Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Pennsylvania

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
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
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 Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, see "Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Pennsylvania." 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

2024

U.S. Senate

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

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Pennsylvania	U.S. Senate	Ballot-qualified party	2,000	$200.00	TBD	Source
Pennsylvania	U.S. Senate	Unaffiliated	2% of the largest entire vote cast for any elected statewide candidate in the last election	$200.00	TBD	Source

U.S. House

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

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Pennsylvania	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	1,000	$150.00	TBD	Source
Pennsylvania	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	2% of largest entire vote cast for a candidate in the district in the last election	$150.00	TBD	Source

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

Show more

2023

State Supreme Court

The table below details filing requirements for state supreme court candidates in Pennsylvania in the 2023 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Pennsylvania, click here.

Filing requirements for Pennsylvania Supreme Court candidates, 2023
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Pennsylvania	Supreme Court Justice	Nonpartisan	2,500	$200.00	8/1/2023	Source

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

Process to become a candidate

Generally speaking, there are two types of petition forms that prospective candidates may need to file in order to gain access to the ballot.

1. Nomination petitions: These are the petition forms used by political party candidates.
2. Nomination papers: These are the petition forms used by independent and political party designation candidates.

For party candidates

See statutes: Pennsylvania Election Code, Chapter 14, Article 9

Party candidates for state office must file nomination petitions with the Pennsylvania Secretary of State. Signature requirements are summarized below (for more information regarding nomination petitions, see "Nomination petitions" below).

Nomination petition signature requirements in Pennsylvania
Office sought	Required signatures
U.S. Senator	1,000
U.S. House Representative	2,000
Governor	2,000
Lt. Governor	1,000
State senator	500
State representative	300

Each candidate must file a candidate affidavit with his or her nomination petition. The affidavit must include the candidate's address, election district, the name of the office being sought, a statement verifying the candidate's eligibility for said office, and a statement verifying that the candidate will not "knowingly violate any provision of this act [i.e., the election code], or of any law regulating and limiting nomination and election expenses and prohibiting corrupt practices in connection therewith."

The candidate must also pay a filing fee. Filing fees must be submitted with nomination petitions. Fees are summarized in the table below.

Filing fees in Pennsylvania
Office sought	Fee
United States Senator, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, auditor general, attorney general	$200
United States Representative	$150
State legislator	$100

In addition, a candidate for state office must file a statement of financial interests with the state ethics commission. A copy of this statement must be attached to the nomination petition submitted to the Pennsylvania Secretary of State, as well.

For other candidates

See statutes: Article 9, Part (b) of the Pennsylvania Election Code

Like party candidates participating in the primary, independent, minor political party, and political body candidates for state office (including the Pennsylvania General Assembly) must submit candidate affidavits and statements of financial interests to the Pennsylvania Secretary of State. Candidates must also pay the same filing fees as primary candidates. Independent, minor party, and political body candidates must also file nomination papers (not to be confused with the nomination petitions party candidates participating in the primary must complete). Candidates filing nomination papers must obtain signatures from electors of the district equal to at least 2 percent of the largest entire vote cast for an elected candidate in the last election within the district. For more information regarding nomination papers, see "Nomination papers" below.

For write-in candidates

Pennsylvania does not require write-in candidates to file paperwork in order to have their votes tallied.

Petition requirements

See also: Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions

In some cases, 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 in Pennsylvania.

The form of all petitions for candidates is prescribed by the secretary of state.

Nomination petitions

Each page of a nomination petition contains these three basic components:

• Preamble: The preamble includes information about the candidate, such as the candidate's name, occupation, and residence, the office being sought, and the party affiliation of the signers.
• Signatures of electors: Each person who signs a nomination petition must include the following information:
  • signature
  • printed name
  • address of residence
  • date of signature

Nomination petitions must be circulated and filed between the 13th Tuesday and the 10th Tuesday preceding the primary election.

Nomination papers

Each page of a nomination paper must include these basic components:

• Preamble: The preamble includes the name of the minor political party or political body making the nomination and the county of the signers.
• Candidate information: This section includes the name, address, and occupation of the candidate being nominated.
• Signatures of electors: Each person who signs a nomination paper must include the following information:
  • signature
  • printed name
  • address of residence
  • date of signature

Each page of a nomination paper submitted by a political body must also include the names and addresses of the political body's Committee to Fill Vacancies. The committee must include at least three and no more than five members.

Nomination papers must be circulated and filed between the 10th Wednesday preceding the primary and August 1 of each year.

Noteworthy events

Seal of Pennsylvania

Petition requirements ruled unconstitutional (2015)

On March 2, 2015, United States District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled that three of Pennsylvania's petition requirements were unconstitutional "as applied to the Green Party and Libertarian Party." These three requirements were as follows:

1. "the ban on out-of-state circulators"
2. "the requirement that each petition sheet be notarized"
3. "the prohibition on a voter signing for more than one minor party in any given election"

Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, said the following about the decision: "Oddly, the relief is limited only to the plaintiffs in the case, the Green and Libertarian Parties. There will probably be new lawsuits filed by other plaintiffs, which probably will result in an expansion of the relief to all petitioning groups, at least for general election petitions." The state government did not appeal the decision.

Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

Pennsylvania Secretary of State

North Office Building, Room 210

401 North Street

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120

Phone: 717-787-5280

Website: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/

Email: RA-elections@state.pa.us

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Term limits

State executives

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

State executive term limits are established in Article 4 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. The state executive term limits in Pennsylvania are as follows:

• The governor may serve a total of two consecutive terms.
• The attorney general may serve a total of two consecutive terms.
• The treasurer may serve two consecutive terms and must wait four years before becoming eligible for the office of auditor general.
• The auditor general may serve a total of two consecutive terms.

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

There are no term limits placed on Pennsylvania state legislators.

Congressional partisanship

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

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

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Pennsylvania
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	9	11
Republican	0	8	8
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	17	19

State legislative partisanship

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

Pennsylvania State Senate

Party		As of January 2024
	Democratic Party	22
	Republican Party	28
	Independent	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		50

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Party		As of January 2024
	Democratic Party	101
	Republican Party	101
	Other	0
	Vacancies	1
Total		203

Related legislation

The embedded table below lists state bills affecting ballot access requirements for candidates introduced in Pennsylvania. 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

• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Pennsylvania
• Ballot access requirements for political parties in Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania elections, 2024
• Campaign finance requirements in Pennsylvania
• Counties in Pennsylvania
• List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania
• List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania
• Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions
• State executives with term limits
• States with gubernatorial term limits
• State legislatures with term limits

External links

Official state and federal links

• Pennsylvania Department of State
• Federal Election Commission
• Information for candidates, from the Pennsylvania Secretary of State

Other information

• Ballot Access News – News updates and analysis of ballot access issues
• Election Law Program – Report on state regulations that affect political parties
• National Voter Outreach – Political consulting firm that specializes in organizing petition signature drives