Ballot access requirements for political parties in Alabama

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Ballot access requirements for political parties in the United States
List of political parties in the United States
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Note: This article is not intended to serve as a guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

HIGHLIGHTS

As of May 2024, Alabama officially recognized two political parties: the Democratic and Republican parties.

In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. Alabama does not allow candidates to use political party designations.

To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Alabama, click here.

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

Seal of Alabama

See statutes: Code of Alabama Title 17, Chapter 13

In Alabama, a state political party is defined as an organization of voters whose candidate for a state office receives more than 20% of the total votes cast in a general election for state officers. If a party does not meet this threshold, its members must follow the process below to become ballot-qualified:

1. The party seeking official recognition by the state must submit the party's emblem to the Alabama Secretary of State 60 days before the primary election.
2. The party must file a certificate of nomination of candidates by 5 p.m. on the day of the primary. Minor political parties are not required to give notice of a meeting held to nominate candidates.
3. The party must file a petition with signatures of at least 3% of the total vote for the office of governor in the last general election (for statewide ballot access) by 5 p.m. on the day of the primary.

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of May 2024, Alabama officially recognized two political parties. To be officially recognized by the state, a political party's candidate for state office must receive at least 20 percent of the vote cast in the general election. The state does, however, allow parties to be recognized in only parts of the state.

Party	Website link	By-laws/platform link
Democratic Party of Alabama	Link	Party platform
Republican Party of Alabama	Link	Party platform

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See also

• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Alabama
• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Alabama
• List of political parties in the United States
• Democratic Party of Alabama
• Republican Party of Alabama

External links

• Alabama Democratic Party
• Alabama Republican Party

Footnotes

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