Primary Election – August 5
General Election – November 4

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Candidates for public office may be nominated either by political party nominations or independent nomination.

·         Democratic and Republican candidates must run in the primary and may file by either fee or petition.

·         Candidates of other recognized parties (currently Libertarian and Reform) do not run in the primary and may be nominated for the general election by party caucus or convention.

·         Independent candidates do not run in the primary and may file for the general election only by petition. 

·         All candidates for state and county offices must pay report fees and must appoint treasurers and file periodic campaign finance reports.

FILING DEADLINES

Partisan Filings: 12:00 Noon, Tuesday June 10, 2008

Independent Nominations: 12:00 Noon, Monday August 4, 2008

·         Democratic and Republican party candidates who wish to appear on the primary ballot on August 5, 2008 must file by 12:00 Noon June 10, 2008.

·         Libertarian and Reform party candidates nominated by caucus or convention must have nomination papers filed by the party in the Secretary of State’s office by 12:00 Noon June 10, 2008 to appear on the general election ballot.

·         Independent candidates may file for office only by petition.  Upon filing a valid petition, the candidate’s name will be placed on the general election ballot.  An independent candidate must be registered as an unaffiliated voter.  Independent candidates must file nomination petitions by 12:00 Noon August 4, 2008.  

FILING FORMS

Petition forms and declaration of intention forms used to file by fee for national offices may be obtained only through the Secretary of State’s office.  Forms for state offices may be obtained either at the Secretary of State’s office or the county election office.   Forms for county, township offices and precinct committee offices may be obtained only at the county election office.   

FILING LOCATION

·         Candidates for national and state offices, for state legislature and for judicial offices file at the Secretary of State’s office.  The signature on a declaration of intention may be attested at the county election office and the declaration then filed with the Secretary of State’s office.  NOTE: The candidate is not considered filed until the declaration and fee are received by the Secretary of State’s office.  It is the responsibility of the candidate, not the county election officer, to ensure that filing documents are sent to and received by the Secretary of State.

·         Candidates for county, township and precinct committeemen and committeewomen file at the county election office.  Precinct committee candidates may have their signatures attested by a notary public rather than the county election officer, but their declarations of intention must be filed with the county election officer.

FILING PROCEDURE

Filing by Fee

Only Democratic and Republican primary candidates may file by fee.  The filing fee is either a set amount or is based on a percentage of the salary of the office the candidate is seeking.

Filing by Petition

National and State Offices Elected on a Statewide Basis

President of the United States has special procedures

U.S. Senator

·         Democratic and Republican primary candidates for U.S. Senator must have valid signatures of 1% of the party’s total voter registration.

·         Independent candidates must have 5,000 valid signatures of registered voters.

·         Filing fee is $1,652.00 plus a $20.00 reporting fee.  Total of $1672.00 payable to the Secretary of State.

National and State Offices Elected on Less than a Statewide Basis

U.S. Representative, State Senator, State Representative, District Judge,

·         Democratic and Republican primary candidates (except state board of education) must have valid signatures of 2% of the party’s total voter registration from the district.

·         Independent candidates (except state board of education) must have valid signatures of 4% of the registered voters of the district.  The petition must contain valid signatures of at least 25 voters but not more than 5,000 voters.

·         U.S. Representative 2^nd District- filing fee is $1,652.00 plus a $20.00 reporting fee.  Total of $1672.00 payable to the Secretary of State. Filing by petition signatures (2% party registration+ $20.00 reporting fee.)  

·         State Senator 13^th District – filing fee is $75.00 plus a $55.00 reporting fee. Total of $130.00 payable to the Secretary of State.  Filing by petition signatures (2% party registration+ $20.00 reporting fee.)                                                                     

·         State Representative 2^nd, 3^rd, and 8^th District- filing fee is $50.00 plus $55.00 reporting fee. Total of $105.00 payable to the Secretary of State. . Filing by petition signatures (2% of party registration +$55.00 reporting fee.) 

·         11^th District Court Judge- filing fee is $1,172.00 plus $55.00 reporting fee.  Total of $1227.00 payable to the Secretary of State.  Filing by petition signatures (2% of party registration + $55.00 reporting fee.).

County Offices

County Attorney, County Commissioner 2^nd District, County Clerk, County Treasurer, County Attorney , Register of Deeds and Sheriff.

·         Democratic and Republican primary candidates must have valid signatures of 3% of the party’s total registration from the county or district and a $35.00 filing fee.

·         Independent candidates must have valid signatures of 4% of the registered voters of the county or district, but not more than 5,000 voters and a $35.00 filing fee.

·         County Attorney – filing fee is $734. 00 plus $35.00 filing fee.  Total of $769.00. Filing by petition signatures (3% of party registration + $35.00 filing fee.)  Democrats- 291signatures – Republicans- 241 signatures – Independent – 750 signatures.

·         County Commissioner 2^nd District- filing fee is $246.00 plus $35.00 filing fee. Total of $281.00. Filing by petition signatures (3% of party registration + $35.00 filing fee.)  Democrats- 291signatures  Republicans- 241 signatures – Independent – 750 signatures

·         County Clerk- filing fee is $599.00 plus $35.00 filing fee. Total of $634.00.   Filing by petition signatures (3% of party registration +$35.00 filing fee.)  Democrats- 291signatures – Republicans- 241 signatures – Independent – 750 signatures

·         County Treasurer- filing fee is $599.00 plus $35.00 filing fee.  Total of $634.00. Filing by petition signatures (3% of party registration +$35.00 filing fee.)  Democrats- 291signatures – Republicans- 241 signatures – Independent – 750 signatures

·         Register of Deeds - filing fee is $599.00 plus $35.00 filing fee.  Total of $634.00. Filing by petition signatures (3% of party registration +$35.00 filing fee.)  Democrats- 291signatures – Republicans- 241 signatures – Independent – 750 signatures

·         Sheriff - filing fee is $605.00 plus $35.00 filing fee. Total of $640.00 Filing by petition signatures (3% of party registration +$35.00 filing fee.)  Democrats- 291signatures – Republicans- 241 signatures – Independent – 750 signatures

Township Office

Trustee, Treasurer

·         Pay $1.00 filing fee.

Precinct Committeemen & Committeewomen

·         No filing fee.

General Election

Candidates for president and vice president must file and run as teams.  They do not appear on the August primary ballot.  Party candidates are nominated at national conventions.  Independent candidates are nominated by petitions containing 5,000 valid signatures of qualified voters.  Write-in candidates must file an affidavit of write-in candidacy with the Secretary of State’s office by 12:00 Noon October 27, 2008.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS

The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission (GEC) oversees campaign finance and ethics laws for the State of Kansas.  This agency monitors the campaign finance and other reports submitted by state elected officials and candidates.  Before receiving or spending any funds in a political campaign, a candidate for state or county office must file an appointment of treasurer form with the Secretary of State.  This form must be filed within 10 days after the candidate has filed for office, if not before.  GEC provides these forms to candidates.  Candidates must file campaign finance reports by the dates listed below.  Reports must include contributions and expenditures of candidates for that reporting period.  Candidates for county offices file reports with the county election officer.

Deadlines for filing Campaign Finance Reports

Candidates for township offices file reports with the county election officer within 30 days of the primary and again within 30 days of the general election.  The reports must include contributions and expenditures of the candidates for that reporting period.

Candidates for national offices file reports with the Federal Election Commission

and the Kansas Secretary of State according to federal requirements