# Objections to 2027 candidates are due today at 5 p.m. Our count now covers 137 of 140 Council candidates *Two Council filings show fewer lines than the 473-signature minimum on our copies, but both copies may be incomplete. Every sitting alderperson who filed turned in at least twice the minimum.* By Chicago Politics · Updated Nov 2, 2026 The window to challenge the nominating papers of Chicago's 2027 candidates closes at 5 p.m. today, Monday, Nov. 2. Objections are filed in person at the Board of Election Commissioners, 69 W. Washington St., Suite 800, according to the [Board's notice](https://www.chicagoelections.gov/news/2027-municipal-aldermanic-election-candidate-objection-filing-office-hours). As of Sunday morning, our [objections page](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/objections), which lists objections as the Board publishes them, still showed none. Why it matters: an objection that succeeds takes a candidate off the Feb. 23 ballot. In a ward with only two candidates, that can leave voters with a single name. This follows our [Saturday story](/on-my-block/chicago-2027-petition-objections-weekend-johnson-mendoza-monday-5pm), when we had counted the petitions of 85 Council candidates. ## What our records add Our [ward-by-ward candidate list](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/alderman-candidates) now has a petition count for **137 of the 140** people the Board lists as Council candidates. The three without one are in the 2nd, 3rd and 6th wards. Nine counts are marked incomplete, because our copy has fewer readable sheets than the Board's receipt lists, so those numbers run low. What the count is: the number of filled-in signature lines on every sheet of the copy the Board provided, leaving out crossed-out lines. What it isn't: the Board's count of valid signatures. It doesn't check whether a signer is registered, lives in the ward or signed twice. The Board checks that only if someone objects. Against the **473-signature minimum** for alderperson, set in the Board's [2027 election pamphlet](https://cboeprod.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/prod/2026-06/2027%20Election%20Calendar-ADOPTED.pdf): - **Two copies show fewer lines than the minimum, and neither may be the whole filing.** In the [43rd Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/ward/43), our copy of a challenger's petition has 70 lines on 9 sheets and no filing receipt, so we can't tell how many sheets were filed. In the [8th Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/ward/8), one candidate's copy shows 472 lines on 48 sheets, but the Board's receipt lists 49, so the filing as submitted likely has more. - **Six more are within 30 lines:** filings in the [18th](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/ward/18) (477, with two of the 50 receipted sheets blank in our copy), [32nd](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/ward/32) (480), 8th (495), [25th](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/ward/25) (495), [16th](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/ward/16) (497, incomplete) and [13th](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/ward/13) (503) wards. - **13 candidates** are under 600 lines and **24** are under 700. - The middle candidate on our list filed 1,346 lines, about 2.8 times the minimum. The Board's pamphlet notes that it can decline to certify nominating papers that are not "in apparent conformity" with the Election Code even if no one objects, after giving the candidate a chance to respond. A count below the minimum on our copy doesn't settle that, especially when the copy is missing sheets; only the Board does. **Incumbents.** All 47 sitting alderpersons who filed show more than 1,000 lines, at least twice the minimum. The lowest are Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th), 1,007; Ald. William Hall (6th), 1,070; Ald. Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33rd), 1,093, which is incomplete; and Knudsen, 1,141. **Where an objection would change the race.** In the 43rd Ward, Ald. Timmy Knudsen has one opponent on the Board's list. In the 8th Ward, Ald. Michelle Harris has four challengers; two are within about 25 lines of the minimum on our copies. Our [Oct. 28 story](/on-my-block/chicago-2027-unopposed-alderpersons-11-wards-one-candidate) listed the 11 wards where only one candidate filed. ## What an objection can target Signatures aren't the only ground. Under the pamphlet's rules, petition sheets must be originals, not photocopies; a candidate who didn't file a receipt for a Statement of Economic Interests on time has invalid papers; and signers must be registered voters in the district. Any registered voter in the district can object. Once an objection is filed, the Board sits as the Electoral Board and assigns a hearing officer. When signatures are at issue, Board staff check each challenged line against voter records, and both sides can dispute the results. The losing side can ask a Cook County judge to review the ruling. ## What's next - **Mon., Nov. 2, 5 p.m.:** objections due. The same day is the last day for a candidate who filed for two incompatible offices to withdraw from one, under the Board's calendar. [Three mayoral candidates are on Tuesday's ballot for other offices](/on-my-block/giannoulias-quigley-pappas-tuesday-ballot-mayor-race-incompatible-offices). - **Ballot order:** the Board has already drawn lots for candidates who filed at the same moment. [The mayoral results](/on-my-block/chicago-mayor-ballot-lottery-results-kelly-first-maronto-last). - **November and December:** Electoral Board hearings and rulings. - **Dec. 17:** the Board certifies the ballot. We will add each objection to our [objections page](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/elections/2027/objections) as the Board publishes it, and update the counts as more petition copies come in. ## Sources 1. chicagoelections.gov: [Board's notice](https://www.chicagoelections.gov/news/2027-municipal-aldermanic-election-candidate-objection-filing-office-hours) On the map: [8th Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/8), [13th Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/13), [16th Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/16), [18th Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/18), [25th Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/25), [32nd Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/32), [43rd Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/43) --- Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/chicago-2027-objections-due-monday-petition-counts-137-council-candidates · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt