Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Oregon

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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.

In order to get on the ballot in Oregon, 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 Oregon. 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).

See state election laws

Year-specific filing information

2020

The tables below detail filing requirements for congressional candidates in Oregon in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Oregon, click here.

Partisan primary candidates

Filing requirements for partisan primary candidates in Oregon, 2020
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
Oregon	U.S. Senate	Major party	0	N/A	$150.00	Fixed fee	3/10/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 1	Major party	0	N/A	$100.00	Fixed fee	3/10/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 2	Major party	0	N/A	$100.00	Fixed fee	3/10/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 3	Major party	0	N/A	$100.00	Fixed fee	3/10/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 4	Major party	0	N/A	$100.00	Fixed fee	3/10/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 5	Major party	0	N/A	$100.00	Fixed fee	3/10/2020	Source

Independent candidates

Filing requirements for independent candidates in Oregon, 2020
State	Office	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
Oregon	U.S. Senate	20,014	1% of votes cast in the district for president	N/A	N/A	8/25/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 1	4,091	1% of votes cast in the district for president	N/A	N/A	8/25/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 2	4,050	1% of votes cast in the district for president	N/A	N/A	8/25/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 3	4,210	1% of votes cast in the district for president	N/A	N/A	8/25/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 4	4,163	1% of votes cast in the district for president	N/A	N/A	8/25/2020	Source
Oregon	U.S. House District 5	4,000	1% of votes cast in the district for president	N/A	N/A	8/25/2020	Source

For filing information from previous years, click "[Show more]" below.

Show more

2018

See also: State and federal candidate filing deadlines for 2018 and Oregon elections, 2018

See below for 2018 candidate filing deadlines.

March 6, 2018

2016

See also: Oregon elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important filing deadlines for political candidates in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline	Event type	Event description
March 8, 2016	Ballot access	Filing deadline for primary election candidates
May 17, 2016	Election date	Primary election
August 30, 2016	Ballot access	Filing deadline for unaffiliated and minor party candidates for the general election
November 8, 2016	Election date	General election
Source: Oregon Secretary of State, "2016 Elections Calendar," accessed October 28, 2015

Candidate committees that expect to receive $3,500 or more in a calendar year are required to report all "transactions" via ORESTAR. Transactions include contributions, expenditures, other receipts and disbursements and all other committee financial activities. Generally, transaction reports are due no later than 30 calendar days after the date of the transaction, though there are times when transaction reports are due within seven calendar days of the date of the transaction. For more detailing information about campaign finance reporting requirements, see this manual.

2015

To view historical information for 2015, click [show] to expand the section.
See also: Oregon elections, 2015 There were no regularly scheduled state executive, state legislative or congressional elections in Oregon in 2015.

2014

To view historical information for 2014, click [show] to expand the section.

See also: Oregon elections, 2014 Oregon held a primary election on May 20, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected candidates to serve in the following state and federal offices: Governor of Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries 5 seats in the United States House of Representatives 1 seat in the United States Senate 60 seats in the Oregon House of Representatives 15 seats in the Oregon State Senate The 2014 filing deadline for candidates participating in the state primary was March 11, 2014. For those candidates seeking ballot access only in the November general election, the filing deadline was August 26, 2014. Legend:      Ballot access     Campaign finance     Election date Dates and requirements for candidates in 2014 Deadline Event type Event description 30th day after the date of the transaction Campaign finance Reporting deadline for campaign finance transactions conducted on or before March 8, 2014 (primary election) March 11, 2014 Ballot access Filing deadline for candidates seeking to participate in the primary April 15, 2014 Campaign finance Reporting deadline for campaign finance transactions conducted between March 9 and April 7 (primary election) 7th day after the date of transaction Campaign finance Reporting deadline for campaign finance transactions conducted between April 8 and May 20 (primary election) May 20, 2014 Election date State primary date 30th day after the date of transaction Campaign finance Reporting deadline for campaign finance transactions conducted on or before August 23, 2014 (general election) August 26, 2014 Ballot access Filing deadline for candidates seeking to participate in the November general election (unaffiliated and minor party candidates) September 30, 2014 Campaign finance Reporting deadline for campaign finance transactions conducted between August 24 and September 22 (general election) 7th day after the date of transaction Campaign finance Reporting deadline for campaign finance transactions conducted between September 23 and November 4 (general election) November 4, 2014 Election date General election

Process to become a candidate

The first page of the major party candidate filing form, 2013

For major party candidates

See statutes: Chapter 249, Sections 020, 068 and 056 of the Oregon Revised Statutes

A major party candidate can gain access to the ballot via one of two methods: by paying a filing fee or by filing a nominating petition.

Filing fee

A candidate of a major party can have his or her name printed on the ballot by filing a declaration of candidacy with the Oregon Secretary of State and paying the requisite filing fees. Filing fees are as follows:

Filing fees for major party candidates in Oregon
Office sought	Fee
United States Senator	$150
Governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, labor and industries commissioner, United States Representative	$100
State senator and state representative	$25

Nominating petition

A candidate of a major party can have his or her name printed on the ballot by filing a nominating petition with the Oregon Secretary of State. Signature requirements are as follows:

Petition signature requirements for major party candidates in Oregon
Office sought	Required signatures
United States Representative	The lesser of 1,000 signatures or 2 % of the number of votes cast in the district for president by members of the candidate’s party
Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, United States Senator	The lesser of 1,000 signatures or 2 % of the number of votes cast for president by members of the candidate’s party
State Senator & State Representative	The lesser of 500 signatures or 2 % of the number of votes cast in the district for president by members of the candidate’s party

For minor party candidates

Recognized minor parties (as defined in this article) are not permitted to participate in primary elections and instead must select candidates by nominating convention.

For unaffiliated candidates

An unaffiliated candidate can gain access to the ballot via one of two methods: nomination by individual electors or nomination by an assembly of electors.

Nomination by individual electors

See statutes: Chapter 249, Section 740 of the Oregon Revised Statutes

An unaffiliated candidate must submit the appropriate filing form with the Oregon Secretary of State and obtain approval to circulate the nominating petition prior to collecting signatures. Once approval has been obtained, circulators must gather signatures equal to at least 1 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for presidential electors in the most recent general election within the electoral district for which the nomination is being sought.

Nomination by assembly of electors

See statutes: Chapter 249, Section 735 of the Oregon Revised Statutes

The process for nomination by assembly of electors is described below:

• File Preliminary Certificate: Submit a draft certificate (minus signatures) to the Secretary of State, including a statement on paid circulators.
• Announce Assembly: Not later than 10 days before a single‑day, 12‑hour meeting, publish notice once in three local newspapers; include date/time, office(s), and 25 or more petitioning electors.
• Hold Assembly: Convene at the published time and place with the statutory minimum voters (250 for local/state legislative; 500 for U.S. House; 1,000 for statewide/U.S. Senate), record each elector’s name/address and votes in the minutes.
• Finalize Nomination: File the certified minutes and publication affidavit with the Secretary of State (or county clerk); signatures in the minutes are then verified and the nomination is accepted.

Signature requirements for nomination by an assembly of electors are described in the table below.

Signature requirements for nomination by an assembly of electors in Oregon
Office sought	Required signatures
United States Representative	500 signatures obtained at the assembly
Governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, United States Senator	1,000 signatures obtained at the assembly
State senator and state representative	250 signatures obtained at the assembly

For write-in candidates

Write-in candidates are not required to submit candidate filing forms in advance. In the event that a write-in candidate is nominated or elected, the election official will notify the candidate by sending a write-in acceptance form. To accept the nomination or office, the candidate must complete, sign, and return the form to the election official.

Petition requirements

See the articles listed below for more information about ballot access requirements for the 2018 election cycle.
State and federal candidate filing deadlines for 2018
Independent candidate petition requirements for: Gubernatorial candidates U.S. Senate candidates U.S. House candidates

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

Format requirements

The Oregon Secretary of State produces official petition templates that candidates for state office must use. Signature sheets must be printed on standard 8.5-inch by 11-inch paper. The paper must be at least 20 pounds and uncoated. The sheets may be printed on white or colored paper stock, provided that election officials are able to verify signatures easily.

Signature requirements

Signers of candidate petitions are required to provide an original signature and residence or mailing address. Signers are further encouraged to print their names and the date signed. If the petition is for the nomination of a major party candidate, the signer must be a member of the same political party as the candidate. Only active registered voters may sign any petition.

Circulation requirements

Circulators must personally witness each signature collected and complete a circulator certification after witnessing all signatures collected on a sheet. Circulators may be paid or unpaid, but the signature sheet must note the pay status of the circulator. The relevant statutes do not note additional requirements that circulators must meet (including residency requirements).

Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

Oregon Secretary of State

255 Capitol Street NE, Suite 501

Salem, Oregon 97310-1306

Phone: 503-986-1518

Fax: 503-373-7414

Website: http://www.sos.state.or.us/elections/

Email: elections.sos@state.or.us

Term limits

State executives

See also: State executives with term limits and States with gubernatorial term limits

State executive term limits are established in Article 5, Section 1 and Article 6, Section 1 of the Oregon Constitution. The state executive term limits in Oregon are as follows:

• The governor may serve a total of two terms and is eligible to serve for eight years out of any period of 12 years.
• The secretary of state may serve a total of two terms and is eligible to serve for eight years out of any period of 12 years.
• The treasurer may serve a total of two terms and is eligible to serve for eight years out of any period of 12 years.

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

There are no term limits placed on Oregon state legislators.

Congressional partisanship

See also: List of United States Representatives from Oregon and List of United States Senators from Oregon

Below is the current partisan breakdown of the congressional delegation from Oregon.

Oregon congressional partisan composition

Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	5	7
Republican	0	1	1
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	6	8

State legislative partisanship

Below is the current partisan breakdown of the state legislature of Oregon.

Oregon State Senate

Partisan composition, Oregon State Senate

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	18
Republican	12
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	30

Oregon House of Representatives

Partisan composition, Oregon House of Representatives

As of February 2026
Party	Members
Democratic	37
Republican	23
Other	0
Vacancies	0
Total	60

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Oregon ballot access. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Oregon - Google News

See also

• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Oregon
• Ballot access requirements for political parties in Oregon
• Oregon elections, 2026
• Campaign finance requirements in Oregon
• Counties in Oregon
• List of United States Representatives from Oregon
• List of United States Senators from Oregon
• Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions
• State executives with term limits
• States with gubernatorial term limits
• State legislatures with term limits

External links

Official state and federal links

• Oregon Secretary of State
• Federal Election Commission
• 2016 candidate's manual, from the Oregon Secretary of State

Other information

• Ballot Access News – News updates and analysis of ballot access issues
• ThirdPartyPolitics.us – Blog about American third party and independent politics
• National Voter Outreach – Political consulting firm that specializes in organizing petition signature drives

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