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Ballot access requirements for political candidates in California

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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.

This page contains extensive information about ballot access requirements for state and federal candidates running for elected office in the state of California. Offices included are:

In order to get on the ballot in California, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.

There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.

  1. An individual can seek the nomination of a state-recognized political party.
  2. An individual can run as an independent. Independent candidates often must petition in order to have their names printed on the general election ballot.
  3. An individual can run as a write-in candidate.

This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in California. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, click here. Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).

California utilizes a top-two primary system. This system establishes a single primary election for all candidates running for office. The primary is open to all registered voters. The top two vote-getters in this primary election then move on to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. The system was established with the Top Two Primaries Act, which appeared as Proposition 14 on the June 8, 2010 ballot. It was approved with 53.8 percent of the vote and took effect with a special election on April 19, 2011.[1]

Year-specific dates

2015

See also: California elections, 2015; California municipal elections, 2015; and California school board elections, 2015

California is holding municipal and school board elections in 2015. There are no regularly scheduled elections for state executive, state legislative or congressional offices.

2014


Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of February, the state of California officially recognized seven political parties. These are listed in the table below. In order to be recognized by the state, a political party must fulfill certain requirements, which are outlined below in "Process to establish a political party."[6]

Party Website link By-laws/platform link
American Independent Party Official party website Party platform
Americans Elect Party National party website
Democratic Party Official party website Party by-laws
Green Party Official party website Party by-laws
Libertarian Party Official party website Party by-laws
Peace and Freedom Party Official party website Party by-laws
Republican Party Official party website Party by-laws

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. A political party designation would be used when a candidate qualifies as an independent but prefers to use a different label. California does not allow candidates to identify in this way. A total of 22 states allow candidates to use political party designations in non-presidential elections.[7]

The 11 states listed below (including Washington, D.C.) do not provide a process for political organizations to gain qualified status in advance of an election. Instead, in these states, an aspirant party must first field candidates using party designations. If the candidate or candidates win the requisite votes, the organization may then be recognized as an official political party. In these states, a political party can be formed only if the candidate in the general election obtains a specific number of votes. The number of votes required and type of race vary from state to state. Details can be found on the state-specific requirements pages.[8]

Events

Americans Elect Party 2014

In order for a party to gain qualified status in California, 1/15 of 1 percent of registered voters must affiliate with it. At the December 31, 2013 deadline, the Americans Elect Party had registered only about 5,000 members, well shy of the approximately 12,000 voters 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.[9][10]

Top Two Primaries Act

See also: California Proposition 14, Top Two Primaries Act (June 2010)

California utilizes a top-two primary system. This system establishes a single primary election for all candidates running for office, which is open to all registered voters. The top two vote-getters in this primary election then move on to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. This system was established with the Top Two Primaries Act, which appeared as Proposition 14 on the June 8, 2010 ballot. It was approved with 53.8 percent of the vote and took effect with a special election on April 19, 2011.[11]

Support

Prior to the top-two primary system, the top candidate in each party advanced to the general election, even if other candidates received more votes. Supporters of the new system believed it would reduce the number of pointless runoff elections and give strong candidates within the same party as another strong candidate a chance to run in the general election. Supporters also thought it would reduce partisanship and legislative gridlock by putting more moderate politicians in office and freeing candidates to position themselves on issues as opposed to parties.[12][13] [14]

Opposition

Opponents to the law thought the top-two primary system would limit voter choice and eliminate third parties. Opponents also believed it would raise the cost of administering elections as registration cards, candidate lists and nomination papers would have to be redesigned. Another concern was that campaign costs would increase, as the new primary system would make political parties run two separate election campaigns for the primary election, rather than the single campaign they used to run, in hopes that both their candidates would advance to the general election.[15][16][17]

Process to establish a political party

DocumentIcon.jpg 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."[18]

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.[3][19]
  2. After the convention, the group must file with the California Secretary of State and qualify in one of two ways:[3][19]
    • 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.[3][18]
    • 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][18]
  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.[3][18] 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.[3][18]

Process to become a candidate

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: 8020-8028 and Section 8100-8107 of the California Elections Code

Before accepting or spending money related to campaigning for office, a candidate for state office must file a candidate intention statement with the California Secretary of State. Note that this requirement does not apply to candidates for congressional office; federal campaign finance requirements apply to candidates for federal office. Candidates may qualify to run for office either by paying a filing fee or by submitting a petition in lieu of the filing fee.[20][21][20]

In addition to the candidate intention statement, a candidate is required to file nomination forms with his or her home county. These forms become available as early as the 113th day prior to the primary election and must be filed no later than the 88th day prior to the primary election.[22][23]

Nomination forms include a statement of economic interests, a declaration of candidacy, and nomination papers. Nomination papers require a certain number of signatures from registered voters. If a candidate qualifies by submitting an in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition, the signatures on that petition will be counted towards the requirement for the nomination paper. Registered voters may sign both the in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition and the nomination paper, unless the candidate is using the signatures on the in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition to count toward the nomination paper requirement. If that is the case, a registered voter can sign only one of the documents.[23]

The number of signatures required for nomination papers are as follows:[23][24][25]

  • 65-100 for candidates seeking the office of United States Senator or a state executive office
  • 40-60 for candidates seeking the office of United States Representative, state senator, or state assembly member

If an individual is running as a write-in candidate, the only nomination forms required are the nomination papers and a statement of write-in candidacy. These forms should be filed in the candidate's home county.[20]

Qualifying by payment of fee

The filing fee for a candidate seeking a seat in the United States Senate or a state executive office (e.g., governor or treasurer) is 2 percent of the first year's salary for that office. The filing fee for a candidate seeking the office of United States Representative, state senator, or state assembly member is 1 percent of the first year's salary for that office. The fee is paid to the California Secretary of State through the candidate's home county election office.[23]

Qualifying by petition in lieu of filing fee

Instead of paying a filing fee, a candidate may submit a petition. Signatures may be collected to cover all or any prorated portion of the filing fee.[20]

A candidate seeking the office of state assembly member must file signatures from 1,000 registered voters. Those seeking the office of state senator or United States Representative must file 2,000 signatures, and those seeking statewide office must file 7,000 signatures.[23][26][27]

If the number of registered voters in the district in which the candidate seeks nomination is less than 2,000, a candidate may submit a petition containing four signatures for each dollar of the filing fee, or 20 percent of the total number of registered voters in the district in which he or she seeks nomination, whichever is less.[23]

Completed petitions must be submitted 15 days before the end of the qualifying period to the counties in which the signers reside.[23]

Petition requirements

In some cases, political parties and/or candidates may need to obtain signatures via the petition process to gain ballot access. This section outlines the laws and regulations pertaining to petitions and circulators in California.

To collect signatures for these petitions, candidates may utilize circulators, individuals aged 18 years or older who physically go out among voters on the candidate's behalf to witness the signing of the petition. Circulator rules are established by Sections 100-108 of the California Elections Code. When a petition is filed with an election official, each section of it must be accompanied by a signed statement from the circulator declaring the name and address of the circulator and the dates during which all signatures were collected. The circulator must also declare that he or she circulated the petition, witnessed each signature, believes each signature to be valid, and that both the petition and accompanying declaration are true and correct. Both the candidate and the circulator are permitted to sign the petition, as long as they are registered voters in the district corresponding to the office the candidate seeks.[28]

Campaign finance

Figure 1: This is the Officeholder and Candidate Campaign Statement—Short Form (Form 470).

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: California Government Code, Section 85200-85201

Candidates seeking a federal office must file with the Federal Election Commission. Reporting details for federal candidates are not included in this section. Candidates seeking a state office should file all campaign finance documents with the California Secretary of State Political Reform Division.[29]

Reporting requirements

Before raising or spending any money related to the campaign, including personal funds, the candidate must file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501).[29][21]

If $1,000 or more is raised or spent for the campaign, a Statement of Organization (Form 410) and Recipient Committee Campaign Statements (Form 460) must be filed. The candidate must also open a separate bank account for campaign funds.[29][21]

The Statement of Organization (Form 410) designates a committee that will be in charge of the candidate’s campaign finances. The candidate must set up a new committee every election, even in the case of re-election. The form must be filed within 10 days of raising or spending $1,000. A committee that qualifies during the last 16 days before the election must file the Statement of Organization within 24 hours of qualifying. It must be filed by fax, guaranteed overnight delivery, or personal delivery.[29]

Recipient Committee Campaign Statements (Form 460) are filed throughout the election year. Semi-annual statements are due January 31 and July 31. The statement due January 31 covers financial activity from July 1 through December 31 of the prior and the statement due July 31 covers financial activity from January 1 through June 30. These statements are due after a committee has been organized. A committee formed after January 1 is not required to file a statement covering any part of the prior year.[30]

Pre-election statements are filed before the election in which the candidate is listed on the ballot. There are two of these covering financial activity prior to both the primary and general elections. A candidate who does not appear on the ballot because he or she is running unopposed is not required to file pre-election statements. The committee of a candidate who lost in the primary election is only required to file pre-election statements for the general election if the committee makes contributions or independent expenditures to support or oppose another candidate, committee, or ballot measure during the period covered by the statement.

Original statements must be filed with the California Secretary of State. Copies must also be filed with the Registrar-Recorder of Los Angeles County and the Elections Department in San Francisco. A candidate for state executive office must also file in his or her home county. A state legislative candidate must file in the county with the largest number of voters in the district and with his or her home county.

If less than $1,000 is raised or spent on the campaign in a calendar year, not including personal funds used to pay filing fees, an Officeholder/Candidate Campaign Statement—Short Form (Form 470) must be filed once per year as long as funds for the campaign remain under $1,000. The deadline for this form is the same as the deadline for the first semi-annual statement or the first pre-election statement, whichever occurs first. In addition to filing with the Political Reform Division, a copy of the Officeholder/Candidate Campaign Statement--Short Form (Form 470) must be filed with additional offices. These additional offices vary depending on the office sought. A candidate for state executive office, such as governor or treasurer, must file a copy with the Registrar-Recorder of Los Angeles County, the Elections Department in San Francisco, and the candidate's home county. A state legislative candidate must file a copy in the county with the largest number of voters in the candidate's district and with his or her home county.[29][21]

If a candidate’s committee receives contributions or makes expenditures totaling $50,000 or more, the committee is required to file all Recipient Committee Campaign Statements electronically. After reaching that $50,000 threshold, a candidate must also file Election Cycle Reports and $5,000 Reports.[30]

  • Election Cycle Reports must be filed electronically if a candidate's committee receives a contribution of $1,000 or more from a single contributor during the 90-day election cycle. These reports are due within 24 hours of receiving such a contribution.[30]
  • $5,000 Reports must be filed electronically if a candidate's committee receives a contribution of $5,000 or more from a single contributor, including a small contributor committee, at any time other than during an election cycle. These reports must be filed within 10 days of receiving such a contribution.[30]

Contribution limits

In addition to campaign finance reports, candidates are also subject to fundraising limits for each election, including the following:[31]

  • Candidates seeking office in the California State Senate or the California State Assembly can accept no more than $4,100 from an individual, business entity or PAC and no more than $8,200 from a small contributor committee.
  • Candidates seeking a state executive office other than governor can accept no more than $6,800 from an individual, business entity or PAC and no more than $13,600 from a small contributor committee.
  • Candidates seeking the office of governor can accept no more than $27,200 from an individual, business entity, PAC or small contributor committee.
  • Officially recognized political parties do not have contribution limits.


Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

Candidates running for office may require some form of interaction with the following agencies:

Secretary of State:

Why: This agency oversees candidate filing and reporting and all election procedures.
1500 - 11th Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: (916) 657-2166
Fax: (916) 653-3214
http://www.sos.ca.gov/

Fair Political Practices Commission:

Why: This agency issues opinions, adopts regulations and investigates violations in regards to the Political Reform Act.
428 J Street, Room 450
Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: (916) 322-5660
Fax: (916) 322-3711
Fax-On-Demand: 1-888-622-1151
Email: advice@fppc.ca.gov
http://www.fppc.ca.gov/

Counties

See also: Counties in California

Candidates must file a number of documents with the county elections office in the county in which they reside. Individual county contact information can be found below.

Term limits

California state executives and legislators have term limits. These limits were established by Proposition 140, Proposition 28 and Section 2, Article V of the California Constitution.

State executives

State Executive Officials
See also: State executives with term limits, States with gubernatorial term limits and California state executive official elections, 2014

The state executive term limits in California are as follows:[32]

The three state executives who were term-limited in 2014 were:

Name Party Office
Debra Bowen Electiondot.png Democratic Secretary of State
Bill Lockyer Electiondot.png Democratic Treasurer
John Chiang Electiondot.png Democratic Controller

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits and California Proposition 28, Change in Term Limits (June 2012)

A politician can serve in the California State Legislature for a cumulative total of 12 years. These years can be served in either or both the California State Senate or the California State Assembly.[33]

2014

See also: Impact of term limits on state senate elections in 2014 and Impact of term limits on state representative elections in 2014

A total of 24 state legislators were termed out in 2014.

They were:[34]

Name Party Chamber District
Wesley Chesbro Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 2
Dan Logue Ends.png Republican State Assembly District 3
Mariko Yamada Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 4
Nancy Skinner Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 15
Joan Buchanan Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 16
Tom Ammiano Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 17
Connie Conway Ends.png Republican State Assembly District 26
Paul Fong Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 28
Brian Nestande Ends.png Republican State Assembly District 42
John Perez Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 53
Curt Hagman Ends.png Republican State Assembly District 55
Manuel Perez Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 56
Steven Bradford Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 62
Isadore Hall, III Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 64
Bonnie Lowenthal Electiondot.png Democratic State Assembly District 70
Diane Harkey Ends.png Republican State Assembly District 73
Darrell Steinberg Electiondot.png Democratic State Senate District 6
Leland Yee Electiondot.png Democratic State Senate District 8
Ellen M. Corbett Electiondot.png Democratic State Senate District 10
Alex Padilla Electiondot.png Democratic State Senate District 20
Ronald S. Calderon Electiondot.png Democratic State Senate District 30
Gloria Negrete McLeod Electiondot.png Democratic State Senate District 32
Lou Correa Electiondot.png Democratic State Senate District 34
Mark Wyland Ends.png Republican State Senate District 38

2012

See also: Impact of term limits on state senate elections in 2012 and Impact of term limits on state representative elections in 2012

A total of 30 state legislators were termed out in 2012.

2010

See also: Impact of term limits on state senate elections in 2010 and Impact of term limits on state representative elections in 2010

A total of 26 state legislators were termed out in 2010.

Congressional partisanship

Portal:Legislative Branch
See also: List of United States Representatives from California and List of United States Senators from California

Here is the current partisan breakdown of the congressional members from California:

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from California
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 2 43 45
Republican 0 9 9
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 52 54

State legislative partisanship

Portal:State legislatures

Here is the current partisan breakdown of members of the state legislature of California:

State Senate

Party As of September 2025
     Democratic Party 30
     Republican Party 10
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 40

State House

Party As of September 2025
     Democratic Party 60
     Republican Party 19
     Independent 0
     Vacancies 1
Total 80

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "California + ballot + access"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

California ballot access news feed

See also

External links

Official state and federal links

Forms

Other information

References

  1. ↑ State Ballot Measures, "June 8, 2010 Results Page," accessed October 28, 2013
  2. ↑ California Secretary of State Website, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed October 21, 2013
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 California Secretary of State Website, "Political Party Qualification," accessed October 21, 2013 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "casos" defined multiple times with different content
  4. ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for State Candidate Controlled Committees June 3, 2014 Ballot," accessed December 27, 2013
  5. ↑ Fair Political Practices Commission, " Filing Schedule for State Candidate Controlled Committees November 4, 2014 Ballot," accessed January 22, 2014
  6. ↑ California Secretary of State Website, "Qualified Political Parties for the June 3, 2014 Primary Election," accessed February 9, 2015
  7. ↑ California Secretary of State Website, "Primary Elections in California," accessed December 23, 2013
  8. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Email communication with ballot access expert Richard Winger," January 2014
  9. ↑ Ballot Access News, "California Secretary of State Says Americans Elect Will be Ballot-Qualified Throughout 2014," February 18, 2014
  10. ↑ Ballot Access News, "Americans Elect Loses Ballot Position in California," January 6, 2014
  11. ↑ State Ballot Measures, "June 8, 2010 Results Page," accessed October 28, 2013
  12. ↑ Santa Cruz Sentinel, "Proposition 14: Campaign for open primaries rolls out of the gate," February 8, 2010
  13. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Ballot measures to the rescue," February 9, 2010
  14. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Californians to decide on open primary amendment," November 27, 2009
  15. ↑ Ballot Access News, "California Legislator Sandre Swanson Speaks Out Against 'Top-Two Open Primary,'" February 7, 2010
  16. ↑ Santa Cruz Sentinel, "Proposition 14: Campaign for open primaries rolls out of the gate," February 8, 2010
  17. ↑ IVN, "Assembly committee debates potential costs of open primary initiative," May 3, 2010
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 California Legislative Information, "CHAPTER 2. Parties Qualified to Participate in the Primary Election [5100 - 5102," accessed July 7, 2025]
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 California Legislative Information, "CHAPTER 1. New Party Qualifications [5000 - 5006," accessed July 7, 2025]
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 California Secretary of State, "Candidate Checklist," accessed February 25, 2025
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 California Government Code, "Section 85100-85802," accessed February 25, 2025 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "cagovcode" defined multiple times with different content
  22. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Phone call with Office of the California Secretary of State," October 9, 2013
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6 California Elections Code, "Section 8000-8700," accessed February 25, 2025
  24. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Summary of Qualifications and Requirements for the Office of United States Senator," February 25, 2025
  25. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Summary of Qualifications and Requirements for the Office of State Senate," accessed February 25, 2025
  26. ↑ California Legislative Information, "AB 469," accessed February 25, 2025
  27. ↑ Ballot Access News, "California Reduces Number of Signatures Needed on Petitions in Lieu of Filing Fee," October 16, 2017
  28. ↑ California Elections Code, "Title 1: General," accessed February 25, 2025
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 FPPC Campaign Manual, "Chapter 5 Getting Started," accessed October 21, 2013
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 FPPC Campaign Manual, "Chapter 6 When and Where to File Reports," accessed December 23, 2013
  31. ↑ California Fair Political Practices Commission, "California State Contribution Limits," accessed December 23, 2013
  32. ↑ California Constitution, "Article V, Section 2 and Section 11" accessed November 4, 2013
  33. ↑ The Council of State Governments, "State Legislative Branch," accessed October 28, 2013
  34. ↑ Govbuddy, "California Directory," accessed October 28, 2013
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