Ballot access requirements for political parties in California

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Ballot access requirements for 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, California officially recognized six political parties: the American Independent, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, Peace and Freedom, 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. California does not allow candidates to use political party designations.

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

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

Seal of California

See statutes: California Elections Code Sections 5000-5006

In California, a party is ballot-qualified for a primary election when, at the most recent gubernatorial primary, "the sum of the votes cast for all of the candidates for an office voted on throughout the state who disclosed a preference for that party on the ballot was at least 2 percent of the entire vote of the state for that office," when "voters equal in number to at least 0.33 percent of the total number of voters registered on the 154th day before the primary election have declared their preference for that party," or when "there is filed with the Secretary of State a petition signed by voters, equal in number to at least 10 percent of the entire vote of the state at the last preceding gubernatorial election, declaring that they represent a proposed party."

The process for a party to become qualified to participate in a primary in California is outlined below.

1. The group wishing to qualify must hold a convention or caucus to elect temporary officers and determine the party name.
2. After the convention, the group must file with the California Secretary of State and qualify in one of two ways:
   • Voter registration method
     • To qualify by voter registration, voters equaling at least 0.33% of the number of registered voters in the state on the 154th day before the primary — as determined by the secretary of state by the 135th day before the primary — must complete an affidavit of registration with the new party's name.
   • Petition method
     • To qualify by petition, signatures from registered voters equaling at least 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election must be collected. Petitions must be filed with the county election officials in which signatures were collected with enough time for the secretary of state to make a determination by the 135th day before the primary.
3. Once a political party is ballot-qualified, in order to participate in subsequent primaries, it must either have a candidate for statewide office receive at least 2% of the entire vote in an election, or the party must retain registration equal to at least 0.33% of registered voters in the state as of the 154th day before the primary. Any party that does not retain 1/15 of 1% (0.067%) of the state's total registration of voters after previously qualifying for a primary loses its qualification for subsequent primaries.

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of May 2024, the state of California officially recognized six political parties.

Party	Website link	By-laws/platform link
American Independent Party	Link	Party platform
Democratic Party of California	Link	Party platform
Green Party of California	Link	Party platform
Libertarian Party of California	Link	Party platform
Peace and Freedom Party of California	Link	Party platform
Republican Party of California	Link	Party platform

Historical events

2014

At the December 31, 2013, deadline, the Americans Elect Party had registered approximately 5,000 members, compared to the approximately 12,000 voters that were needed. Instead of revoking the party's qualified status, the California Secretary of State ruled that the party was ballot-qualified through the November 2014 general election. The California Secretary of State explained that no party could lose its status unless it was the beginning of a presidential election year. Therefore, the Americans Elect Party had two more years to increase its voter registration numbers.

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See also

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

External links

• American Independent Party of California
• California Democratic Party
• California Republican Party
• Green Party of California
• Libertarian Party of California
• Peace and Freedom Party of California

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