Chino Valley Elections, Overview

Regular Candidate Elections

Elections for Mayor and Town Council are held in the fall of even-numbered years. The Primary Election for 2026 will be held on August 4, 2026 and the General Election for 2026 will be held on November 3, 2026. The Chino Valley Town Council is comprised of the Mayor and six Councilmembers. The Mayor and Councilmembers are elected from the town at large, the Mayor to a 2-year term and the Councilmembers to 4-year terms. All Chino Valley candidate elections are non-partisan.

Staggered Terms

To avoid having all the Council seats expire in the same year, Council terms are staggered, with the Mayor and three Councilmembers elected at one election and the Mayor and the other three Councilmembers elected two years later. Vacancies created mid-term may result in 2-year term Councilmember positions also being on the ballot.  

Runoff Election

If no candidate for an office receives a majority of the votes cast for that office in the Primary Election, a runoff election will be held at the General Election. The candidates included on the General Election ballot are those who received the most votes in the Primary, but no more than twice the number of candidates for which there are open seats on the council. 
 
For example: There are nine candidates for three Council positions on the Primary Election ballot. One person receives a majority of votes cast and is elected. Only the four of the remaining eight candidates with the most votes will be placed on the General Election ballot. 

Special Elections

Special elections may be called in March, May, August, or November of any year. Reasons to call a special election include, but are not limited to: initiatives, referendums, recalls, bond measures, utility questions, General Plan updates, and expenditure limitation options. Special elections will generally be conducted via vote-by-mail balloting. 

Election Provisions in Town Code (see Chapter 37)