State and federal candidate filing deadlines for 2020

* * *

Ballot access for major and minor party candidates
Ballot access for presidential candidates
Select a state below to learn more about ballot access requirements for candidates in that state.

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

* * *

Ballot access requirements for political parties in the United States
List of political parties in the United States

* * *

Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker

* * *

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.

## Contents

* 1 2020 filing deadlines
* 2 See also
* 3 External links
* 4 Footnotes

This article details primary election dates, partisan candidate filing deadlines, and primary runoff dates (where applicable) for the 2020 election cycle. Information is provided for both congressional candidates and state-level candidates. For additional information about ballot access requirements for political candidates, see this article.

Note: This article does not contain information about presidential primary/caucus dates and filing deadlines. For information about important dates in the 2020 presidential race, see this article.

## 2020 filing deadlines[edit]

See also: United States Congress elections, 2020, State legislative elections, 2020 and State executive official elections, 2020

The table below lists filing deadlines and primary dates in each state for Democratic Party and Republican Party candidates.[1]

Primary dates and filing deadlines, 2020

State  | Filing deadline for primary candidates  | Primary date  | Primary runoff date
Alabama | 11/08/2019 | 03/03/2020 | 7/14/2020[2]
Arkansas | 11/12/2019 | 03/03/2020 | 03/31/2020
Illinois | 12/02/2019 | 03/17/2020 | N/A
California | 12/06/2019 | 03/03/2020 | N/A
Texas | 12/09/2019 | 03/03/2020 | 07/14/2020[3]
Ohio | 12/18/2019 | 04/28/2020[4] | N/A
North Carolina | 12/20/2019[5] | 03/03/2020 | 06/23/2020[6]
Mississippi | 01/10/2020 | 03/10/2020 | 06/23/2020[7]
Kentucky | 01/10/2020 | 06/23/2020[8] | N/A
Maryland | 01/24/2020 | 06/02/2020[9] | N/A
West Virginia | 01/25/2020 | 06/09/2020[10] | N/A
Indiana | 02/07/2020 | 06/02/2020[11] | N/A
Pennsylvania | 02/18/2020 | 06/02/2020[12] | N/A
Nebraska | 03/02/2020 | 05/12/2020 | N/A
Georgia | 03/06/2020 | 06/09/2020[13] | 08/11/2020[14]
Montana | 03/09/2020 | 06/02/2020 | N/A
New Mexico | 03/10/2020 | 06/02/2020 | N/A
Oregon | 03/10/2020 | 05/19/2020 | N/A
Idaho | 03/13/2020 | 06/02/2020[15] | N/A
Iowa | 03/13/2020 | 06/02/2020 | N/A
Nevada | 03/13/2020 | 06/09/2020 | N/A
Maine | 03/16/2020 | 07/14/2020[16] | N/A
Colorado | 03/17/2020 | 06/30/2020 | N/A
Utah | 03/19/2020 | 06/30/2020 | N/A
Virginia | 03/26/2020 | 06/23/2020[17] | N/A
New Jersey | 03/30/2020 | 07/07/2020[18] | N/A
South Carolina | 03/30/2020 | 06/09/2020 | 06/23/2020
Missouri | 03/31/2020 | 08/04/2020 | N/A
South Dakota | 03/31/2020 | 06/02/2020 | 08/11/2020
New York | 04/02/2020 | 06/23/2020 | N/A
Tennessee | 04/02/2020 | 08/06/2020 | N/A
Arizona | 04/06/2020 | 08/04/2020 | N/A
North Dakota | 04/06/2020 | 06/09/2020 | N/A
Oklahoma | 04/10/2020 | 06/30/2020 | 08/25/2020
Michigan | 04/21/2020 (offices with option to pay filing fee) &
05/08/2020 (offices requiring nominating petitions)[19] | 08/04/2020 | N/A
Florida | 04/24/2020 (congressional and judicial offices) &
6/12/2020 (state legislators) | 08/18/2020 | N/A
Massachusetts | 05/05/2020 (local) & 06/02/2020 (state)[20] | 09/01/2020 | N/A
Washington | 05/15/2020 | 08/04/2020 | N/A
Vermont | 05/28/2020 | 08/11/2020 | N/A
Wyoming | 05/29/2020 | 08/18/2020 | N/A
Alaska | 06/01/2020 | 08/18/2020 | N/A
Kansas | 06/01/2020 | 08/04/2020 | N/A
Wisconsin | 06/01/2020 | 08/11/2020 | N/A
Hawaii | 06/02/2020 | 08/08/2020 | N/A
Minnesota | 06/02/2020 | 08/11/2020 | N/A
Connecticut | 06/11/2020[21] | 08/11/2020 | N/A
New Hampshire | 06/12/2020 | 09/08/2020 | N/A
Rhode Island | 06/24/2020 (declaration of candidacy due)
07/10/2020 (nomination papers due) | 09/08/2020 | N/A
Delaware | 07/14/2020 | 09/15/2020 | N/A
Louisiana | 07/24/2020[22] | 11/03/2020 | N/A

## See also[edit]

* Ballot access
* Elections on Ballotpedia

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections 2020 primary calendar," June 4, 2019
2. ↑ Note: Alabama's primary runoff election was postponed from March 31 to July 14, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
3. ↑ Note: Texas' primary runoff election was postponed from May 26 to July 14, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
4. ↑ Note: Ohio's primary election was postponed from March 17 to April 28, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
5. ↑ Note: On November 20, 2019, a three-judge panel of North Carolina's state superior court issued an order delaying the congressional candidate filing period for the 2020 election cycle while the state's U.S. House district plan was reviewed. The filing period for U.S. House candidates, set to open on December 2 and close on December 20, 2019, was temporarily delayed while a three-panel judge heard arguments on December 2, 2019. The judges ruled that the redrawn congressional maps should stand, meaning the filing period would open and close as scheduled.
6. ↑ Note: North Carolina's primary runoff election was postponed from May 12 to June 23, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
7. ↑ Note: Mississippi's primary runoff election was postponed from March 31 to June 23, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
8. ↑ Note: Kentucky's primary election was postponed from May 19 to June 23, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
9. ↑ Note: Maryland's primary election was postponed from April 28 to June 2, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
10. ↑ Note: West Virginia's primary election was postponed from May 12 to June 9, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
11. ↑ Note: Indiana's primary election was postponed from May 5 to June 2, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
12. ↑ Note: Pennsylvania's primary election was postponed from April 28 to June 2, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
13. ↑ Note: Georgia's primary election was postponed from May 19 to June 9, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
14. ↑ Note: Georgia's primary runoff election was postponed from July 21 to August 11, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
15. ↑ Note: Idaho's primary election election was postponed from May 19 to June 2, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
16. ↑ Note: Maine's primary election was postponed from June 9 to July 14, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
17. ↑ Note: Virginia's primary election was postponed from June 9 to June 23, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
18. ↑ Note: New Jersey's primary election was postponed from June 2 to July 7, 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
19. ↑ Note: Michigan's primary filing deadline was postponed from April 21 to May 8, 2020, for offices that require nominating petitions and do not have the option to pay a filing fee to access the ballot. The change was in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
20. ↑ To appear on the ballot in Massachusetts, prospective candidates must submit nomination papers for certification to the registrars of the cities or towns in which signatures were collected and to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. The local filing deadline must occur four weeks prior to the candidate's second filing deadline with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. In 2020, the local-level filing deadline was May 5 and the state-level filing deadline was June 2. Click here to learn more.
21. ↑ Note: Connecticut's candidate filing deadlines were postponed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
22. ↑ Note: Louisiana's candidate filing deadlines were postponed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cite error: `<ref>` tag with name "FilingDelayNov20" defined in `<references>` has group attribute "" which does not appear in prior text.

Cite error: `<ref>` tag defined in `<references>` has no name attribute.

Election information

Resources

Sample Ballot Lookup • Elections calendar • State poll opening and closing times • Ballot access for major and minor party candidates • Elections by state and year • State voter ID laws • Absentee voting • Early voting • Online voter registration • Election result canvassing • Where do I vote • List of absentee/mail-in ballot request websites by state • List of official voter registration websites by state • State of Election Administration Legislation Reports

Elections
by state

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

2026 elections

U.S. Congress • U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall

2025 elections

U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall

2024 elections

U.S. President • U.S. Congress • U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall

2023 elections

U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall

2022 elections

U.S. Congress • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall

2021 elections

U.S. Congress special elections • State executives • State legislature • Statewide ballot measures • State judicial • Municipal government • Mayors • School boards • Local judicial • Local ballot measures • Recall

How to vote
in each state

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • Washington, D.C. • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming