Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Oklahoma

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

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 Oklahoma, 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.

An individual can seek the nomination of a state-recognized political party.
An individual can run as an independent. Independent candidates often must petition in order to have their names printed on the general election ballot.
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 Oklahoma. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, see "Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Oklahoma." 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

2020

U.S. Senate

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Oklahoma in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Oklahoma, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2020
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
Oklahoma	U.S. Senate	All candidates	N/A	N/A	$2,000.00	Fixed number	4/10/2020	Source

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Oklahoma in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Oklahoma, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2020
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
Oklahoma	1st Congressional District	All candidates	N/A	N/A	$1,000.00	Fixed number	4/10/2020	Source
Oklahoma	2nd Congressional District	All candidates	N/A	N/A	$1,000.00	Fixed number	4/10/2020	Source
Oklahoma	3rd Congressional District	All candidates	N/A	N/A	$1,000.00	Fixed number	4/10/2020	Source
Oklahoma	4th Congressional District	All candidates	N/A	N/A	$1,000.00	Fixed number	4/10/2020	Source
Oklahoma	5th Congressional District	All candidates	N/A	N/A	$1,000.00	Fixed number	4/10/2020	Source

State House

The table below details filing requirements for Oklahoma House of Representatives candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Oklahoma House of Representatives	All candidates	N/A	$500.00	4/10/2020	Source

State Senate

The table below details filing requirements for Oklahoma State Senate candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Oklahoma State Senate	All candidates	N/A	$750.00	4/10/2020	Source

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

2018

See also: State and federal candidate filing deadlines for 2018 and Oklahoma elections, 2018

See below for 2018 candidate filing deadlines.

2016

See also: Oklahoma elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important filing deadlines for political candidates in Oklahoma in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline	Event type	Event description
April 13, 2016	Ballot access	Candidate filing period opens
April 15, 2016	Ballot access	Candidate filing period closes
April 30, 2016	Campaign finance	First quarter report due
June 20, 2016	Campaign finance	Pre-primary report due
June 28, 2016	Election date	Primary election
August 15, 2016	Campaign finance	Pre-runoff report due
August 23, 2016	Election date	Runoff primary election
October 31, 2016	Campaign finance	Pre-general report due
November 8, 2016	Election date	General election
January 31, 2017	Campaign finance	Partial quarter report due
Sources: Oklahoma State Election Board, "2016 Statewide Candidate Filing Packet," accessed January 11, 2016 Oklahoma Ethics Commission, "2016 Reporting Calendar," accessed January 11, 2016

2015

To view historical information for 2015, click [show] to expand the section.

See also: Oklahoma elections, 2015

There were no regularly scheduled state executive, state legislative or congressional elections in Oklahoma in 2015.

2014

To view historical information for 2014, click [show] to expand the section.

See also: Oklahoma elections, 2014

Oklahoma held a primary election on June 24, 2014, and a general election on November 4, 2014. Voters elected candidates to serve in the following state and federal offices:

Governor of Oklahoma
Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Attorney General
Oklahoma Treasurer
Oklahoma Auditor
Oklahoma Superintendent
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner
Oklahoma Labor Commissioner
Corporation Commission
5 seats in the United States House of Representatives
2 seats in the United States Senate
101 seats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives
24 seats in the Oklahoma State Senate

The candidate filing period began April 9, 2014 and ended April 11, 2014.^[1] Any challenges to a candidate's candidacy must have been filed by April 15, 2014.^[2] Any group wishing to form a new political parties for the 2014 election had to file its Notice of Intent and qualifying petitions by March 1, 2014.^[3] These deadlines, along with campaign finance reporting deadlines, are listed in the table below.^[4]

Legend: Ballot access Campaign finance Election date

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2014
Deadline	Event type	Event description
March 1, 2014	Ballot access	Deadline to file paperwork to form a new political party
April 9, 2014	Ballot access	Candidate filing period begins
April 11, 2014	Ballot access	Candidate filing deadline
April 15, 2014	Ballot access	Deadline to challenge the candidacy of a candidate
April 30, 2014	Campaign finance	First Contribution and Expenditure Report due
June 16, 2014	Campaign finance	Primary Pre-election Contribution and Expenditure Report due
June 24, 2014	Election date	State primary date
August 18, 2014	Campaign finance	Primary Runoff Pre-election Contribution and Expenditure Report due
August 26, 2014	Election date	State primary runoff
October 27, 2014	Campaign finance	General Pre-election Contribution and Expenditure Report due
November 4, 2014	Election date	General election
January 31, 2015	Campaign finance	Final Contribution and Expenditure Report due

Process to become a candidate

Declaration of candidacy form

See statutes: Title 26, Chapter 5 of the Oklahoma Code

Filing

Each candidate must file a declaration of candidacy with the Oklahoma State Election Board to place his or her name on the ballot. The declaration must be filed during the candidate filing period, which begins on the second Wednesday in April and ends on the following Friday. The declaration of candidacy must be signed and notarized and include the following:^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

the name of the candidate
the candidate's address
the office the candidate seeks
the candidate's date of birth
the candidate's political party affiliation
the precinct and county where the candidate is a registered voter
a sworn oath affirming that the candidate is qualified to become a candidate for the office being sought and to hold that office if elected

A partisan candidate must be a registered voter of the political party with which he or she wishes to run for at least six months immediately preceding the first day of the candidate filing period. An independent candidate must be registered as an independent voter for at least six months before filing as a candidate. A candidate of a new political party that has not been officially recognized for six months must be registered with that party within 15 days following its recognition.^[9]

A candidate may file for only one office per election. There is no process for candidates to run as write-ins as write-in voting is not permitted in Oklahoma.^[10]^[11]

Fees

Each candidate must pay a filing fee to the Oklahoma State Election Board or else file a petition signed by 4 percent of registered voters who will be eligible to vote for the candidate in the election (this figure is determined by using the latest January 15 voter registration report).^[12]

Filing fees vary according to the office being sought by the candidate and are described in the table below.^[12]

Filing fees
Office sought	Filing fee
Governor of Oklahoma	$2,000
United States Senator	$2,000
United States Representative Lieutenant Governor Corporation Commission Attorney General State Auditor and Inspector Superintendent of Public Instruction Treasurer Commissioner of Insurance Commissioner of Labor	$1,000
State Senator	$750
State Representative District Judge or Associate District Judge District Attorney	$500
County Offices	$300

Challenges

Any candidate may challenge another candidate’s candidacy by filing a written petition of contest with the Oklahoma State Election Board. If there is only one candidate running for office, any registered voter who is eligible to vote for that candidate may file a contesting petition. This must be done by 5 p.m. on the second business day after the close of the candidate filing period. The contesting petition must be accompanied by a deposit of $250, which will be returned to the challenger if he or she successfully proves that the candidate does not fulfill all requirements to be a candidate for that office.^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]

Petition requirements

See also: Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions

State and federal candidate filing deadlines for 2018
See the articles listed below for more information about ballot access requirements for the 2018 election cycle.
Independent candidate petition requirements for: Gubernatorial candidates U.S. Senate candidates U.S. House candidates

In some cases, 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 Oklahoma.

Format requirements

The form of the petition is prescribed by the Oklahoma State Election Board. While being circulated, petitions must be separated into pages based on counties. Each page can contain signatures of registered voters from only one county.^[17]

The Oklahoma Code does not stipulate any requirements for circulators of petitions. Specifically, there are no residency requirements for circulators.

Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

Oklahoma State Election Board

Room B-6, State Capitol Building

2300 N. Lincoln Boulevard

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4804

Phone: 405-521-2391

Fax: 405-521-6457

Website: http://www.ok.gov/elections/index.html

Email: info@elections.ok.gov

Term limits

State executives

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

Terms of statee executives (including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, labor commissioner, auditor, superintendent of public instruction, and insurance commissioner) are limited to eight years total.^[18]

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

A politician can serve in the Oklahoma State Legislature for a cumulative total of 12 years in either or both chambers.

Term limits were imposed on state legislators by a constitutional amendment passed in 1990.

Congressional partisanship

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

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

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Oklahoma
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	0	0
Republican	2	5	7
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	5	7

State legislative partisanship

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

Oklahoma State Senate

Party		As of December 2021
	Democratic Party	9
	Republican Party	39
	Vacancies	0
Total		48

Oklahoma House of Representatives

Party		As of December 2021
	Democratic Party	19
	Republican Party	82
	Vacancies	0
Total		101

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Oklahoma ballot access. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Oklahoma - Google News

External links

Official state and federal links

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

[ohdates-1] Oklahoma State Election Board Website, "2014 Statewide Elections," accessed November 14, 2014

[ohcodefive119-2] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 119," accessed February 12, 2014

[ohcodeone108-3] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 1, Section 108," accessed February 12, 2014

[4] Oklahoma State Election Board, "2014 Election Report Submission Dates," accessed February 17, 2014

[5] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 111," accessed February 12, 2014

[6] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 101," accessed February 12, 2014

[7] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 102," accessed February 12, 2014

[8] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 110," accessed February 12, 2014

[9] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 105," accessed February 12, 2014

[10] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 106," accessed February 12, 2014

[11] Oklahoma State Election Board Website, "Frequently Asked Questions: Write-in Voting," accessed February 12, 2014

[okcodefive112-12] 12.0 ^12.1 Oklahoma State Election Board, "2018 Candidate Filing Fees and Petition Requirements," accessed April 6, 2018

[13] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 118," accessed February 12, 2014

[14] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 119," accessed February 12, 2014

[15] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 121," accessed February 12, 2014

[16] Oklahoma Code, "Title 26, Chapter 5, Section 131," accessed February 12, 2014

[codeone108-17] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named codeone108

[18] Oklahoma Historical Society, "Term Limits Amendment of 2010," accessed May 17, 2019

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