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Filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates, 2024
Date: November 5, 2024  |
 Kamala Harris (D) Donald Trump (R) (won) Jill Stein (G) Chase Oliver (L) |
2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016 |
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 features upcoming filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates, a list of states whose filing deadlines have passed, and a summary of filing requirements by state. States are still in the process of announcing independent presidential candidate filing deadlines, and this page will be updated as that information becomes available.
Filing deadlines by state
Filing procedures
The table below summarizes general filing procedures for independent presidential candidates in 2024. Blank cells indicate that we have not yet collected filing information for that state. We will update this information as it becomes available.
Click here to view independent candidate filing deadlines from 2020.
Comparison of filing deadlines by state in 2020 and 2024
The chart below shows a comparison between filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates in 2020 and 2024, alongside the presidential election date in each of those years.
The list below shows filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates in 2020:
- 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)
See also
Use the dropdown menu below to navigate Ballotpedia's historical coverage of filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates.
- Important dates
- Timeline of campaign announcements
- Deadline to run for president
- Filing deadlines for independent presidential candidates
- State laws and party rules on replacing a presidential nominee
- What happens if Joe Biden drops out or is replaced as the 2024 Democratic Party presidential nominee
- Changes to the 2024 Democratic presidential primary calendar
Footnotes
