Ballot access requirements for political parties in Wyoming
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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.
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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 Wyoming, see this article.
Process for a political party to obtain ballot status
See statutes: Title 22-4 of the Wyoming Election Code
A major political party is a party whose candidate for the United States House of Representatives, governor, or secretary of state received 10 percent of the total number of votes cast for those offices in the preceding general election. Only major parties are permitted to nominate via primary.[1]
A minor political party is a party whose candidate for the United States House of Representatives, governor, or secretary of state received no less than 2 percent and no more than 10 percent of the total votes cast for those offices in the most recent general election.[1]
A provisional party is a political organization that has filed a legally valid petition. The filing of a legally valid petition entitles the provisional party to participate in the next general election.[1]
A major political party is allowed to nominate its candidates via primary election with its own party ballot while minor and provisional political parties must nominate via convention.[2]
Requirements
Any group of persons desiring to form a new political party in Wyoming must file a petition with the secretary of state no later than June 1 in any general election year in which the party seeks to qualify for the general election ballot.[3] The petition must be approved by the secretary of state prior to circulation. To be valid, a petition must contain the names and signatures of registered electors equal in number to at least 2 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of United States Representative in the last general election.[3]
The name of the party printed on the petition must consist of no more than two words and cannot be identical to, nor similar to, the name of any existing qualified political party as determined by the secretary of state. A party name cannot include the word "independent."[3]
Nomination of candidates
The chairman and secretary of the state political convention must certify to the secretary of state the names of its party's nominees for United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, all elective state offices, and legislative offices.
The names certified to the secretary of state must be filed no later than the day before the primary election. Persons certified as nominees must be members of that party, as shown by their affidavits of registration, at the time their names are certified to the secretary of state.[4]
Candidates seeking the nomination of a provisional party must submit the same application and fee that are required for the same office of a candidate seeking nomination via primary election.[5]
Political parties
As of May 2024, there were five recognized political parties in Wyoming. These are listed in the table below.[6]
| Party | Website link | By-laws/platform link |
|---|---|---|
| Constitution Party of Wyoming | Link | Party platform |
| Democratic Party of Wyoming | Link | Party platform |
| Libertarian Party of Wyoming | Link | |
| Republican Party of Wyoming | Link | |
| No Labels[7] | Link |
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See also
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Wyoming
- Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Wyoming
- List of political parties in the United States
- Democratic Party of Wyoming
- Republican Party of Wyoming
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wyoming Election Code, "Title 22-1-102," accessed March 25, 2014
- ↑ Wyoming Election Code, "Title 22-5-202," accessed March 29, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wyoming Election Code, "Title 22-4-402," accessed March 26, 2014
- ↑ Wyoming Election Code, "Title 22-4-305," accessed March 26, 2014
- ↑ Wyoming Election Code, "Title 22-4-304," accessed March 26, 2014
- ↑ Wyoming Secretary of State, "Political Parties in Wyoming," accessed May 14, 2024
- ↑ No Labels is considered a provisional party. Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office, "Guidelines for Petitions," accessed May 14, 2024
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