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Filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates, 2020
Date: November 3, 2020 |
 Donald Trump Joe Biden Howie Hawkins Jo Jorgensen
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There is no formal, national deadline to file to run for president of the United States. Instead, candidates must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines to appear on each state's election ballot.
These regulations, which are set at the state level, are known as ballot access laws. They often include collecting a certain number of signatures or paying a filing fee. A presidential candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election if he or she wants to make it to the election ballot.
While major political parties typically provide a list of presidential electors for their nominee to the state secretary of state, independent candidates must petition for placement on the ballot by meeting certain signature requirements and/or filing fees.
This page featured upcoming filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates, a list of states whose filing deadlines had passed, and a summary of filing requirements by state.
Filing deadlines by states
- See also: Deadline to run for president and Presidential election, 2020
The following filing deadline for independent presidential candidates have passed:
- Alabama (August 20)
- Alaska (August 5)
- Arizona (September 4)
- Arkansas (August 3)
- California (August 7)
- Colorado (August 5)
- Connecticut (August 7)
- Delaware (September 1)
- Florida (July 15)
- Georgia (August 14)
- Hawaii (August 5)
- Idaho (August 24)
- Illinois (July 20)
- Indiana (June 30)
- Iowa (August 14)
- Kansas (August 3)
- Kentucky (September 4)
- Louisiana (August 21)
- Maine (July 25)
- Maryland (August 3)
- Massachusetts (August 25)
- Michigan (July 16)
- Minnesota (August 18)
- Mississippi (September 4)
- Missouri (July 27)
- Montana (August 19)
- Nebraska (August 3)
- Nevada (August 14)
- New Hampshire (September 2)
- New Jersey (July 27)
- New Mexico (June 25)
- New York (July 30)
- North Carolina (March 3)
- North Dakota (August 31)
- Ohio (August 5)
- Oklahoma (July 15)
- Oregon (August 25)
- Pennsylvania (August 3)
- Rhode Island (September 4)
- South Carolina (July 15)
- South Dakota (August 4)
- Tennessee (August 20)
- Texas (May 11)
- Utah (August 17)
- Vermont (August 3)
- Virginia (August 21)
- Washington (August 7)
- West Virginia (August 3)
- Wisconsin (August 4)
- Wyoming (August 25)
Map of filing deadlines by month
The following map shows the filing deadline for each state grouped by month. Hover over each state to see the state's filing deadline.
Number of days until upcoming filing deadlines
Filing procedures
The table below summarizes general filing procedures for independent presidential candidates in 2020.
See also
Footnotes
