2026 Campaign Plan

THIS IS A DRAFT DOCUMENT

Background

Most towns have elections in the first half of the year. Each town sets its own election schedule. The earliest town election is in February, the latest in June, but most are between March and May. Nominations papers are often due 6 weeks before.

Massachusetts legislative elections are November 3rd, 2026. Nomination papers for legislative offices are available in mid-February and are due ten weeks later in the end of April.

Objectives

Identify and train our candidates for the 2026 elections. Help them to:

• setup their campaign
• identify and train their campaign staff
• identify and train volunteers
• get on the ballot
• fundraise
• identify supporters
• get supporters to the polls (GOTV)

Strategy

We will contact all potential Pirate candidates and encourage them to choose a campaign that will have the highest degree of success based on their available time.

There will be three types of campaigns:

1. Those that identify supporters and get them to the polls
2. Those that organize campaign events (standouts, etc.)
3. Those that meet the minimum requirements:
   1. get on the ballot
   2. meet with media to talk about their campaign
   3. attend any debates

If we can, we will focus on clustering candidates in areas with larger Pirate support.

Time line

2025

• November - Start calling potential candidates and organizers
• 2025/11/30 - 1st town nom papers available
• December - Have identified all candidates
• December - Mail all voters

2026

• January - Start candidate training
  • can schedule different days for different offices
  • so candidates know what we expect of them and know the party's overall strategy and messaging
  • candidates come prepared for the office and winning
• February - Write a how to govern guide/webpage - A pirates guide to local government
• 2026/02/10 - State nomination papers available
• 2026/02/24 - Date to switch to Pirate if a candidate in a legislative/count election
• 2026/03/03 - Date to switch to Pirate if a candidate in a Federal/State-wide election
• March - Wrap up candidate training
• 2026/04/28 - State nomination papers due at cities/towns for legislative/count election
• 2026/05/01 - schedule organizer/office holder check-ins through October
• 2026/05/26 - State nomination papers due at Election Division for legislative/count election
• 2026/07/28 - State nomination papers due at cities/towns for Federal/State-wide election
• 2026/08/25 - State nomination papers due at Election Division for Federal/State-wide election
• June - Hold post signature gathering candidate conference
• Tuesday, 2026/09/01 - State Primary
• Tuesday, 2026/11/03 - State Election

Documents we need

• Updated organizer guide
  • ... which gives anyone who reads it our strategy, why we chose this strategy and how they fit into that strategy;
  • mentions the three pirate rule (define better) and how it fits into the strategy;
  • links to our volunteer/organizer sign up sheet.
• Updated How to Run for Office guide
  • How-To Videos
• How to govern guide - A pirates guide to local government include links to:
  • what can the office do
  • Massachusetts local government guide
  • guide to town meeting - state/election doc
  • our local government / town FAQ
  • Steve videos
• Pirate Vision

Open questions

• What is the deadline to pull papers?
• What is the date for ethics report?
• What are OCPF filing dates?
• Replacement dates if candidate withdraws?

Closed questions

https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/getting-on-the-ballot/how-to-run-for-office-2026.htm

• What is the date for voters in other parties to switch to Pirate to qualify to run?
  • 90 days before papers are due

Resources

https://runforsomething.net/

third party candidate training