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Petitions & Candidate Filing

Learn about the rules and guidelines for filing candidacy petitions in Indiana elections, including the types of offices, petition submission processes, signature requirements, deadlines, and more.

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Petitions & Candidate Filing

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  1. Petitions &Candidate Filing General Rules & Guidelines

  2. Who’s on the Ballot? • Federal • President/Vice President • US Senate • US House • State • Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Attorney General • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Indiana Senate (25 seats) • Indiana House • Judicial Officers • County Officials • Vary from each county • State Convention Delegate • Republican Precinct Committeeman

  3. Two Types of Candidate Filing • Petition Submission • President • Governor • U.S. Senator • School Board • Minor party and independent candidates • “Direct” filing • No petition process

  4. Petition Process • Depending on the office sought, “there’s a form for that!” • President (CAN-8) • Governor (CAN-25) • U.S. Senator (CAN-4) • School Board (CAN-34) • Files summer of 2016 • Minor party & Independent candidates (CAN-19 & 20) • Files summer of 2016

  5. General Petition Rules • Collect signatures from REGISTERED voters of the election district • Voter’s residence address MUST match the residence address in the VR record • Petition carrier can be anyone • Affidavit must be signed by the carrier before submission to Voter Registration

  6. Petition Signature Counts • President/U.S. Senate/Governor • 500 VALID signatures in each of the NINE Congressional districts • School Board • 10 VALID signatures of registered voters in the election districts • Minor Party & Independent Candidates • 2% of votes cast in 2014 SOS Election for election district • See page 101 of Candidate Guide for counts

  7. Deadlines • Petition Submission Deadlines for VERIFICATION by Voter Registration officials • Presidential Candidates • January 6, 2016 through NOON (local prevailing time) January 26, 2016 • U.S. Senator/Governor Candidates • January 6, 2016 through NOON (local prevailing time) February 2, 2016 • School Board & Minor Party/Independent Candidates • Summer 2016 (discussion at future Clerk’s conference)

  8. Quick SVRS Overview • HAVA Administrator sets up petition offices for primary election • All candidates using petition process for May election are either federal or state • County may need to set up “petition office” for minor/independent party and/or school board candidates in summer 2016 Quest Training Sessions for attaching petitions to a candidate in SVRS were held December 8 and 9. Couldn’t attend? Look for web training on county portal or reach out to Kelly Sprague

  9. Quick SVRS Overview • Add to a Master Petition • Main Menu > Election > Petition > Master Petition • Select petition type from drop down menu • Click on candidate name • On new screen, press ‘Add petition’ • Insert Date Filed & click save • Your county will now appear as an option to enter petition signatures

  10. Quick SVRS Overview • Petition Signature Entry • Main Menu > Election > Petition > Petition • Select Petition Type (CAN 4, CAN 25, etc) • Click candidate name • Click View Signatures • Click Add Signatures • Search for voter name • Click ACPT (accept) to attach name to petition • Click RES (research) to investigate further Don’t forget to mark whether or not a signature was counted on the front of the paper petition! Critical information for a reviewing body should there be a candidate challenge.

  11. Finalizing VR Review • Once petition is reviewed, VR officials: • Complete back of petition form • Note number of signatures • Certify results to candidates • Certified forms • Candidate can collect them from VR office OR • VR can mail to the Indiana Election Division No statutory deadline to finish verification process; however, any critical delay could lead to court action by a candidate or party.

  12. FAQs • Can anyone sign a petition? • Yes, but only properly registered Indiana voters living in the election district count toward the total • What if they update their registration at the same time they sign the petition? • What matters is the residence address on file with Voter Registration • Registration updated BEFORE petitions are filed, then it’s OK • Registration updated AFTER petitions are filed, then signature is rejected

  13. FAQs • Do all the signatures on a petition have to come from the same county? • No, not legally speaking. All ten signatures could come from voters living in different counties. • Practically speaking, this is a headache for candidates AND counties • Candidates would hope county A finished their work before the deadline in order to submit the remainder to county B on time for verification and so on

  14. FAQs • Does there need to be one signature in each of Indiana’s 92 counties? • Nope. A minimum of 500 valid signatures must be collected in each Congressional District, regardless if one or ten counties within the CD is represented. • Do signatures have to be original? • YES! Absolutely no copies, emails or faxes.

  15. FAQs • Can a voter with a disability be provided assistance in completing the petition? • Yes. Person providing assistance must complete the affidavit on the back side of the petition.

  16. FAQs • Who can circulate petitions? • Anyone can be a petition carrier; however, ALL petition carriers MUST complete the affidavit on the bottom of the form (petition side).

  17. FAQs • What about… • Stapled pages? • All up to the county officials to accept (or not) • Common sense should prevail, however • Stapled front to back pages understandably affect work flow but also not a technical defect

  18. FAQs • What about… • Missing certification sheets (i.e. back side)? • All up to the county officials to accept (or not) • Common sense should prevail, however • Counties can make additional certification sheet copies to attach to the petition • Some counties also require the back and instead, creating a cover sheet (memo) certifying the total number of petition signatures to a candidate • If counties create their own certification form, it’s still a requirement to note whether or not each individual signature counted (or not)

  19. Candidate Filing NOON, Friday, February 5, 2016 Deadline for all major party candidates to file • Declaration of Candidacy • Certain candidates almost must file petitions • Statement of Economic Interest • Legislative, Judicial candidates must file a copy or a receipt of statement of economic interest • Local candidates must file CAN-12

  20. Candidate Filing • Federal Candidates • Paperwork is filed with the SOS or IED • President: declaration (CAN-7); petitions (CAN-8) • U.S. Senator: declaration (CAN-2); petitions (CAN-4) • Candidates for U.S. House files CAN-2 only

  21. Candidate Filing • Statewide candidates • Paperwork is filed with SOS or IED • Copy/ Receipt of Statement of Economic Interest • Handled by Office of Inspector General • Declaration of Candidacy (CAN-2) • Candidates for Governor must also file petitions (CAN-25)

  22. Candidate Filing • State Legislative candidates • Paperwork is filed with SOS or IED • Copy/ Receipt of Statement of Economic Interest • Handled by Principal Clerk of House (House candidates) • Handled by Principal Secretary of the Senate (Senate candidates) • Declaration of Candidacy (CAN-2) Remember, campaign finance committees for STATE LEGISLATIVE candidates are filed with the Indiana Election Division. It’s OK for them to file a courtesy copy with the county, however.

  23. Candidate Filing • Judicial candidates • Paperwork is filed with the SOS or IED • Copy/Receipt of Statement of Economic Interest • Handled by State Court Administration • Declaration of Candidacy • Filed with Indiana Election Division or SOS Remember, campaign finance committees for JUDICIALcandidates are filed with the county election board.

  24. Candidate Filing • County & Local Candidates • Paperwork is filed with County Clerk • Statement of Economic Interest (CAN-12) • Dated for 2015! • Declaration of Candidacy (CAN-2) Clerks MUST reject a declaration of candidacy if statement of economic interest is NOT filed at the same time (or before)

  25. Candidate Filing • Precinct Committeeman & State Convention Delegate (CAN-37) • Can run for both offices in the primary • MUST file separate forms for each office sought • Reminder: Delegate Districts (if using) are apportioned by the county chairs • Parties file state convention delegate paperwork by NOON, December 31, 2015 A statement of economic interest does NOT need to be filed to run for these offices; No need to open or file campaign finance reports, either.

  26. After Filing • Provide a receipt to filer • Can be a copy of the file-stamped declaration of candidacy at the time of filing OR • Use CAN-5 form • Must be hand-delivered, e-mailed or mailed to candidate no later than one day after filing IC 3-8-2-12

  27. After Filing • Post publicly a list of candidates after filing deadline • Publish legal notice of election • Notice for May election (CAN-9) requires candidate name, address, party and position sought • Notice for November election (CAN-39) only requires the offices on the ballot to be listed • No candidate name, address required on CAN-39 IC 3-8-2-13

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