Run for Office

Who Can Run for Elective Office?

Any member of the public who meets the requirements below may run for public office in the City of Morgan Hill. Candidates must:

• To run for office, you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident within the City limits, and at least 18 years old.
• For a Citywide office (Mayor or Treasurer), you must be a registered voter within the City limits at the time nomination papers are issued throughout the term of office.
• For a City Council District Office, you must be a registered voter within the district you want to serve at the time nomination papers are issued throughout the term of office.

**Address and Voter registration will be verified before the issuance of nomination papers.**

Terms

In Morgan Hill, the Mayor is directly elected at large to serve a 2-year term. City Council members are elected by district to serve a 4-year term. The City Treasurer is elected at large to serve a 4-year term.

Running For Office (Pulling Papers)

To run for office, candidates must obtain and complete the official nomination documents issued by the City Clerk's Office. This is done during the official nomination period, July 15, 2024 - August 9, 2024.

Please note, nomination documents are issued by appointment only, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Schedule an Appointment.

Candidates should be prepared to provide their name and residential address to validate current voter registration and eligibility status before their appointment. Prospective candidates are encouraged to review the Candidate Instructional Guide before their scheduled appointment. Once the candidate has gathered the required signatures and completed ALL required paperwork, they must make an appointment with the City Clerk's Office to submit the nomination form and paperwork. 

Candidate Instructional Guide

The nomination instructions are fully contained in the Candidate Instructional Guide (PDF). Please note that this guide will be updated before each election. This information is provided to assist candidates in understanding the requirements necessary to run for municipal office. The manual is a guide and should not substitute for legal, accounting, or other professional services. Samples in this manual are not official forms and are provided for illustrative purposes only. Official forms are available only from the City Clerk. 

The candidate instructional guide contains the filing schedule for financial reporting requirements associated with the November 5, 2024 election.  

Campaign Contributions

The City Council adopted Resolution 20-061, accepting and defaulting to the State of California's campaign contribution limits. The campaign contribution limits are as follows:

For more details, visit the Fair Political Practices Commission Contribution Limits Webpage.

Campaign Signage

• Campaign Signage Packet (PDF)

Write-In Candidates

Candidates who desire to be a write-in candidate and have their name written on the ballot of an election shall fulfill the requirements of Part 3 of Division 8 of the Elections Code, commencing at Section 8600. Write-in candidates must meet all qualifications of the office to which they seek the nomination. The name of the qualified write-in candidate is not printed on the ballot. Prospective write‑in candidates should note that write‑in candidacy is possible only if the office appears on the ballot. Candidates interested in running as a write-in candidate may contact Deputy City Clerk Michelle Bigelow to make an appointment to pull nomination papers.

Statement of Write-In Candidacy

Anyone seeking to be a write-in candidate for any office appearing on the ballot must file a Statement of Write-In Candidacy between September 9 and October 22, 2024, and must circulate a petition to collect required signatures and file them for examination with the county elections official of the county where the signers reside. Make an appointment with the City Clerk's Office to obtain the nomination and other forms during the write-in filing period.

Roster of Qualified Candidates

For each election, the Office of the Registrar of Voters will post a list of qualified write-in candidates for offices appearing on the ballot in the County. Once the filing period closes, the Secretary of State will prepare a certified list of write-in candidates, and the City Clerk of each respective City will provide the certified list of write-in candidates for their City. The County will combine all write-in candidates onto one list. A link will be available on the current election webpage.

When and How Votes are Tabulated and Reported

Following Election Day and during the official canvass of the vote, the elections official will manually tally and report all votes cast for qualified write-in candidates. Votes tallied for write-in candidates are not reflected in the Election Night report, nor the updated reports the County releases in the days and weeks following. Rather, this information is available at the time certification of the election has been completed. Write-in votes are not tallied at the same time as votes for qualified candidates who have their names printed on the ballot. Instead, these votes must be manually reviewed to ensure the name of the person written in on the ballot is qualified to have votes counted, and that the name is written under the correct candidate contest. Write-in votes are tallied by hand under the provisions of Article 7 of Chapter 1 of Division 7 in Title 2 of the California Administrative Code of Regulations. See Sections 20100 – 20105.