Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi reminds residents interested in running for their local board of education that candidate nominating petitions for the November 2026 School Board Election must be filed with the Union County Clerk’s Office no later than 4:00 p.m. on Monday, July 27, 2026.
Clerk Rajoppi strongly encourages prospective candidates to file their petitions well before the deadline to allow time for her office to review them and notify candidates of any issues or errors that may need to be corrected.
Clerk Rajoppi also reminds prospective candidates of a change in New Jersey law that took effect on February 3, 2025. Under the new law, the number of valid signatures required on a school board candidate nominating petition increased from 10 to 25. All petitions must now contain at least 25 valid signatures to qualify for placement on the ballot.
A video guide explaining the petition filing process is available at www.unioncountyvotes.com.
The Union County Clerk’s Office is located at 2 Broad Street, Room 113, Elizabeth, and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For additional information, contact the office at 908-527-4996 or email ucvote@ucnj.org.