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    State and federal candidate filing deadlines for 2020

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 6 min


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    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.

    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]

    External links[edit]

    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.

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