Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Georgia

in Georgia

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Ballot access for major and minor party candidates
Ballot access for presidential candidates
List of political parties in the United States
Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
Note: This article is not intended to serve as an exhaustive guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

In order to get on the ballot in Georgia, 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 Georgia. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, see "Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Georgia." 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

2024

U.S. Senate

For information on candidate ballot access requirements in Georgia, click here.

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Georgia in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Georgia, click here.

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

Process to become a candidate

See statutes: Title 21, Chapter 2, Article 4 of the Georgia Code

There are four ways for a candidate to gain ballot access in Georgia: as a political party candidate, as a political organization candidate, as an independent candidate or as a write-in.

Requirements for all candidates

All candidates are required to pay a filing fee; filing fees vary from year-to-year. In lieu of a filing fee, a candidate may submit a pauper's affidavit and qualifying petition, which certifies that the candidate is unable to pay the fee. The affidavit includes a financial statement that lists the candidate's total income, assets, liabilities, and other relevant financial information. This information must indicate that the candidate has neither the assets nor the income to pay the qualifying fee normally required. The pauper's affidavit must be accompanied by a qualifying petition containing signatures as follows:^[11]

• One-fourth of 1 percent of the total number of registered voters eligible to vote in the last general election if the candidate is seeking statewide office
• 1 percent of the total number of registered voters eligible to vote in the last election for the office being sought by the candidate if the candidate is seeking an office other than statewide office

Political party candidates

A political party candidate is nominated at his or her party's primary election. An individual cannot become a political party candidate if he or she has already qualified for the same primary election with a different political party, or if he or she has filed as an independent or political organization candidate. Political parties determine the rules for qualifying to appear on the primary election ballot. However, there are some stipulations set by the state to which all political party candidates must adhere. These include the following:^[12][13][14]

• filing a declaration of candidacy and an affidavit with the political party during the political party qualifying period, which is set by the Georgia Secretary of State; the affidavit must state the following:
  • the name of the candidate as he or she wishes it to appear on the ballot
  • the candidate’s residence
  • the candidate’s occupation
  • the candidate’s precinct
  • that the candidate is eligible to vote in the primary in which he or she is running
  • the office the candidate is seeking
  • that the candidate is eligible to hold the office he or she is seeking
  • that the candidate will not knowingly violate any election rule or law
  • that the candidate has never been convicted or sentenced for violation of election laws, malfeasance in office or a felony involving moral turpitude, or, if the candidate has been convicted and sentenced for such crimes, that at least 10 years have passed since completion of the sentence and that the candidate's civil rights have been restored
• paying the qualifying fee or submitting a pauper's affidavit and the accompanying qualifying petition

Within three days of the end of the qualifying period, a political party must certify to the Georgia Secretary of State a list of those candidates who successfully qualified with the party for the primary election and turn in the qualifying fees paid by the candidates, the declarations of candidacy, and the affidavits.^[15]

Political organization candidates

A political organization candidate can be nominated by his or her organization's convention, if the political organization has qualified to hold such a convention, or by petition. A candidate cannot file as a political organization candidate if he or she has already filed for the same office as a political party candidate.^[13]

If nominated by convention, a political organization candidate must file a notice of candidacy with the Georgia Secretary of State during the political party qualifying period. After a candidate is chosen at the convention, the candidate must pay the filing fee for the corresponding office to the Georgia Secretary of State. If the candidate cannot afford the filing fee, he or she must file a pauper's affidavit and accompanying qualifying petition. With the filing fee or pauper's affidavit, a certified copy of the minutes of the convention, attested to by the chairperson and secretary of the convention, must also be filed.^[11][7]

If nominated by petition, a political organization candidate must file a notice of candidacy, petition, and qualifying fee (or pauper's affidavit) with the Georgia Secretary of State during the independent candidate qualifying period, which starts on the fourth Monday in June and ends the following Friday. The signature requirements for these petitions are the same as those for independent candidates, which are listed below. In order for a candidate filing by petition to be recognized as a political organization candidate, the political organization must provide a sworn certificate stating that the named candidate is the nominee of that political organization.^[11][16]

Independent candidates

A candidate cannot run as an independent if he or she has qualified for the same office with any political party or political organization. An independent candidate must file a notice of candidacy, petition, and qualifying fee (or pauper's affidavit) with the Georgia Secretary of State during the independent candidate qualifying period, which starts on the fourth Monday in June and ends the following Friday. The signature requirements for the petitions are as follows:^[11][13][16]

• For a candidate seeking statewide office, the petition must be signed by registered voters equal in number to 1 percent of the total registered voters eligible to vote in the last election for the same office the candidate is seeking.
• For candidates seeking any other office, the petition must be signed by registered voters equal in number to 5 percent of the total registered voters eligible to vote in the last election for the same office the candidate is seeking.

Petitions cannot be circulated for more than 180 days between the signing of the first signature and the last.^[16]

Write-in candidates

A write-in candidate can only run in the general election. A candidate cannot run as a write-in if he or she ran for the same office as a political party candidate in the immediately preceding primary election. A write-in candidate must file a notice of intention of write-in candidacy with the Georgia Secretary of State no earlier than January 1 in the year of the election and no later than the first Monday in September in the year of the election. After the notice of intention is filed, a notice must also be published in a newspaper with general circulation in the state. Once this notice has been published, the candidate must file with the Georgia Secretary of State a copy of the published notice, as well as an affidavit stating that the notice has been published. The affidavit can be filled out by the candidate or by the publisher or an employee of the newspaper.^[6]

Petition requirements

See also: Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions

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 Georgia.

Format requirements

Different sheets must be used for signers in different counties. The upper portion of each petition sheet must contain the name and title of the Georgia Secretary of State, as well as the purpose of the petition, such as qualifying a political organization or nominating a candidate to be placed on the ballot. If the petition is being circulated to nominate a candidate, the candidate's name, occupation, place of residence, office being sought, political organization affiliation (if applicable), and the date of the election in which the candidate will be running should be included in the upper portion of each sheet. The lower portion of each sheet must be numbered consecutively, in the case that more than one sheet is used. Each sheet must also contain, either on the bottom or the back, an affidavit of the circulator of the sheet signed before a notary public. This affidavit must state the following:^[17][18]

• the residence address of the circulator
• that each signer of the petition had full knowledge of the contents and purpose of the petition
• that to the best of the circulator's knowledge, the signers were all registered voters of the necessary state, district, county, or municipality
• that to the best of the circulator's knowledge, the signers were all eligible to sign the petition, and that their addresses are correctly stated on the petition
• if circulating a nominating petition, that no more than 180 days passed between the signing of the first signature and the last signature

No notary public is allowed to sign a petition or act as the circulator of a petition that he or she notarized.^[18]

Signature requirements

For nominating petitions for political organization candidates or independent candidates, signers must attest that they are registered voters of the state, district, county, or municipality corresponding to the office the candidate seeks and are thus eligible to vote for that candidate. The nominating petition must contain only one candidate, unless it is for a slate of candidates, such as president and vice president.^[18][19]

With his or her signature, the signer must also provide a residence address, including the county, and the date on which the petition was signed. A signer is also urged to include his or her date of birth for verification purposes, though this is not required.^[19][18]

Signatures must be stricken from the petition if a signer so requests, as long as it has been requested before the petition is submitted to the Georgia Secretary of State. Any request after that time will be disregarded.^[19]

Noteworthy events

2021-2022

On March 29, 2021, Judge Leigh Martin May, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, struck down a Georgia law requiring minor-party and unaffiliated candidates for non-statewide offices to submit petitions signed by at least 5 percent of registered voters. May ruled that this requirement "overburdens [voters' and candidates'] rights to vote and to associate with their preferred political party, and so it violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments."^[20]

In her order, May contrasted the 5-percent signature requirement for non-statewide candidates with the 1-percent requirement for statewide candidates: "The [Georgia] General Assembly has deemed a 1% petition signature requirement adequate to guard against ballot crowding and frivolous candidacies on a statewide basis. It is not immediately clear why candidates for non-statewide office must clear a proportionally higher hurdle, the 5% petition signature requirement. [The state] has not offered any explanation for this disparity."^[20]

In her March 29 order, May did not specify a remedy. She directed the plaintiffs (the Libertarian Party of Georgia) to submit a brief within three weeks on proposed remedies. On August 23, 2021, May issued an order suggesting that the signature requirement for non-statewide candidates be reduced to 1 percent. May directed the parties to respond to her proposal within 10 days. On September 3, 2021, May finalized the interim remedy she had proposed in August.^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

On September 17, 2021, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) appealed May's order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Raffensperger asked that May suspend her order pending appeal. On October 18, 2021, May declined to do so. On November 17, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit also declined to stay May's order. On December 17, 2021, the Eleventh Circuit heard oral arguments in the appeal. On January 5, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh District reversed May's ruling. The panel concluded that "Georgia's ballot access laws do not severely burden the Libertarian Party's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights."^{[25][26][27][28]}

Election administration agencies

Election agencies

Seal of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission

See also: State election agencies

Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Georgia can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.

Georgia County Election Offices

Click here for a list

Georgia Secretary of State Elections Division

2 MLK Jr. Drive

Suite 802 Floyd West Tower

Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Phone: 404-656-2871

Fax: 404-463-5231

Email: https://sos.ga.gov/form/contact-state-election-board

Website: http://sos.georgia.gov/elections

Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission

200 Piedmont Avenue SE

Suite 1416 West Tower

Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Phone: 404-463-1980

Fax: 404-463-1988

Email: gaethics@ethics.ga.gov

Website: http://ethics.ga.gov/

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200

Washington, DC 20001

Phone: 301-563-3919

Toll free: 1-866-747-1471

Email: clearinghouse@eac.gov

Website: https://www.eac.gov

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Term limits

State executives

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

The only state executive in Georgia subject to term limits is the governor. Gubernatorial term limits are established in Article V of the Georgia Constitution. A politician elected to that office may not serve more than two consecutive terms.^[29]

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

There are no term limits placed on Georgia state legislators.

Congressional partisanship

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

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

State legislative partisanship

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

Georgia State Senate

Georgia House of Representatives

Related legislation

The embedded table below lists state bills affecting ballot access requirements for candidates introduced in Georgia. The following information is included for each bill:

• State
• Bill number
• Official name or caption
• Most recent action date
• Legislative status
• Topics dealt with by the bill

Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.

Ballotpedia’s comprehensive Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker is the basis for this data. This user-friendly tracker covers thousands of election-related bills in state legislatures, and organizes them by topic with neutral, expert analysis from Ballotpedia’s election administration researchers.

The Ballot Bulletin

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See also

• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Georgia
• Ballot access requirements for political parties in Georgia
• Georgia elections, 2024
• Campaign finance requirements in Georgia
• Counties in Georgia
• List of United States Representatives from Georgia
• List of United States Senators from Georgia
• 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

• Georgia Secretary of State, Elections Division
• Federal Election Commission
• Georgia Secretary of State, "Candidate Resources"
• State of Georgia, "Run for Public Office"

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

Footnotes

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