The Town of Erie holds a regular municipal election the first Tuesday of April in every even-numbered year. The mayor, who serves a two-year term, is up for election at every regular municipal election. Board of Trustees members serve four-year staggered terms; at every regular election there will be three out of the six who are up for election.

Special Elections
Special elections, which can be called by the Board of Trustees, must be held on a Tuesday of any given month (with some statutory restrictions). These elections contain issues presented by the board known as referendums or referred measures as well as requests by citizens (through the petitioning process) called initiatives.

Coordinated Elections
Coordinated elections are those elections that are defined as special municipal elections, which are held in conjunction with other elections (i.e. general and primary, and are conducted by the county or counties involved). The town must enter into intergovernmental agreements with the county or counties in order to participate in the coordinated elections.