Ballot access requirements for political candidates in West Virginia

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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 West Virginia, 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 West Virginia. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, see "Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in West Virginia." 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 West Virginia in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in West Virginia, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
West Virginia	U.S. Senate	Recognized party	N/A	N/A	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	1/27/2024	Source
West Virginia	U.S. Senate	Unaffiliated	4,537	1% of all votes cast in the last election for the office being sought	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	8/1/2024	Source

U.S. House

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

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
West Virginia	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	N/A	$1,740.00	1/27/2024	Source
West Virginia	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1% of all votes cast for the office in the last general election	$1,740.00	8/1/2024	Source

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

Show more

2022

U.S. House

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

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
West Virginia	U.S. House	Ballot-qualified party	N/A	$1,740.00	1/29/2022	Source
West Virginia	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1% of all votes cast for the office in the last general election	$1,740.00	8/1/2022	Source

2020

U.S. Senate

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in West Virginia in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in West Virginia, 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
West Virginia	U.S. Senate	Recognized party	N/A	N/A	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	1/25/2020	Source
West Virginia	U.S. Senate	Unaffiliated	4,537	1% of all votes cast in the last election for the office being sought	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	8/3/2020	Source

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in West Virginia in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in West Virginia, 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
West Virginia	1st Congressional District	Recognized party	0	N/A	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	1/25/2020	Source
West Virginia	1st Congressional District	Unaffiliated	1,982	1% of all votes cast in the last election for the office being sought	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	8/3/2020	Source
West Virginia	2nd Congressional District	Recognized party	0	N/A	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	1/25/2020	Source
West Virginia	2nd Congressional District	Unaffiliated	2,048	1% of all votes cast in the last election for the office being sought	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	8/3/2020	Source
West Virginia	3rd Congressional District	Recognized party	0	N/A	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	1/25/2020	Source
West Virginia	3rd Congressional District	Unaffiliated	1,750	1% of all votes cast in the last election for the office being sought	$1,740.00	1% of annual salary	8/3/2020	Source

State House

The table below details filing requirements for West Virginia House of Delegates candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
West Virginia House of Delegates	Qualified party	N/A	$100.00	1/25/2020	Source
West Virginia House of Delegates	Unaffiliated	1% of all votes cast for the office in the last general election	N/A	8/3/2020	Source

State Senate

The table below details filing requirements for West Virginia 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
West Virginia State Senate	Qualified party	N/A	$200.00	1/25/2020	Source
West Virginia State Senate	Unaffiliated	1% of all votes cast for the office in the last general election	N/A	8/3/2020	Source

2018

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

See below for 2018 candidate filing deadlines.

January 27, 2018

2016

See also: West Virginia elections, 2016

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

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline	Event type	Event description
January 30, 2016	Ballot access	Partisan candidate filing deadline
April 1, 2016	Campaign finance	First primary report due
April 29, 2016	Campaign finance	Pre-primary report due
May 10, 2016	Election date	Primary election
June 20, 2016	Campaign finance	Post-primary report due
August 1, 2016	Ballot access	Unaffiliated candidate filing deadline
September 20, 2016	Ballot access	Write-in candidate filing deadline
September 30, 2016	Campaign finance	First general report due
October 28, 2016	Campaign finance	Pre-general report due
November 8, 2016	Election date	General election
December 19, 2016	Campaign finance	Post-general report due
March 31, 2017	Campaign finance	Annual report due
Sources: West Virginia Secretary of State, "2016 Election, Dates and Deadlines," accessed June 14, 2015 West Virginia Secretary of State, "For Non-Party Affiliated Candidates," accessed June 14, 2015 West Virginia Secretary of State, "Candidates and Voters Guide to Write-in Filing and Voting Procedures," accessed June 14, 2015

2015

To view historical information for 2015, click [show] to expand the section.
See also: West Virginia elections, 2015 There were no regularly scheduled state executive, state legislative or congressional elections in West Virginia in 2015.

2014

To view historical information for 2014, click [show] to expand the section.

See also: West Virginia elections, 2014 West Virginia held a primary election on May 13, 2014. A general election took place on November 4, 2014. Voters elected candidates to serve in the following state and federal offices: 3 seats in the United States House of Representatives 1 seat in the United States Senate 100 seats in the West Virginia House of Delegates 17 seats in the West Virginia State Senate The 2014 filing deadline for partisan candidates seeking to participate in the state primary was January 25, 2014. The filing for independent candidates and nominees of unqualified parties seeking to participate in the November general election was August 1, 2014. Legend:      Ballot access     Campaign finance     Election date Dates and requirements for candidates in 2014 Deadline Event type Event description January 25, 2014 Ballot access Filing deadline for partisan candidates participating in the May primary February 4, 2014 Campaign finance Deadline for partisan candidates to file Candidate Financial Disclosure Statement (within ten days after filing a Certificate of Announcement) April 4, 2014 Campaign finance 2014 Annual/Primary-First campaign finance report due May 2, 2014 Campaign finance Pre-Primary campaign finance report due May 13, 2014 Election date State Primary Date June 23, 2014 Campaign finance Post-primary campaign finance report due for candidates who ran in the primary election August 1, 2014 Ballot access Deadline for independent candidates and nominees of unqualified parties to file petitions to participate in the November general election September 16, 2014 Ballot access Filing deadline for write-in candidates running in the general election September 26, 2014 Campaign finance First general election campaign finance report due October 24, 2014 Campaign finance Pre-general election campaign finance report due November 4, 2014 Election date General election December 15, 2014 Campaign finance Post-general election campaign finance report due

Process to become a candidate

See statutes: Chapter 3, Article 5 of the West Virginia Code

Certificate of announcement, 2013

Political party candidates

Before raising money for a campaign, a candidate must file a pre-candidacy registration form. The form must identify a campaign treasurer, who will be responsible for the campaign's financial transactions. A candidate must file a certificate of announcement declaring his or her candidacy with the West Virginia Secretary of State. The candidate must pay a filing fee, which is calculated as a percentage of the salary of the office sought. The candidate must also file a financial disclosure statement with the West Virginia Ethics Commission within 10 days of filing the certificate of announcement.

Independent candidates

An independent candidate must gain authorization to collect petition signatures by obtaining an official credentials form from the county clerk in each county in which the candidate wishes to collect signatures. This form must be presented to each voter canvassed or solicited.

The candidate must obtain a candidate nomination petition at the time of gaining authorization. The candidate must obtain signatures equaling at least 1 percent of the entire vote cast at the last preceding general election for the office being sought (or at least 25 signatures).

The candidate must file the certificate of announcement and nominating petition with the appropriate office. An independent candidate must also pay a filing fee (the same as that paid by political party candidates).

Write-in candidates

A write-in candidate must file a certificate of announcement with the West Virginia Secretary of State. Write-in candidates are not listed on the ballot, but a list of official write-in candidates is posted at each polling place during early voting and on Election Day.

A write-in candidate is not required to pay a filing fee or collect signatures.

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.

Circulation requirements

General petition requirements related to a candidate's place on the ballot are established in Chapter 3-5-23 of the West Virginia Code. In particular, circulators must receive from the clerk of the county commission credentials, which must be shown to each voter canvassed or solicited. If the office sought covers more than one county, a separate nominating petition must be used for each county.

West Virginia permits candidates to begin circulating petitions as early as they wish. The relevant statutes do not stipulate a date on which petitions may begin to circulate.

Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections Division

Building 1, Suite 157-K

1900 Kanawha Blvd. East

Charleston, West Virginia 25305-0770

Phone: 304-558-6000 or 866-SOS-VOTE

Fax: 304-558-8386

Website: http://www.wvsos.com/elections/main.htm

Email: http://www.sos.wv.gov/Pages/contact-elections.aspx

West Virginia Ethics Commission

210 Brooks St.

Charleston, West Virginia 25301

Phone: 304-558-0664

Website: http://www.ethics.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx

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Term limits

State executives

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

The state executive term limits in West Virginia are as follows:

• The governor is subject to a two-consecutive-term limit.

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

There are no term limits placed on West Virginia state legislators.

Congressional partisanship

See also: List of United States Representatives from West Virginia and List of United States Senators from West Virginia

Below is the current partisan breakdown of the congressional delegation from West Virginia.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from West Virginia
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	1	0	1
Republican	1	2	3
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	2	4

State legislative partisanship

Below is the current partisan breakdown of the state legislature of West Virginia.

West Virginia State Senate

Party		As of January 2024
	Democratic Party	3
	Republican Party	31
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		34

West Virginia House of Representatives

Party		As of January 2024
	Democratic Party	11
	Republican Party	88
	Other	0
	Vacancies	1
Total		100

Related legislation

The embedded table below lists state bills affecting ballot access requirements for candidates introduced in West Virginia. 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 West Virginia
• Ballot access requirements for political parties in West Virginia
• West Virginia elections, 2024
• Campaign finance requirements in West Virginia
• Counties in West Virginia
• List of United States Representatives from West Virginia
• List of United States Senators from West Virginia
• 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

• West Virginia Secretary of State
• West Virginia Ethics Commission
• Federal Election Commission
• Candidate filing forms, from the West Virginia Secretary of State
• West Virginia Secretary of State, "Running for Office Guide 2024"

Other information

• Ballot Access News – News updates and analysis of ballot access issues
• ThirdPartyPolitics.us – Blog about American third party and independent politics
• National Voter Outreach – Political consulting firm that specializes in organizing petition signature drives