Mexico formally launched its 2026-2027 electoral process on Thursday, beginning preparations for a massive midterm election that will put more than 19,000 public offices before voters and help determine the balance of political power during the second half of President Claudia Sheinbaum's term.
The process began with a formal ceremony and an extraordinary session of the General Council of Mexico's National Electoral Institute, known as the INE. Election Day is scheduled for June 6, 2027.
At the federal level, voters will elect all 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Mexico's Congress. Of those seats, 300 will be chosen directly in individual electoral districts, while 200 will be distributed through proportional representation.
The results will decide whether Sheinbaum's ruling Morena party and its allies retain the congressional strength needed to advance the administration's legislative agenda. The election will also serve as the country's most significant political test before the 2030 presidential race.
The scale of the vote extends far beyond Congress. Local elections will take place in all 32 states, with 17 governorships, approximately 1,098 seats in 31 state legislatures, and thousands of municipal positions on the ballot. Municipal governments will be renewed in 30 states, covering about 2,230 municipalities, according to figures reported by El País.
The 17 gubernatorial contests are expected to dominate much of the political campaign. Morena has already drawn hundreds of potential contenders seeking its nominations, reflecting both the party's national strength and the internal disputes likely to emerge as it selects candidates.
More than 102 million people are expected to be registered to vote, making the 2027 contest one of the largest and most complicated elections Mexico has organized. Electoral authorities are preparing to install more than 170,000 polling stations across the country and complete more than 500 organizational tasks before voting begins.
The INE officially announced that the new federal process would begin Sept. 10, formally activating the calendar for electoral planning, voter registration, candidate oversight, campaign monitoring and the recruitment and training of poll workers.
The preparations are beginning during a turbulent period for the electoral authority. Claudia Arlett Espino resigned as the INE's executive secretary one day before the formal launch, citing health and family considerations connected to the demands of organizing concurrent federal and state elections.
The executive secretary oversees the national operational structure responsible for turning the General Council's decisions into practice. Roberto Carlos Félix López was appointed acting executive secretary, becoming the fourth person to temporarily occupy the position in less than three years.
Espino's departure intensified questions about internal stability at the INE, which has faced disagreements among its council members and criticism from both the governing party and the opposition. Morena officials have accused the institute of obstructing political change, while opposition leaders contend that its independence has weakened under President Guadalupe Taddei.
Funding is another source of tension. The INE requested approximately 48 billion pesos for 2027, but the Finance Ministry allocated 42.27 billion pesos in the proposed federal budget. Lawmakers could approve additional reductions before the spending plan is finalized, prompting warnings that budget constraints could complicate election preparations.
The ordinary elections may also coincide with the second phase of Mexico's controversial judicial elections, in which voters directly select judges and magistrates. The INE has asked Congress to postpone that vote until 2028, warning that organizing the judicial and conventional elections simultaneously could overwhelm its logistical, financial and technological capacity.
If both processes move forward in 2027, the institute has estimated that it could be required to install more than 353,000 voting stations and train approximately 3.1 million citizens to staff them. Voters could also be required to visit separate locations to cast conventional and judicial ballots.
The uncertainty surrounding the judicial vote does not stop the electoral clock. From this week forward, federal and local authorities will begin coordinating election materials, voter rolls, polling locations and security plans for a contest that will reach every Mexican state.
The election will not include the presidency or Senate, but its consequences will be national. Control of the Chamber of Deputies, 17 state governments and thousands of local positions will shape Mexico's political map and determine how much room Sheinbaum has to govern during the final three years of her administration.
