Ballot access requirements for political parties in Rhode Island

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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, Rhode Island 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. Rhode Island allows candidates to use political party designations.

To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Rhode Island, see this article.

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

Seal of Rhode Island

See statutes: R.I. Gen. Laws § 17-1-2

A political party in Rhode Island is defined as any one of the following:

1. Any political organization that at the most recent general election for general officers (e.g., governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, etc.) nominated a candidate for governor who received at least 5% of the total number of votes cast for that office.
2. Any political organization that at the most recent presidential election nominated a candidate for president who received at least 5% of the total number of votes cast in the state for that office.
3. Any political organization that petitions for recognition as a political party.

An organization petitioning for recognition as a political party must collect signatures from registered, qualified voters equaling at least 5% of the total number of votes cast for governor or president at the last immediately preceding general election. Signatures cannot be collected prior to January 1 of the year in which the organization desires ballot access as a political party. An organization qualifying as a political party by the petition process will only be qualified during the year in which it obtained signatures. At the time the organization submits petitions, it must also file with the board of elections a form including the name of the organization and the names and addresses of its chairperson and secretary. To maintain recognition, the organization must field a candidate for governor or president who wins at least 5% of the total number of votes cast in the state for those offices.

If the organization intends to nominate candidates by primary election, completed petitions must be submitted to the appropriate local boards of canvassers by June 1 of the election year. If the organization intends to nominate candidates by another method, petitions must be submitted by August 1 of the election year.

An independent candidate for governor or president may establish a political party by receiving 5% of the total number of votes cast in the state for those offices only if the candidate indicated at the time of filing for office to the secretary of state the intention to establish a political party (the candidate must provide the secretary of state with the name of the prospective party and the names and addresses of the organization's chairperson and secretary).

Selecting candidates

Recognized political parties nominate their candidates for office by primary election. Parties qualifying by the petition process may opt to nominate candidates by another method (e.g., convention) in the first year that they qualify for recognized status.

Maintaining party status

In order to maintain qualified status, a party must field a candidate for governor or president who receives at least 5% of the total number of votes cast in the state for those offices. If a party fails to do so, it will cease to be recognized as a political party.

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of May 2024, there were two recognized political parties in Rhode Island.

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

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See also

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

External links

• Rhode Island Democratic Party
• Rhode Island Republican Party

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