Novato City Council Nomination Period Closes Aug. 7 for Three Seats

Novato’s nomination period for the November 2026 City Council election closes Friday, Aug. 7, setting the filing deadline for three council seats in Districts 2, 4 and 5.

The city’s official election materials identify the contest as a Novato municipal election scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026. The nomination period opened July 13 and runs through Aug. 7.

The deadline is the next key checkpoint in the city’s election calendar because it determines which candidates can move forward in the process for the November ballot. The approved election information does not provide a final list of people who filed, and it does not establish that any particular candidate qualified for the ballot.

Three council districts are affected

The seats covered by the filing period are in Districts 2, 4 and 5. The City of Novato’s notice identifies all three as part of the Nov. 3 election.

That gives the filing deadline a direct local-government consequence: the eventual contests in those districts will help shape the membership of the Novato City Council after the election. The council’s future decisions may affect city finances, housing, development and public services, according to the city’s election information.

The deadline itself is not a council vote, a certified election result or a determination of who will serve. It is the close of the period for submitting nomination paperwork. Candidate qualification and the final ballot lineup remain separate steps.

What is known — and what is not yet available

The official notice confirms the dates, the election date and the three districts involved. A secondary item published through Publicnow repeats that information from the City of Novato, including the July 13 opening date, the Aug. 7 closing date and the Nov. 3 election.

Neither approved source provides the final list of candidates who filed by the deadline. The source packet also cautions against stating that a candidate qualified for the ballot without checking a final certified filing list.

That distinction matters as the election moves from the nomination phase toward the November contest. A person’s submission of paperwork is not, by itself, enough to establish final ballot status in the information currently available for this report.

Next date on the calendar

The election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. The three Novato City Council seats in Districts 2, 4 and 5 are the local offices identified in the city’s notice.

For residents tracking the council races, the practical next step is the release or certification of the final candidate list. That list was not included in the approved materials, so the number of candidates, whether any race will be contested and the final ballot configuration cannot be confirmed here.

What is confirmed is the framework for the election: Novato’s filing period began July 13, closes Aug. 7, and leads to a Nov. 3 municipal election involving three council districts. The outcome will help determine the council’s composition and the direction of city decisions on finances, housing, development and public services.