Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Vermont

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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 Vermont, 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 Vermont. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, see "Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Vermont." 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

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

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Vermont U.S. Senate Ballot-qualified party 500 N/A 5/30/2024 Source
Vermont U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 500 N/A 8/8/2024 Source

U.S. House

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

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Vermont U.S. House Major party 500 N/A 5/30/2024 Source
Vermont U.S. House Unaffiliated 500 N/A 8/8/2024 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 Vermont in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Vermont, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Vermont U.S. Senate Ballot-qualified party 500 N/A 5/26/2022 Source
Vermont U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 500 N/A 8/4/2022 Source

U.S. House

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

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Vermont U.S. House Major party 500 N/A 5/26/2022 Source
Vermont U.S. House Unaffiliated 500 N/A 8/4/2022 Source

Governor

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

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source Notes
Vermont Governor Major party 500 N/A 5/26/2022 Source
Vermont Governor Minor party 500 N/A 8/4/2022 Source
Vermont Governor Unaffiliated 500 N/A 8/4/2022 Source

2020

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Vermont in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Vermont, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
Vermont At-large District Major party N/A Signature requirements suspended in response to the coronavirus outbreak N/A N/A 5/28/2020 Source
Vermont At-large District Unaffiliated N/A Signature requirements suspended in response to the coronavirus outbreak N/A N/A 8/6/2020 Source

State House

The table below details filing requirements for Vermont 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
Vermont House of Representatives Qualified party N/A (signature requirements suspended in response to the coronavirus outbreak) N/A 5/28/2020 Source
Vermont House of Representatives Unaffiliated N/A (signature requirements suspended in response to the coronavirus outbreak) N/A 8/6/2020 Source

State Senate

The table below details filing requirements for Vermont 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
Vermont State Senate Qualified party N/A (signature requirements suspended in response to the coronavirus outbreak) N/A 5/28/2020 Source
Vermont State Senate Unaffiliated N/A (signature requirements suspended in response to the coronavirus outbreak) N/A 8/6/2020 Source

2018

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

See below for 2018 candidate filing deadlines.

May 31, 2018

2016

See also: Vermont elections, 2016

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

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline Event type Event description
March 15, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
May 26, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for major party candidates; deadline for minor parties to submit nomination forms for their candidates
July 15, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
August 4, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for independent candidates
August 9, 2016 Election date Primary election
August 15, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
September 1, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
October 1, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
October 15, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
November 4, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
November 8, 2016 Election date General election
November 22, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
December 15, 2016 Campaign finance Campaign finance report due
Sources: Vermont Secretary of State, "Candidates," accessed July 9, 2015
Vermont Secretary of State, "Guide to Vermont's Campaign Finance Law," accessed July 9, 2015

2015


2014


Process to become a candidate

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Title 17-49 of the Vermont Election Law

Major party candidates

A candidate seeking the nomination of a major political party in the primary must file a nominating petition and consent form with the appropriate filing officer in order to authorize the printing of his or her name on the primary ballot.[3][4]

A candidate must file the petition and consent form with the appropriate filing authority no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fourth Thursday after the first Monday in May preceding the primary election. A candidate may only run for one party in the primary election, and only major party candidates may run in a primary.[5][6]

Petition signature requirements are detailed in the table below.[7]

Statutory signature requirements for major party candidates
Office Required signatures
Statewide and federal office 500
State senator 100
State representative 50

Minor party candidates

A candidate seeking the nomination of a minor political party in the general election is nominated by party committee. The candidate must file a candidate consent form and party committee nomination form with the Vermont Secretary of State. The party committee must also complete the party committee nomination form.[8]

Both the candidate consent form and the party committee nomination form must be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fourth Thursday after the first Monday in May preceding the primary election.[5][8]

Independent candidates

An independent candidates in the general election must file a statement of nomination form and candidate consent form with the Vermont Secretary of State in order to authorize the printing of his or her name on the general election ballot.[9]

Petition signature requirements are detailed in the table below.[10]

Statutory signature requirements for independent candidates
Office Required signatures
Statewide and federal office 500
State senator 100
State representative 50

Write-in candidates

A write-in candidate is not required to submit any forms with any filing authority. The ballot will allow as many blank lines for write-in candidates as there are persons to be elected.[11]

Petition requirements

See also: Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Title 17-49-2353 and Title 17-49-2354 of the Vermont Election Law

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 Vermont.

Signature requirements

Petitions must be signed by legal voters within the state.[12] The voter must include his or her signature, printed name, and town of residence.[12] Signatures need not all be contained on one paper. Voters may sign as many petitions for primary and independent candidates as there are nominations to be made or seats filled for that office. For example, voters may sign three petitions for a three-seat state senate district, or sign a petition for an independent candidate even if the same voter had signed a petition for a major party candidate running for the same office in the primary.[13]

The relevant statutes do not stipulate any particular requirements on petition circulators.

Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

Vermont Secretary of State, Elections Division

26 Terrace Street
Montpelier, Vermont 05609-1101
In-state: 800-439-8683
Out-of-state: 802-828-2464
Fax: 802-828-5171
Website: http://vermont-elections.org/soshome.htm

Vermont was ranked first in accessibility to candidates in the 2014 elections by earning 30 points in Ballotpedia's accessibility of state election agencies report. For more information, check out the 2014 state election agency accessibility report. {USvotefoundation}}

Term limits

State executives

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

The following state executive officials serve two-year terms, with no provision specifying the number of terms allowed.

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

There are no term limits placed on Vermont state legislators.

Congressional partisanship

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

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

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Vermont
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 1 1 2
Republican 0 0 0
Independent 1 0 1
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 1 3

State legislative partisanship

Portal:State legislatures

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

Vermont State Senate

Party As of January 2024
     Democratic Party 22
     Republican Party 7
     Vermont Progressive Party 1
     Independent 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 30

Vermont House of Representatives

Party As of January 2024
     Democratic Party 106
     Republican Party 37
     Vermont Progressive Party 3
     Libertarian Party 1
     Independent 3
     Vacancies
Total 150

Related legislation

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

Official state and federal links

Other information

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Vermont Elections and Campaign Division, "2013-2014 Elections Calendar," accessed November 6, 2013
  2. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Phone call with Vermont Elections and Campaign Division," September 11, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Vermont Elections Division, "Information for Candidates, Primary Election," accessed November 1, 2013
  4. ↑ Vermont Election Law, "Title 17-49-2361," accessed March 27, 2014
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Vermont Election Law, "Title 17-49-2356," accessed March 27, 2014
  6. ↑ Vermont Election Law, "Title 17-49-2353," accessed March 27, 2014
  7. ↑ Vermont Election Law, "Title 17-49-2355," accessed March 27, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Vermont Elections Division, "For Minor Party Candidates," accessed November 1, 2013
  9. ↑ Vermont Elections Division, "Independent Candidates," accessed November 1, 2013
  10. ↑ Vermont Election Law, "Title 17-49-2402," accessed March 28, 2014
  11. ↑ Vermont Election Law, "Title 17-49-2362," accessed March 28, 2014
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Vermont Election Law, "Title 17-49-2353," accessed March 27, 2014
  13. ↑ Vermont Election Law, "Title 17-49-2354," accessed March 28, 2014
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