City announces mayor, city council and judge Election Days

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- Elections for mayor, city council and judge will be held at the beginning of 2026.

The Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 3 and the General Election will be on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.

Candidates for mayor and members of council are required to be qualified city voters and be St. Joseph residents for at least one year immediately prior to the election.

District councilmembers are required to be residents of their district for at least six months prior to the election.

The judge, mayor and four at-large councilmembers shall be elected to serve four-year terms, and the four district councilmembers shall be elected to an initial two-year term.

The judge should be at least 25 years of age, licensed to practice law in the State of Missouri and shall have been a resident of St. Joseph for one year immediately prior to the election.

The judge will hold office for a four-year term, during which he or she will not practice law. No person who is in arrears for any city shall be entitled to hold any office in the city government.

Any person interested in running for any of the aforementioned offices is asked to stop by the City Clerk's office at Room 303 in City Hall, located at 1100 Frederick Ave, beginning Tuesday, Sept. 9, to pick up petitions.

Petitions for candidates for the district councilchamber shall be signed by no less than 75 qualified district voters.

All petitions shall be filed with the city clerk should be filed between Tuesday, Oct. 7 and Tuesday, Oct. 28.

The City Clerk's office hours are typically 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 816-271-4731.