Candidate Filing and Ballot Access

Each state sets the rules for getting on its ballot, for federal as well as state and local offices. Candidates typically file a declaration of candidacy with the state or local election office during a filing period that can close many months before the primary, and pay a filing fee or gather a required number of voter signatures on petitions, or both. Many states let candidates who cannot afford the fee submit signatures instead.

Candidates must meet the qualifications for the office. The Constitution sets them for Congress and the presidency, such as being 25 and a citizen for seven years for the House, and states set them for state and local offices, often including residency in the district. Most candidates run in a party primary to win a spot on the general election ballot, while independents and new parties usually need far more signatures and must file earlier, and about 45 states have sore loser laws barring primary losers from running as independents.

Petition signatures are often challenged in court or before election boards, and errors such as signers living outside the district can knock candidates off the ballot. Federal employees are limited by the Hatch Act in running for partisan office, and some states require officeholders to resign to run for another office. Write-in candidates can win in some races but often must register in advance. Supporters of strict rules say they keep ballots manageable and serious, while critics say they protect incumbents and the two major parties.