Ballot access requirements for political parties in Wisconsin

in Wisconsin

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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
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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.

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.

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

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

Seal of Wisconsin

See statutes: Wisconsin Statutes and Annotations, Chapter 5, Section 62

In Wisconsin, political parties entitled to primary and general election ballot position are called "ballot status parties." In order to qualify for ballot status, a political party must meet one of the following criteria:^[1][2]

1. At the last gubernatorial election, one of the party's candidates for any statewide office must have received at least 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for that office. In 2010, for example, a total of 2,062,661 votes were cast for treasurer, meaning that a party's candidate for that office would have had to win at least 20,627 in order for the party to attain ballot status. Alternatively, if the last general election was also a presidential election, the party's candidate for president must have won at least 1 percent of the total number of votes cast that for that office in the state. In 2012, for example, a total of 3,068,434 votes were cast for president, meaning that a party's candidate for that office would have had to win at least 30,685 votes in order for the party to attain ballot status.^[3][4]
2. A political organization that was listed as "independent" at the last general election and whose candidate met the above qualifications can receive ballot status by requesting such status from the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. The request must include the party's name, which cannot be the same as that of an existing party, and must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on April 1 of an election year.
3. A political organization may petition for ballot status. The organization must file a petition with the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board containing the signatures of at least 10,000 qualified electors, including at least 1,000 from each of at least three separate congressional districts. The petition must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on April 1 of an election year and will entitle the organization to ballot status for the period ending with the general election.^[5]

Selecting candidates

Ballot status parties nominate their candidates via primary election.^[1]

Maintaining party status

In order to maintain ballot status, one of the party's candidates for any statewide office at the last gubernatorial election must have received at least 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for that office. Alternatively, if the last general election was also a presidential election, the party's candidate for president must have won at least 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for that office in the state.^[1]

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of May 2024, there were five recognized political parties in Wisconsin.^[6]

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See also

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

External links

• Wisconsin Democratic Party
• Wisconsin Republican Party

Footnotes

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