How to Run for State Committee

Every four years, Presidential Primary voters have the opportunity to elect party officers. These officers include members of the party’s state committee and their local ward or town committee.

Each party’s state committee is allowed to elect one man and one woman from each of the Commonwealth’s 40 state senate districts. Members of the state committee work to:

• Promote the aims of the party
• Work in cooperation with the national party committee and with ward and town committees
• Organize and work for the nomination and election of party candidates

If you are interested in running to represent your district on your party’s state committee, read on for instructions on how to run on the March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary ballot.

Party Enrollment Requirements

To run to be a member of a party’s state committee, you must first be a registered member of that party. You must be enrolled in your party no later than Wednesday, August 23, 2023.

In order to be eligible to be elected, you also cannot have been a member of a different political party (Democratic, Republican, or Libertarian) since November 21, 2022.

If you are a new voter in Massachusetts, and you register to vote for the first time after August 23, 2023, you must be an enrolled member of your party as of the day you registered to vote.

Residency Requirements

In order to represent your district on your party’s state committee, you must be a resident of the district in which you are running. Your state committee district is the same as your state senate district.

Keep in mind that districts were re-drawn since the last Presidential Primary. You can use this website to check your current district.

If you are an incumbent member of a state committee, you will be considered a “Candidate for Re-election” as long as the district you are running in contains any portion of the previous district you represented. This is true even if the district name has changed.

Nomination Papers

You will need to circulate nomination papers in order to have your name printed on the ballot. Nomination papers will be released to candidates on Tuesday, August 8, 2023.

Papers will be available at the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division at One Ashburton Place, in Boston. Papers will also be available at select city and town election offices.

You may contact the Elections Division at 617-727-2828 to request to receive your papers by mail or to find a list of communities where nomination papers are available for pick-up. Papers cannot be provided electronically.

Your nomination paper packet will include a candidate’s guide. Read your candidate’s guide carefully before circulating your nomination papers. Nomination papers that are not completed correctly may be disqualified.

Signature Requirements

To be certified to be on the ballot for state committee, you need at least 50 registered voters to sign your nomination papers.

Signatures must be from voters who are registered in your state senate district, and are either:

• Registered in your party; or
• Not registered in any party

Candidates should always try to gather more than the 50 signatures required, as some signatures may be disqualified during the certification process.

Filing Nomination Papers

You must file your nomination papers with city and town election offices no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, November 10, 2023.

If you have gathered signatures from voters in more than one city or town, you must submit sheets for each city and town to the appropriate local election official. A local election official can only certify the signatures of their own voters.

After the local election officials certify the names of the signers who nominated you, they will return the papers to you.

The local election official in your own city or town must also complete an enrollment certificate on at least one of your nomination papers, certifying that you meet the party enrollment requirements.

After picking up your nomination papers from your local election office, you must submit them to the Elections Division. Before submitting your papers to the Elections Division, remember to sign the written acceptance of the nomination on at least one paper.

All paperwork, including the certified signatures, enrollment certificate, and written acceptance of the nomination paper must be filed with the Elections Division no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.

The Elections Division strongly encourages in-person filing of nomination papers. While papers will be accepted by mail, papers cannot be accepted if they are received after the deadline, no matter the date of the postmark.

Calendar of Events

Below is a calendar of dates and deadlines for state committee candidates to be aware of. All deadlines are at 5 p.m., unless otherwise noted.