GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE

1 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE Please note that the INFORMATION contained in this document is subject to change without notice in the event of the passage of amendatory legislation. This document is intended to provide a GENERAL overview regarding RUNNING for state-level PUBLIC OFFICE in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is not intended to be a complete and detailed guide to all of the statutory requirements related to RUNNING for OFFICE . For detailed INFORMATION and official forms and instructions, please contact the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, via email at or by telephone at (717) 787-5280. For INFORMATION ABOUT RUNNING for a local OFFICE , please contact your county board of elections. A list of county contact INFORMATION is available on the Pennsylvania Department of State s website at Department of State Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation 210 North OFFICE Building Harrisburg, PA 17120 Table of Contents Page I.

2 Deciding to Run for OFFICE Deciding to Run for OFFICE 1 The Two Methods for Gaining Access to the November Ballot 1 What is a Political Party? 1 What is a Political Body? 1 Breakdown of Parties 1 Breakdown of State-level PUBLIC Offices 2 Qualifications a Candidate Must Meet to Hold a PUBLIC OFFICE 3 Ineligibility by Criminal Convictions 3 What First-time Candidates Should Know 3 II. Getting on the Ballot Filing Fees and Signature Requirements 4 The Candidate s Affidavit 4 The Statement of Financial Interests 4 Nomination Petitions and Nomination Papers; Filing Deadlines 4 The Nomination Petition 4 The Nomination Paper 5 Filing Fees and Signature Requirements for Nomination Papers 7 Challenges to Nomination Petitions and Nomination Papers 7 Casting Lots to Determine Ballot Position for the Primary 7 The Candidate List 8 Ballot Access for Candidates Seeking a Party OFFICE 8 Additional Requirements of Candidates for President of the United States 9 III.

3 Campaign Finance Reporting Who Must File Campaign Finance Reports? 11 Where Must Campaign Finance Reports be Filed? 11 Organizing a Campaign Committee 11 Campaign Committee Finances 12 IV. Election Day Electioneering (Regulations in Force at Polling Places) 13 Watchers 13 V. After the Primary or Election Unofficial Election Night Returns 15 Official Computation and Canvass of Election Returns 15 Appendix A. Qualification Requirements to Run for PUBLIC OFFICE 16 Appendix B. Filing Fees and Signature Requirements 18 I Deciding to Run for OFFICE (Methods for Gaining Access to the Ballot and Qualification Requirements) Deciding to Run for OFFICE A prospective candidate for PUBLIC OFFICE should determine if he or she can afford the commitment of time, money and energy necessary to run for PUBLIC OFFICE . A prospective candidate must also make sure that he or she is qualified to hold the OFFICE being sought.

4 The Two Methods for Gaining Access to the November Ballot There are two methods by which a candidate may gain access to the November ballot: 1) gaining access to a political party s primary ballot and winning that party s nomination; and 2) gaining direct access to the November ballot by means of nomination papers, which are filed by minor political parties and political bodies. What Is a Political Party? Statewide: A statewide political party is any party or political body, one of whose candidates at the GENERAL election preceding the primary polled at least 2% of the largest entire vote cast for any elected candidate in each of at least ten counties, and polled a total statewide vote of at least 2% of the largest entire vote cast in the State for any elected candidate. Countywide: A countywide political party is any party or political body, one of whose candidates at either the GENERAL or municipal election preceding the primary polled at least 5% of the largest entire vote cast for any elected candidate in the county.

5 What Is a Political Body? A political body is any party or body that does not qualify as a political party, as defined in the preceding section. Breakdown of Parties (Political Parties and Minor Political Parties) Political Party: A qualified political party whose statewide registration is equal to at least 15% of the combined statewide registration for all statewide political parties as of the close of registration for the most recent November election. Minor Political Party: A qualified political party whose statewide registration is less than 15% of the combined statewide registration for all statewide political parties as of the close of registration for the most recent November election. Breakdown of State-level PUBLIC Offices Candidates are nominated and elected for the following state-level offices in the GENERAL Election years (even-numbered years) appropriate to the OFFICE they seek: OFFICE ELECTION YEARS President of the United States 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032 United States Senator 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 Governor 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030 Lieutenant Governor 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030 Attorney GENERAL 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032 Auditor GENERAL 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032 State Treasurer 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032 Representative in Congress 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 Senator in the GENERAL Assembly (Even-numbered Districts) 2018, 2022, 2026, 2030 (Odd-numbered Districts) 2020, 2024, 2028, 2032 Representative in the GENERAL Assembly 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024 Candidates are nominated and elected to the following state-level judicial offices in Municipal Election years (odd-numbered years).

6 Justice of the Supreme Court Judge of the Superior Court Judge of the Commonwealth Court Judge of a Court of Common Pleas Judge of the Philadelphia Municipal Court Vacancies in judicial offices are ascertained prior to the start of the nomination petition circulation and filing period. Qualifications a Candidate Must Meet to Hold a PUBLIC OFFICE The qualifications to hold PUBLIC OFFICE vary depending on the OFFICE a candidate is seeking. See Appendix A for a list of qualification requirements for state-level PUBLIC offices. Note: For INFORMATION regarding the qualifications a candidate must meet to hold a local PUBLIC OFFICE , a prospective candidate should contact the appropriate county board of elections. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT local elective OFFICE is also contained in the Department of Community and Economic Development s publication entitled Elective OFFICE in Local Government. A copy of this publication can be viewed online at Ineligibility by Criminal Convictions Article II, Section 7 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provides that any person convicted of embezzlement of PUBLIC moneys, bribery, perjury or other infamous crime is ineligible to hold any OFFICE of trust or profit in the Commonwealth.

7 The courts have determined that the term other infamous crime includes all felony convictions. What First-time Candidates Should Know A prospective candidate who has not run for PUBLIC OFFICE previously should pay close attention to the instructions provided with the various forms necessary to gain ballot access. In addition, a first-time candidate should become familiar with the Campaign Finance Reporting Law, which is posted on the Department of State s website at A prospective candidate should also understand the commitment of time and energy necessary to run a successful campaign for PUBLIC OFFICE . II Getting on the (What a Candidate Must File to Access the Ballot) Filing Fees and Signature Requirements for Nomination Petitions Signature requirements vary depending on the OFFICE for which the nomination petition is being circulated. See Appendix B for a list of filing fees and signature requirements.

8 The Candidate s Affidavit Each candidate must file with his or her nomination petition or nomination paper an affidavit setting forth INFORMATION ABOUT the candidate, including the candidate s residence, election district and the name of the OFFICE the candidate is seeking. The Statement of Financial Interests The Statement of Financial Interests is a form that must be filed with the State Ethics Commission, which requires the filer to set forth INFORMATION regarding the filer s sources of income. A copy of the completed Statement of Financial Interests must also accompany the nomination petition of a candidate for state, county or local PUBLIC OFFICE . For more INFORMATION regarding the Statement of Financial Interests, you can log onto the State Ethics Commission s website at , or you can call the State Ethics Commission toll free at 1-800-932-0936. Nomination Petitions and Nomination Papers; Filing Deadlines A nomination petition is filed by a candidate seeking access to a primary ballot.

9 Nomination papers are filed by candidates of minor political parties and political bodies for the purpose of gaining access to the ballot in a November election. Nomination petitions must be circulated and filed between the 13th Tuesday and the 10th Tuesday preceding the primary. Nomination papers must be circulated and filed between the 10th Wednesday preceding the primary and August 1st of each year. The Nomination Petition Each page of a nomination petition contains three basic components: 1) the Preamble; 2) the Signatures of Electors; and 3) the Affidavit of Circulator. The Preamble: The preamble is the portion of the nomination petition page where INFORMATION ABOUT the candidate is inserted. The preamble includes the OFFICE for which the candidate seeks nomination, the name of the candidate, the candidate s occupation, the candidate s residence, and the party affiliation of the signers. Signatures of Electors: Each person who signs a nomination petition must insert the following INFORMATION ABOUT himself or herself: 1.

10 Signature; 2. Printed name; 3. Address of residence, including street and number, if any; and 4. The date on which he or she signed the nomination petition The Affidavit of Circulator: Each nomination petition page must include the duly executed affidavit of the person who circulated the nomination petition (the circulator). The circulator of the nomination petition page must swear or affirm the following: 1. That the circulator is a qualified elector of the Commonwealth or of the district, as the case may be;1 2. That the circulator is a duly registered and enrolled member of the political party designated in the nomination petition; 3. That the circulator s address of residence is as set forth in items 4 and 5 of the affidavit; 4. That the signers of the nomination petition page signed with full knowledge of the contents of the nomination petition; 5. That the signers residences are correctly stated on the nomination petition page; 6.