More than 4” candidates race for school board—a write-in candidate must receive enough votes to be in the top vote-getters for the office.  If you plan to run as a write-in candidate, it does help to contact the election office and let us know.

Challenges to Nomination Petitions and Nomination Papers

An individual can challenge the validity of a nomination petition or nomination paper within seven days of the filing deadline for nomination petitions or nomination papers.  All challenges must be made in writing and filed with the Mercer County Prothonotary, located in the Courthouse.  These challenges are then taken up by the Court of Common Pleas.

Most challenges focus on the validity of individual signatures on a nomination petition or nomination paper, or are based on the accuracy of the information provided by the candidate on the Candidate’s Affidavit or Statement of Financial Interests. You should consult an attorney if you have questions about how to challenge a candidate’s nomination filing.

Determining Ballot Position

Primary Election: When more than one candidate files for a given office, a drawing for ballot position will be held to determine the order in which the names will appear.  This drawing will be held on MARCH 19, 2025 at Noon at the Mercer County Board of Elections.

General Election: Since the current Governor of Pennsylvania is a Democrat, the Democratic Party Nominee will appear first, followed by the Republican candidate. Minor parties appear next, followed by political bodies, listed in alphabetical order.  For contests where more than one candidate will be elected, names are listed according to the number of votes received in the Primary, with the highest vote getter listed first.