How to Run for Office in 2024

Election Dates

Presidential Primary: March 5, 2024

State Primary: September 3, 2024

State Election: November 5, 2024

Offices on the Ballot

The offices below will appear on the State Election ballot. More offices could be added, if additional vacancies occur.

Federal Offices

• Electors of President and Vice President
• U.S. Senator
• U.S. Representative

District Offices

• Governor's Councillor
• State Senator
• State Representative

County Offices

• Register of Deeds
• Clerk of Courts
• County Commissioner

Vacancies

• Register of Probate (Suffolk County)
• Register of Probate (Hampshire County)

Legal Requirements

Each office on the ballot has specific requirements set by law for running or holding the office. Below are legal requirements you should be aware of when planning your run for office.

Signature Requirements

In Massachusetts, candidates petition for ballot access. State law sets the number of certified voter signatures you must submit, depending on the office you are seeking.

Note: The requirements for presidential candidates are different for party candidates and non-party candidates. For detailed information about running in the Presidential Primaries, visit our page on How to Run for President.

If you’re running for a federal office, you’ll need to file the following number of signatures:

• Electors of President and Vice President – 10,000
• U.S. Senator – 10,000
• U.S. Representative – 2,000

If you’re running for a district office, you’ll need to file the following number of signatures:

• State Representative – 150
• State Senator – 300
• Governor’s Councillor – 1,000

For county offices, including Register of Deeds, Clerk of Courts and County Commissioner, the number of signatures varies by county. These offices require the following numbers of signatures:

• Bristol, Essex, Hampden, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk & Worcester Counties – 1,000
• Barnstable, Berkshire, Franklin & Hampshire Counties – 500
• Dukes & Nantucket Counties – 25

Party Enrollment Requirements

• Democratic Party
• Republican Party
• Libertarian Party

To be nominated by one of these parties, you can run as a party candidate in the State Primary.

If you’re running as an unenrolled candidate – often referred to as an “Independent” – or you’re a member of a political designation, you can run as a non-party candidate in the November State Election.

You must commit to running as either a party or a non-party candidate by the party enrollment deadline. This is the last day for a candidate to either join or leave a party to be eligible to be printed on the ballot.

You must maintain continuous enrollment in your party (or in no party) through the filing deadline. Changing your party after the enrollment deadline will disqualify you from having your name printed on the ballot.

Party Enrollment Deadlines

District & County Candidates: February 27, 2024

Federal Candidates: March 5, 2024

Residency & Other Requirements

If you’re running for any office except President or Vice President, you need to be a registered voter of Massachusetts to have your name printed on the ballot.

See our page on How to Run for President for information on the requirements for that office.

Some offices have additional eligibility requirements to hold the office:

• U.S. Senator: You must be a resident of Massachusetts on Election Day. You must also be at least 30 years old and must have been a U.S. citizen for 9 years to be a U.S. Senator.
• U.S. Representative: You must be a resident of Massachusetts on Election Day. You must also be at least 25 years old and a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years to be a U.S. Representative.
• Governor's Councillor: You must have resided in Massachusetts for five years before Election Day.
• State Senator: You must reside in the district on Election Day, and must have resided in Massachusetts for five years before Election Day.
• State Representative: You must reside in the district for one year before Election Day.
• Register of Deeds: You must reside in the district on Election Day.
• Clerk of Courts: No residency requirements.
• County Commissioner: If elected, you can’t reside in the same city or town as another county commissioner.

Campaign Finance Requirements

If you’re a candidate for a district or county office, contact the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) about setting up a campaign committee before you raise or spend money on your campaign. OCPF is an independent agency that administers state campaign finance laws.

Office of Campaign and Political Finance
1 Ashburton Place, Room 411
Boston, MA 02108
617-979-8300 or 1-800-462-OCPF (6273)
ocpf@mass.gov
www.ocpf.us

If you’re a federal candidate, contact the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about setting up a campaign committee before you raise or spend money on your campaign. The FEC administers federal campaign finance laws.

Federal Election Commission
1050 First St., NE
Washington, DC 20463
1-800-424-9530
info@fec.gov
www.fec.gov

Ballot Qualification Steps

Generally, the steps for getting your name on the ballot are:

1. Pick up your nomination papers from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division (or alternate location)
2. Complete the candidate information on your nomination papers
3. Gather voter signatures on the nomination papers
4. Submit the papers to local election offices in your district for signature certification
5. Retrieve the certified nomination papers from local election offices
6. File your nomination papers with the Elections Division, along with:
   1. A written acceptance of the nomination
   2. An Enrollment Certificate/Voter Registration Certificate
   3. A receipt from the State Ethics Commission (not required for federal offices)

This page contains an overview of each step of the process. Detailed information is also included in the Candidate’s Guide that is issued with nomination papers to each candidate.

It is your responsibility, as the candidate, to know the legal requirements for your office and for ballot access. Make sure to read the information in your Candidate’s Guide thoroughly.

Picking Up Nomination Papers

Nomination papers are petitions that you can use to request to have your name printed on the ballot.

You can pick up nomination papers in person at our Boston, Springfield, or Fall River offices, beginning on February 7, 2024.

Beginning February 13, 2024, small quantities of nomination papers will also be available at local election offices in:

• Barnstable
• Brockton
• Chelmsford
• Fitchburg
• Framingham
• Gardner
• Haverhill
• Nantucket
• Northampton
• Peabody
• Pittsfield
• Tisbury
• Worcester

If you’re not able to pick up your papers in person, you may send someone else to pick up the papers for you.

You can also call or email the Elections Division to have papers mailed to you. Papers can’t be provided electronically.

Completing Nomination Papers

Before you can gather signatures on a nomination paper, you need to add your own information to the areas shaded in gray on the papers. This information includes your party, name, full residential address, office sought, and district name. For party candidates, you must also state the name of the political party whose nomination you seek.

Warning: Signatures on nomination papers that are missing required information will be disqualified.

Your nomination papers will come with a detailed guide on how to complete, circulate, and file your papers. Read the Candidate’s Guide thoroughly before gathering your signatures.

Gathering Signatures

Keep separate signature sheets for voters from different cities and towns, so you can submit the signatures to the appropriate local election office for certification.

Gather signatures from registered voters in the district in which you’re running. For a signature to be certified, the voter must be registered at the address they write on the nomination papers, and they must sign their name and address “substantially as registered.” See your Candidate’s Guide for more information.

If you’re running as a party candidate, you can gather signatures from voters who are enrolled members in your party or who are not enrolled in any party. You can’t gather signatures from members of a different party.

If you’re running as a non-party candidate, you can gather signatures from any registered voter in your district.

Submitting Nomination Papers

Submit your nomination papers to each local election office where you gathered your signatures. The local election office is typically the city or town clerk’s office or elections commission.

The registrars in each community will certify their own voters’ signatures. They can’t certify signatures of voters who are registered in a different city or town.

When the registrars are finished certifying your papers, you can pick them up.

Filing Deadlines

• District & County Candidates: April 30, 2024
• Federal Party Candidates: May 7, 2024
• Federal Non-Party Candidates: July 30, 2024

Retrieving Nomination Papers

Check the papers for required certification stamps before you leave the office. Each paper must be signed by at least three registrars. Facsimile signature stamps are acceptable.

If you think you may not have enough signatures, ask for a review of any uncertified signatures before you take the papers from the local election office. See your Candidate’s Guide for information on requesting a review.

If you’re picking up papers from the city/town where you’re registered to vote, make sure the registrars have executed an Enrollment Certificate on at least one nomination paper. This certificate, also called a Voter Registration Certificate for non-party candidates, certifies that you are a registered voter at your address and you meet any party enrollment requirements.

Filing Nomination Papers

File early! Filing early gives you time to correct any mistakes or gather more signatures, if necessary.

For your filing to be complete, you must file:

• The minimum number of signatures required for your office
• An Enrollment Certificate/Voter Registration Certificate
• A Written Acceptance of the nomination
• An Ethics Receipt from the State Ethics Commission (not required for federal offices)

The Enrollment Certificate/Voter Registration Certificate is printed on the front of your nomination papers. You must file at least one of these certificates, executed by the registrars in the city/town where you’re registered, by the filing deadline.

The Written Acceptance is your signature, and the space for this signature is also printed on your nomination papers. Sign your name where the paper says “I accept the nomination” on at least one nomination paper.

The State Ethics Commission will issue you with a candidate’s Ethics Receipt after you file your Statement of Financial Interests (SFI) with that office. Your receipt must say that you have filed your 2023 SFI. You must file your Ethics Receipt by the filing deadline, unless you are running for federal office.

Filing Deadlines

• District & County Candidates: May 28, 2024
• Federal Party Candidates: June 4, 2024
• Federal Non-Party Candidates: August 27, 2024

Important Deadlines

Deadlines are at 5 p.m. unless otherwise noted. See your Candidate’s Guide for deadlines relating to objections, withdrawals, and recounts.

District & County Candidates

Federal Party Candidates

Federal Non-Party Candidates