CHANGES ARE COMING TO RALEIGH ELECTIONS
The next election for Raleigh Mayor and City Council will be held Nov 2026.
But there’s a brand-new primary election first, in March 2026.
With a deadline for candidates to file and get on the ballot THIS YEAR — in Dec 2025.
That’s right: To run in 2026, you must file with the Board of Elections in 2025.
Here are the changes to know about …
There are 8 members of the Raleigh City Council:
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- The Mayor
- 2 At-Large Councilors who represent the entire city
- 5 District Councilors who represent individual Districts A, B, C, D & E
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The City Council made two big changes to the way City Elections are run.
CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS
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- will have Non-Partisan Primaries
- will move to 4-year term lengths
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NON-PARTISAN PRIMARIES
Non-Partisan Primaries will be held in March of election years and will be held at the same time as the primaries for state and federal elections. Non-Partisan means all candidates, without regard to party affiliation, run in one primary to select the candidates who will run in the general election in November.
The filing period for the elections will open in December 2025
If the Mayor’s race or any District race has more than 2 candidates file to run for office, there will be a primary in March 2026. The top 2 candidates by vote total will move forward to the general election in November 2026.
If ONLY 2 candidates file for any of these races, those 2 candidates will NOT run in the primaries but will move directly to the general election.
If the At-Large race has more than 4 candidates file to run for the 2 seats, there will be a primary in March 2026. The top 4 candidates by vote total will move forward to the general election in November 2026
If no more than 4 candidates file for the At-Large races, those candidates will NOT run in the primaries but will move directly to the general election.
This is the LAST time both At-Large seats will run in the same election cycle. After this election the At-Large seats will work the same way as the Mayor and District seats.
4-YEAR TERM LENGTHS
Raleigh is moving to 4-year staggered terms for the Mayor and City Council.
When fully implemented half of the City Council will be elected every 2 years.
This will allow all Raleigh Residents to vote for at least one member of City Council every 2 years.
In order to implement this change the 2026 election will elect half the members of council to 2-year terms and half to 4-year terms.
The Mayor, 1 At-Large member and Districts A & B will be elected to 4-year terms.
The other At-Large member and Districts C, D & E will be elected to 2-year terms. These members will run again in 2028 for 4-year terms.
In the 2026 election, the At-Large councilor who receives the most votes will be assigned a 4-year term. The other At-Large winner will be assigned a 2-year term. This will end the current practice of both At-Large council seats running in a single election where voters vote for 2 candidates.
Once fully implemented the council election will be split into 2 cycles:
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- Cycle 1 – Districts C, D & E, 1 At-Large member starting in 2028
- Cycle 2 – Mayor, Districts A & B, 1 At-Large member starting in 2030
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IMPORTANT DATES
Candidate Filing Begins: Noon, December 1, 2025
Candidate Filing Ends: Noon, December 19, 2025
Deadline to withdraw a Notice of Candidacy: 5:00 p.m., December 16, 2025
Primary – Tuesday, March 3, 2026
General Election – Tuesday, November 3, 2026
It’s never too early to start organizing, getting your name out there and meeting with people if you’re interested in running for City Council.
Livable Raleigh Editorial Team
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