Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Idaho

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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 Idaho, 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.

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

DocumentIcon.jpg See state election laws

Year-specific filing information

2024

U.S. Senate

For information on candidate ballot access requirements in Idaho, click here.

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Idaho in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Idaho, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Idaho U.S. House Ballot-qualified party 500[1] $300.00 3/15/2024 Source
Idaho U.S. House Unaffiliated 500 N/A 8/30/2024 Source


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

Show more

2022

U.S. Senate

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Idaho in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Idaho, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Idaho U.S. Senate Ballot-qualified party 1,000[2] $500.00 3/13/2022 Source
Idaho U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 1,000 N/A 3/13/2022 Source

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Idaho in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Idaho, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Idaho U.S. House Ballot-qualified party 500[3] $300.00 3/11/2022 Source
Idaho U.S. House Unaffiliated 500 N/A 9/1/2022 Source

Governor

The table below details filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates in Idaho in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Idaho, click here.

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Idaho Governor Ballot-qualified party 1,000[4] $300.00 3/13/2022 Source
Idaho Governor Unaffiliated 1,000 N/A 3/13/2022 Source

2020

U.S. Senate

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in Idaho in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Idaho, 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
Idaho U.S. Senate Qualified party N/A N/A $500.00 Fixed number 3/13/2020 Source
Idaho U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 1,000 Fixed number N/A N/A 3/13/2020 Source

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Idaho in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Idaho, click here. Note that partisan candidates can qualify for ballot status either by paying the filing fee or submitting petition signatures; a candidate need not do both.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Idaho 1st Congressional District Qualified party 500 Fixed number $300.00 Fixed number 3/13/2020 Source
Idaho 2nd Congressional District Qualified party 500 Fixed number $300.00 Fixed number 3/13/2020 Source
Idaho 1st Congressional District Unaffiliated 500 Fixed number N/A N/A 3/13/2020 Source
Idaho 2nd Congressional District Unaffiliated 500 Fixed number N/A N/A 3/13/2020 Source

State House

The table below details filing requirements for Idaho 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
Idaho House of Representatives Qualified party N/A $30.00 3/13/2020 Source
Idaho House of Representatives Unaffiliated 50 N/A 3/13/2020 Source

State Senate

The table below details filing requirements for Idaho 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
Idaho State Senate Qualified party N/A $30.00 3/13/2020 Source
Idaho State Senate Unaffiliated 50 N/A 3/13/2020 Source

2018

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

See below for 2018 candidate filing deadlines.

March 9, 2018

2016

See also: Idaho elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Idaho in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline Event type Event description
March 8, 2016 Election date Presidential preference primary election
March 11, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for both party and independent candidates
April 19, 2016 Ballot access Deadline for write-in candidates to file declarations of intent for the primary election
May 10, 2016 Campaign finance 7-day pre-primary report due
May 17, 2016 Election date Primary election
June 16, 2016 Campaign finance 30-day post-primary report due
August 1, 2016 Campaign finance Semi-annual report due (for non-active statewide candidates only)
August 30, 2016 Ballot access Last day to file new political party formation petitions
October 11, 2016 Ballot access Deadline for write-in candidates to file declarations of intent for the general election
October 11, 2016 Campaign finance Pre-general report due
November 1, 2016 Campaign finance 7-day pre-general report due
November 8, 2016 Election date General election
December 8, 2016 Campaign finance 30-day post-general report due
January 31, 2017 Campaign finance Annual report due
Sources: Idaho Secretary of State, "Elections–2016 Election Consolidation Calendar," accessed July 9, 2015
Idaho Secretary of State, "Idaho Sunshine Law - Reporting Dates - 2015/2016 Election Cycle," accessed July 9, 2015

2015


2014


Process to become a candidate

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Title 34 of the Idaho Code

Political party candidates

A partisan candidate must file a declaration of candidacy and either pay a filing fee or submit a petition containing the required number of signatures with the Idaho Secretary of State. A candidate for statewide and state legislative office must also file a "C1: Appointment and Certification of Political Treasurer" form with the Idaho Secretary of State. The candidate must file this form prior to announcing his or her candidacy, accepting donations, or spending money on the campaign.[6][7]

For a candidate collecting signatures to be filed with a declaration of candidacy, each signature sheet must contain the signatures of qualified electors from a single county and must be verified by the appropriate county clerk prior to being filed with the Idaho Secretary of State. This applies to candidates for all statewide offices, state legislative offices, and congressional offices. Filing fees and signature requirements vary according to the office sought and are set out in the table below.[8]

Filing fees and petition signature requirements for partisan candidates
Office sought Filing fee Petition signature requirements
United States Senator $500 1,000
United States Representative $300 500
Governor $300 1,000
Lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state controller, attorney general, and superintendent of public instructure $200 1,000
State legislator $30 50

Independent candidates

An independent candidate must file a declaration of candidacy and submit a petition containing the required number of signatures with the Idaho Secretary of State. A candidate for statewide or state legislative office must file a "C1: Appointment and Certification of Political Treasurer" form with the Idaho Secretary of State. The candidate must file this form prior to announcing his or her candidacy, accepting donations, or spending money on the campaign.[9][10]

Each petition signature sheet must contain the signatures of qualified electors from a single county and must be verified by the appropriate county clerk prior to being filed with the Idaho Secretary of State. This applies to all statewide, state legislative, and congressional offices. For offices elected on a statewide basis (e.g., governor, United States Senator), the petition must contain 1,000 signatures. For United States House of Representatives elections, the petition must contain 500 signatures. For state legislative elections, the petition must contain 50 signatures.[11][12]

Write-in candidates

A write-in candidate must file a declaration of intent form with the Idaho Secretary of State. A write-in candidate seeking the nomination of a political party in the primary election also must pay the filing fee required of that office within 10 days following the primary election date. A write-in candidate must also receive a minimum number of votes in the primary election in order to advance to the general election. These vote thresholds are as follows: [13]

  • 1,000 for any statewide office
  • 500 for a congressional district office
  • 50 for a state legislative office

A write-in candidate must file a declaration of intent form no less than 28 days before the primary or general election.[14][15]

Proposed changes

In June 2013, members of the Idaho Republican Central Committee submitted a motion to require local Republican leadership to approve candidates before they can access the ballot. This would have given party leaders control over who made it onto the ballot. However, the rules committee rejected the motion. The committee did approve to expand an existing party rule that requires candidates to read and endorse or reject the party platform. The change stated that if a candidate chooses to reject the platform, a press release will be sent out telling other party members of the candidate's rejection and that the party will no longer endorse him or her.[16]

Petition requirements

See also: Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions
Seal of Idaho

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Title 34 of the Idaho Code

In some cases, political parties and/or candidates may need to obtain signatures via the petition process to gain access to the ballot. This section outlines the laws and regulations pertaining to petitions and circulators.

General petition requirements are established in Title 34, Chapter 1807, of the Idaho Election Code.

Circulation requirements

A petition circulator must be at least 18 years old and a resident of Idaho. The circulator must verify the signatures contained within the petition by affidavit, which must be signed by a notary public. Any petition upon which signatures are obtained from non-eligible individuals will be void.[17]

The date on which petitions may begin to circulate is August 30 in the year preceding the general election.[18]

Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

Idaho Secretary of State

Physical address: 700 West Jefferson, Room E205, Boise, Idaho 83720
Mailing address: P.O. Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720
Telephone: 208-334-2852
Fax: 208-334-2282
Email: elections@sos.idaho.gov
Website: http://sos.idaho.gov/


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Term limits

State executives

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

No state executive offices in Idaho are subject to term limits.

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

There are no term limits for Idaho state legislators.

Congressional partisanship

Portal:Legislative Branch
See also: List of United States Representatives from Idaho and List of United States Senators from Idaho

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

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Idaho
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 0 0
Republican 2 2 4
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 2 4

State legislative partisanship

Portal:State legislatures

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

Idaho State Senate

Party As of January 2024
     Democratic Party 7
     Republican Party 28
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 35

Idaho House of Representatives

Party As of January 2024
     Democratic Party 11
     Republican Party 59
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 70

Related legislation

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The embedded table below lists state bills affecting ballot access requirements for candidates introduced in Idaho. The following information is included for each bill:

  • State
  • Bill number
  • Official name or caption
  • Most recent action date
  • Legislative status
  • Topics dealt with by the bill

Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.

Ballotpedia’s comprehensive Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker is the basis for this data. This user-friendly tracker covers thousands of election-related bills in state legislatures, and organizes them by topic with neutral, expert analysis from Ballotpedia’s election administration researchers.

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See also

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External links

Other information

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Petition signatures only required in lieu of a filing fee.
  2. ↑ Petition signatures only required in lieu of filing fee.
  3. ↑ Petition signatures only required in lieu of a filing fee.
  4. ↑ Petition signatures only required in lieu of filing fee.
  5. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State Website, "2014 Idaho Primary and General Election Calendar," accessed November 7, 2014
  6. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State, "Election 2014," accessed December 12, 2013
  7. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State's Office, "Appointment and Certification of Political Treasurer Form," accessed December 16, 2013
  8. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State, "Secretary of State Filing Info," accessed December 12, 2013
  9. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State, "Election 2014," accessed December 12, 2013
  10. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State's Office, "Appointment and Certification of Political Treasurer Form," accessed December 16, 2013
  11. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State, "Secretary of State Filing Info," accessed December 12, 2013
  12. ↑ Idaho Statutes, "Section 34-708," accessed October 10, 2017
  13. ↑ Idaho Election Code, "Section 34-702," accessed December 12, 2013
  14. ↑ Idaho Secretary of State, "2014 Election Calendar," accessed December 12, 2013
  15. ↑ Idaho Election Code, "Section 34-702A," accessed December 12, 2013
  16. ↑ Idaho Statesman, "GOP rules committee rejects limits to primary candidates," June 15, 2013
  17. ↑ Idaho Election Code, "Title 34, Chapter 1807," accessed December 31, 2013
  18. ↑ Idaho Election Code, "Title 34, Chapter 501(1)(c)(G)," accessed December 31, 2013
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