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Ballot access requirements for political parties in Virginia
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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.
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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.
To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Virginia, see this article.
Process for a political party to obtain ballot status
See statutes: Title 24.2, Chapter 5, of the Election Code of Virginia.
A political party in Virginia is defined as an organization of citizens that, at either of the two preceding statewide general elections, received at least 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for any statewide office filled in that election.[1]
Recognition process
A political party becomes officially recognized when one of its candidates for statewide offices receives at least 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for that office. Before this, however, there are organizational steps a party must take:
- A group of petitioners may utilize a selected party name on the ballot. The petitioners must organize a state central committee comprising one registered voter from each congressional district in Virginia and two from the Commonwealth at large. The party must adopt a party plan and bylaws. The party must also have a designated chairman and secretary for at least six months prior to filing the petition.[2]
- The party name cannot be identical or substantially similar to the name of any qualified, officially recognized political party.[3]
- After meeting the above criteria, this non-recognized political party can have its party label appear next to the name of a candidate running for federal or state office.[4]
- In order to nominate a statewide candidate and seek official ballot status, a petition must be signed by 10,000 qualified voters. The petition must also be signed by 400 qualified voters from each congressional district. The petition must be signed by petitioners on and after January 1 of the year of the election only.[4]
- The petition must be filed with the state board of elections by noon of the 74th day before the election. [5]
Political parties
As of May 2024, there were two recognized political parties in Virginia.[6]
| Party | Website link | By-laws/platform link |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of Virginia | Link | |
| Republican Party of Virginia | Link |
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See also
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Virginia
- Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Virginia
- List of political parties in the United States
- Democratic Party of Virginia
- Republican Party of Virginia
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-101," accessed July 9, 2025
- ↑ Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-543," accessed July 9, 2025
- ↑ Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-543," accessed July 9, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ballotpedia, "Email communication with ballot access expert Richard Winger," February 2014
- ↑ Election Code of Virginia, "Section 24.2-543," accessed July 9, 2025
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Political Party Committees," accessed May 15, 2024
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