CharlestonNot a ballot

Voter guide · Nov 3, 2026

Charleston Mayor & City Council Election 2026

26 of 26 council seats are on the ballot, with 37 candidates running. Updated Oct 6, 2026. Every claim links to its source. How we check

Not sure who to vote for? Answer 4 questions and see which candidates agree with you, and why.

Find your match: 4-question quizSee who is on your ballot

No sign-in. Your answers stay on your device. We never endorse anyone.

Nov 3Election Day

How to vote · 11 days left

Find where to voteCheck your registration
Deadline for absentee ballot applications (Oct 28): the election office's notice

These links go to official state and county election sites. Hours and rules differ by state; your election office has the final word.

The candidates

Listed alphabetically by last name. Every position links to its source.

City Council Ward 1

Unopposed

City Council Ward 7

Unopposed

All 26 council seats are up: each of the 20 wards elects one member, and six members are elected at large. Voters also elect the mayor.

Deadline for absentee ballot applications · Oct 28

Take your ballot with you

Candidates, positions and key dates in one email, sent now.

Your cheat-sheet comes right away. You'll also get a reminder before Election Day, the results, then what your council decides next. Unsubscribe anytime. No ads, never sold.

Also on your Nov 3 ballot

We research city races only. For these races, go to the state's official guide or a nonpartisan one.

  • U.S. Senate
    • Shelley Moore Capito · Republican
    • Rachel Fetty Anderson · Democratic
    • S. Marshall Wilson · CST
    Official candidate list, in its order
  • U.S. HouseDistrict 1
  • State SenateDistrict 8 (51% of Charleston residents) · District 17 (50%)
  • House of DelegatesDistrict 54 (39% of Charleston residents) · District 55 (22%) · District 53 (15%) · District 56 (14%) · District 57 (8%) · 1 more
  • Statewide measures1 on the ballot: the state's official explanations
Official voter lookupState voter guideVote411 (League of Women Voters)

Districts come from 2020 Census blocks and the district maps for this election. Your address decides your districts.

What the next council decides

01Charleston Town Center mall3 sourced facts

Where it standsThe mall’s owner says it will close in 2027, and the city is no longer in talks to take it by donation.

What's on the tableThe next council will decide what role the city plays in the future of the downtown mall property.

  • Hull Property Group, the owner, said Charleston Town Center will close sometime in 2027 due to a lack of tenants. WSAZ · Oct 5, 2026
  • A city spokesperson said the city is no longer in conversations with the owner about securing the mall as a donation. WSAZ · Oct 5, 2026
  • Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said the mall is privately owned. WSAZ · Oct 5, 2026
02Police pay and retention2 sourced facts

Where it standsThe FY2027 budget keeps police recruitment incentives, and council rejected an amendment for an added police raise.

What's on the tableThe next council will set police and fire pay and incentives in future budgets.

03City budget and the City Service Fee3 sourced facts

Where it standsCouncil adopted a $113.6M FY2027 budget in March 2026, and the city says it raises no taxes or fees.

What's on the tableThe next council will adopt future budgets and can change city fees and taxes.

04Road paving2 sourced facts

Where it standsThe budget sets a $3M paving base, and council approved a cost-sharing agreement with the state for Oakwood Road.

What's on the tableThe next council will set paving budgets and approve cost-sharing deals with the state.

05Municipal Auditorium3 sourced facts

Where it standsThe auditorium has been closed since early 2024, and the city is weighing whether to keep its facade in a rebuild.

What's on the tableThe next council will decide whether to rebuild the auditorium and whether to pay to keep the facade.

  • The auditorium shut nearly two years before January 2026 because of electrical and structural issues. WSAZ · Jan 14, 2026
  • The city’s chief of staff said keeping the facade as a free-standing structure had an estimate just under $1.5 million. WSAZ · Jan 14, 2026
  • Keeping the facade with a new auditorium would cost nearly $5 million on top of about $25 million to rebuild, he said. WSAZ · Jan 14, 2026
06Council size and election cycle3 sourced facts

Where it standsThe 26-member council rejected a February 2026 motion to bring a Charter election-cycle bill to the floor.

What's on the tableThe next council will decide whether to revisit the size of the council and its election cycle.

1 note on these statements

Will Pack, Fred Joseph and Patrick Salango did not attend the April 2026 at-large candidate forum, according to the Gazette-Mail. Charleston Gazette-Mail

No sign-in · answers stay on your phone

Who matches you?

Answer any of these questions. We compare your answers with each person's sourced record, and nothing is stored. Questions where no one has a sourced record yet are left out. Tap a selected answer again to skip it.

  1. 1. Should the city acquire the Charleston Town Center mall?

  2. 2. Should the city add to the police pay raise already in the FY2027 budget?

  3. 3. Should the city split paving costs with the state on state-owned roads like Oakwood Road?

  4. 4. What should Charleston do about the $3 weekly City Service Fee on people who work in the city?

Seat the councilSeat the Council →Pick a winner for each open seat and see where the resulting council stands on each issue.On the recordHow the council voted7 council decisions, each member's vote side by side, with a link to the minutes.New · How Charleston is runWho runs Charleston, and what it costsWho the city manager is, council pay, whether the city is in the red, and where your property tax goes.

Key dates

The seat math

0 stay (not up this year): 26 on this ballot

26 council seats. The council decides by a 14-vote majority.

Every claim here links to its source and was checked against it before publishing. How this guide works

See something wrong? Report an error

Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.