Federal Office
Qualifications for Office
An individual seeking to be a candidate for a federal executive
or legislative office must meet all qualifications of the office
as listed below.
Office |
Qualifications |
|
President |
35 years old; natural born citizen of the U.S.; resident
of the U.S. for 14 years |
|
Vice President |
35 years old; natural born citizen of the U.S.;
resident of the U.S. for 14 years |
|
U.S. Senate |
30 years old; resident of Utah when elected; U.S.
citizen for 9 years |
|
U.S. Congress |
25 years old; resident of Utah when elected; U.S.
citizen for 7 years |
Federal Statement
of Candidacy
For more
information, please contact the Federal Election Commission at
1(800)424-9530 or visit their website at www.fec.gov.
Declaration
of Candidacy
Candidates for federal executive and legislative office
are required to file a Declaration of Candidacy with the state.
Presidential and vice-presidential candidates should file their state
Certificate of Nomination by October 15 in the year before the general election
year. A state Declaration of Candidacy for federal legislative
offices should be filed in person in the Lt. Governor's Office
between second and third Friday in March of the general election year.
Filing Fees
As specified in Utah Code 20A-9-201, federal legislative
candidates must pay a filing fee to the Lieutenant Governor's
Office of 1/8 of 1% of the total salary for the full term of office
legally paid to the officeholder.
Current filing fees for federal offices
are:
U. S. Senate
- $1,239
U.S. Congress
- $413
As specified in Utah Code 20A-9-503, unaffiliated
candidates for president are required to pay a filing fee to the
Lieutenant Governor's Office of $500.
Unaffiliated Candidates
Candidates who do not wish to affiliate with a ballot-approved
political party may appear on the ballot by submitting a petition.
Candidates for the office of President or U. S. Senator must submit
a petition with the signatures of at least 1,000 registered Utah
voters. Candidates for the U. S. House of Representatives
must submit a petition with the signatures of at least 300 registered
voters residing within the political division of the office.
The names on the petition must be verified by the county clerk(s)
as registered voters.
After the petition has been verified, candidates for a federal legislative
office should file the petition and a Certificate of Nomination
for Unaffiliated Candidates with the Lt. Governor's Office between second and third Friday in March of the general election year. Unaffiliated candidates must pay the same filing fees as all other
federal office candidates.
For State Offices
Qualifications for Office
An individual seeking to be a candidate for a state executive or legislative
office must meet all of the qualifications of the office as listed
below.
|
Office |
Qualifications |
|
Governor |
30 years old; resident of Utah for 5 years |
|
Lt. Governor |
30 years old; resident of Utah for 5 years |
|
Attorney General |
25 years old; resident of Utah for 5 years; admitted to practice before
the State Supreme Court; good standing with the Utah Bar |
|
State Treasurer |
25 years old; resident of Utah for 5 years |
|
State Auditor |
25 years old; resident of Utah for 5 years |
|
State Senate |
25 years old; resident of Utah for 3 consecutive years immediately
before the last date for filing for the office; resident of district for
6 months |
|
State House |
25 years old; resident of Utah for 3 consecutive years immediately
before the last date of filing for the office; resident of district for 6
months |
Declaration of Candidacy
All candidates must file a Declaration of Candidacy between second and third Friday in March of the general election year. Candidates
for Lieutenant Governor should file their declarations within
five working days of nomination. State executive office candidates may file the declaration in person
with the Lt. Governor's Office. All other state offices may file
the declaration in person either with the county clerk in their
county of residence or with the Lt. Governor's Office.
Filing Fees
As specified in Utah Code 20A-9-201, candidates for state
office must pay a filing fee to the Lt. Governor's Office equal
to 1/8 of 1% of the total salary for the full term of office legally
paid to the officeholder.
Current filing fees for state offices are:
Governor
- $536
Attorney
General - $509.20
State Treasurer
- $509.20
State Auditor
- $509.20
State Senate
- $32.40
State House
- $16.20
Unaffiliated Candidates
Candidates who do not wish to
affiliate with a ballot-approved political party may appear on
the ballot by submitting a petition. Candidates for a state
executive office (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general,
state auditor, or state treasurer) must submit a petition with
the signatures of at least 1,000 registered Utah voters.
Candidates for a state legislative office (Utah senator or representative)
must submit a petition with the signatures of at least 300 registered
voters residing within the political division of the office.
The names on the petition must be verified by the county clerk(s)
as registered voters within their county.
The verified signatures and certificate must be filed between between second and third Friday in March of the general election year. Both the petition
and the certificate of nomination are available in the Lt. Governor's
Office.
Unaffiliated candidates must pay the same filing fees as all other
candidates for state office.
Write-in Candidates
To become a valid write-in candidate for a state or federal
office, an individual must file a Declaration of Write-In Candidacy
no later than 30 days before the regular general election.
Federal office candidates must file the declaration in person with
the Lt. Governor's Office. State
executive office candidates may file the declaration in person
with the Lt. Governor's Office. All other state offices may file
the declaration in person either with the county clerk in their
county of residence or with the Lt. Governor's Office.
Write-in candidates must meet the qualifications required for
the state or federal office they are seeking.
Filing the Declaration of Write-In Candidacy means that write-in votes
for the candidate will be counted. The candidate's name
will not appear on the ballot.
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