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Candidate Information

Candidate Information

2025 Municipal Primary

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

 

The first step to becoming a candidate for an office on the 2025 Municipal Primary ballot is to circulate a nomination petition for signatures.  The petition period begins on Feb. 18, 2025, and ends on March 11, 2025, which means signatures can only be obtained within those three weeks.

Nomination petitions and related paperwork can be picked up in the Office of Election Services or printed here. If printing, all nomination petitions MUST be printed as duplex (two-sided, front and back, head-to-head) on white 8.5x11 paper (letter size).  This cannot be satisfied by stapling, taping or paper clipping pages together. 

Please refer to the Unofficial List of Offices to see what offices will be on the 2025 Municipal Primary ballot. Please Note: This is an unofficial list and is subject to change. 


  OFFICESIGNATURESFILING FEE
 County-wide250 $100 
 City-wide100 $25 
 City Council District10 $25 
 Magisterial District Judge100 $50 
 School Director (Reading SD) 100 None 
 School Director (County)10 None 
 Municipal Offices10    None 
 Judge of Election10  None 
 Inspector of Election5 None 

 

Nomination Petition and Related Paperwork (Forms)

Nomination Petition Instructions for Candidates and Circulators

The following instructions are strictly introductory in scope and should not be construed as legal advice. 

Candidates and/or voters are responsible for ensuring the correctness and completeness of all submitted documents. The Berks County Office of Election Services is not responsible for errors and omissions on the part of a candidate and/or voter.

All blank lines at the top of the nomination petition MUST be completed BEFORE signatures are obtained.
 
  • ELECTORAL DISTRICT: This refers to the geographical area of the office the candidate is seeking. Examples: Candidates running for county-wide offices should insert “Berks County.” Candidates for municipal offices should insert the name of the borough or township. Candidates for School Director should list the school district and region, if applicable.
  • POLITICAL PARTY: This refers to the political party of the candidate and signers of the nomination petition. For offices that cross-file, it should be the party of the circulator and signers.  
  • NAME OF CANDIDATE: The candidate’s name should be printed clearly on the front of the petition exactly as the candidate wants it to appear on the official ballot. Candidates should list their name as it appears on their voter registration record. Candidates should avoid the use of nicknames.
  • PROFESSION, BUSINESS, OR OCCUPATION: This refers to the candidate’s current job title. Retired is an acceptable entry for this line.
  • PLACE OF RESIDENCE: This refers to the candidate’s residential address and should include their house number, street name, municipality and zip code.
  • TITLE OF OFFICE: This refers to the official name of the office for which the candidate is seeking election. Please refer to the “Official List of Offices to be Elected” provided by the Berks County Office of Election Services.
  • TERM OF OFFICE: This refers to the number of years of the office for which the candidate is seeking election. Please refer to the “Official List of Offices to be Elected” provided by the Berks County Office of Election Services to determine what offices are up for election. For unexpired terms of office, candidates should list the years remaining in the term (example: 2 or 4).
  1. Each signer may sign nomination petitions for as many candidates for each office as he/she is permitted to vote for, and no more.
  2. Each signer MUST be a registered voter and an enrolled member of the party referred to in the petition.  Democratic electors can only sign Democratic petitions and Republican electors can only sign Republican petitions. 
  3. Each signer must personally sign his or her name in the “Signature of Elector” column and legibly print his or her name in the “Printed Name of Elector” column. 
  4. Each signer shall add his or her residence, providing the municipality (city, borough or township), with street name and number, if any, and add the date of signing, expressed in words or numbers (examples: February 18, 2025 or 2/18/25).
  5. Do not use ditto marks or whiteout anywhere on the petition. The use of ditto marks (“) or white out is grounds for rejecting the petition.
  6. Cross filing: Candidates for Magisterial District Judge and School Director are permitted to cross-file. Separate petitions must be filed for each Party if the candidate is cross filing. Do not combine them on one petition!
The STATEMENT OF CIRCULATOR must be signed by the person who circulated the petition AFTER the necessary signatures have been collected and the nomination petition is complete. All petition circulators must personally witness each signature for the signatures to be valid if challenged.

All circulators must be registered voters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and enrolled members of the party for which they are circulating. The Statement of Circulator shall comply with the requirements of Section 909 of the Pennsylvania Election Code (25 P.S. § 2869) and all other legal provisions pertaining to circulator statements.  

The Statement of Circulator section must be executed on each petition. Circulators for School Director candidates who are cross-filing must be an enrolled member of the party referred to in the nomination petition. However, circulators for Magisterial District Judge candidates DO NOT need to be an enrolled member of the same party referred to in the nomination petition.
 
Candidates may file a notarized WAIVER OF EXPENSE ACCOUNT REPORT AFFIDAVIT with their nomination petition if they DO NOT intend to form or receive support from a political committee and DO NOT intend to receive contributions or make expenditures greater than $250 during any reporting period. Candidates who file a Waiver of Expense Account Report Affidavit are then not required to file pre and post campaign expense reports.

Candidates exceeding $250 in receipts or expenditures in a reporting period, or who operate with the assistance of a committee, will be required to file pre and post campaign expense reports. 

 

Candidates must sign and submit a notarized CANDIDATE AFFIDAVIT with each nomination petition. Offices permitted to cross-file must file a Candidate Affidavit with each party’s petition. Do not leave anything blank. All fields must be completed to be accepted. 
 
A completed STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS (Ethics Statement) should be present at the time of filing nomination petitions. Each candidate is responsible for making any necessary additional copies. The Office of Election Services charges $0.25 for a single-sided copy and $0.50 for a double-sided copy.
 
  • One copy must accompany the nomination petition at the time of filing.  Nomination petitions will not be accepted if they do not include a Statement of Financial Interests.
 
  • One copy of the Statement of Financial Interests must be filed with the local governing body for the office being sought no later than March 11, 2025. The filer is responsible for making additional copies.  
  • Example: A candidate for Muhlenberg Township Commissioner must file a copy of their Statement of Financial Interest with the Secretary of Muhlenberg Township
  • Example: A candidate for Muhlenberg School Director must file a copy of their Statement of Financial Interest with the Muhlenberg School District.

Questions about how to complete the Statement of Financial Interests or how to obtain a copy of the form should be directed to the State Ethics Commission at 1-800-932-0936 or online at www.ethics.pa.gov.
A nomination petition will only be accepted by the Office of Election Services if it is accompanied by the proper filing fee (if applicable). Filing fees may be paid via cash, certified check, or money order, payable to the “County of Berks”.  No personal checks will be accepted. 
 

Filing fees will not be refunded for any reason (including candidate withdrawal). Offices permitted to cross-file are required to pay a filing fee (if applicable) for each party’s petition. 

  1. Petitions must be filed in the Office of Election Services by 5:00 PM on March 11, 2025, the “Last day to circulate and file nomination petitions” for the 2025 Municipal Primary. Petitions will be accepted if the submitter is in line by 5:00 PM. POST MARKS DO NOT COUNT! Candidates must include all required documents and the filing fee, if applicable, with their submitted nomination petition. The Candidate Affidavit and Waiver of Expense Account Report Affidavit must be notarized.
  2. Nomination petitions may consist of several sheets. If more than one sheet is used, all sheets for that nomination petition shall be bound together when submitted, and each sheet shall be numbered consecutively, beginning with the number one (1) of __ at the bottom of each page. (Ex. 1 of 2, 2 of 2)
  3. If no obvious defects are identified when a petition is filed, the petition will be accepted at face value. The Office of Election Services cannot determine or speculate what challenges may be filed against any petition, or how any judge will rule on those challenges. The Office of Election Services does NOT provide legal advice on petition challenges. 
 
NOTICE: TAX COLLECTORS - Non-incumbents filing a nomination petition for the position of Tax Collector must include their criminal history information from the PSP through the Criminal History Record Information Act with their petition.  The information must have been obtained within the year immediately prior to the filing of the petition.  For example, if a petition is filed on 2/21/2025, the information must have been obtained between 2/21/2024 and 2/21/2025.  Petitions will not be accepted without this report. For additional information, visit the Pennsylvania State Tax Collectors Association website: www.pstca.org.


NOTICE: MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGES – A sitting Magisterial District Judge elected to the office shall not be required to file a nomination petition to run for the office of Magisterial District Judge. Instead, a sitting Magisterial District Judge may file a Certificate of Nomination for Reelection, specifying their intent to seek reelection to the office. If a sitting Magisterial District Judge files a Certificate of Nomination for Reelection, the sitting Magisterial District Judge may not challenge the nomination petition of another candidate for Magisterial District Judge.

 

What you need to file a Nomination Petition

  • Completed Nomination Petition with the required number of signatures
  • Completed and Notarized Candidate’s Affidavit/ Waiver of Expense Reporting Affidavit
  • Copy of your Statement of Financial Interests (Ethics Form)
  • Filing fee payment

 

 

Reasons a Petition will be Rejected by Election Services

    • The petition was not reproduced correctly
    • There are not enough signatures on the petition
    • The petition was circulated prior to February 18, 2025.
    • The petition contains incorrect or incomplete information in the designated columns or blank lines. (ex. Zip code instead of date)
    • The petition contains ditto marks and/or whiteout.
    • An incorrect notary stamp, no notary stamp, or expired notary commission on the Candidate Affidavit or Waiver of Expense Account Report Affidavit.
    • Any part of the petition document is not filled in.
    • The petition does not include a copy of the candidate’s Statement of Financial Interest. 
    • The petition does not include the Candidate Affidavit.  
    • The required filing fee (if applicable) is not submitted 
    • Non-incumbent tax collectors do not submit the required criminal history information at the time of filing.

Walking List and Public Information Requests

Candidate Request for Free Walking List

Candidates are entitled to one (1) free list the year they are running for office. Submit your completed request form to our contact page or fax to 610.478.6218. We encourage you to provide your email address if you wish to receive  the walking list electronically.

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Request for Public Information​

Request form to be used for specialized voter registration listings, street listings, labels, databases in electronic format, and other related materials.

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4 PA Code Public Information Requests
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