Page Contents

• Introduction
• Party-Nominated/Partisan Offices
  • President of the United States
  • County Central Committee Offices
    • American Independent Party County Central Committee
    • Democratic Party County Central Committee
    • Green Party County Council
    • Libertarian Party County Central Committee
    • Peace and Freedom Party County Central Committee
    • Republican Party County Central Committee
• Voter-Nominated Offices
  • Federal Offices
    • U.S. Senator (Full Term and Partial/Unexpired Term)
    • U.S. Representative in Congress (2nd and 4th Districts)
  • State Offices
    • State Senator (3rd District)
    • Member of the State Assembly (2nd, 4th, and 12th Districts)
• Nonpartisan Offices
  • Judicial Offices
    • Superior Court Judge (Offices #s 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 13, 15, and 17)
  • County Offices
    • County Supervisor (1st, 3rd, and 5th Districts)

Introduction

This page lists offices that are up for election in the March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election.

Note that party-nominated/partisan offices (President of the United States, County Central Committees) do not have filing fees or signatures in lieu.

Filing fees are nonrefundable and must be paid before a candidate can take out nomination petitions. Filing fees can be fulfilled in two ways:

• Paying via check
  • Checks for federal and state offices should me made out to the California Secretary of State's Office
  • Checks for judicial and county offices should be made out to the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office
• Collecting signatures in lieu of the filing fee
  • The period for collecting sigs in lieu for the March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election, is September 14, 2023 through November 8, 2023
  • Valid signatures will be counted toward the filing fee on a pro-rata basis

Party-Nominated/Partisan Offices

Under the California Constitution, political parties may formally nominate candidates for party-nominated/partisan offices at the primary election. A candidate so nominated will then represent that party as its official candidate for the office in question at the ensuing general election and the ballot will reflect an official designation to that effect. The top vote-getter for each party at the primary election is entitled to participate in the general election. Parties also elect officers of official party committees at a partisan primary.

No voter may vote in the primary election of any political party other than the party he or she has disclosed a preference for upon registering to vote. However, a political party may authorize a person who has declined to disclose a party preference to vote in that party's primary election.

President of the United States

There is no filing fee (and therefore no signatures in lieu) required to run for president. For more information on running for president, visit the Secretary of State's Qualifications for Running for Office in 2024 page.

County Central Committee Offices

There is no filing fee (and therefore no signatures in lieu) required to run for a county central committee seat. Nominations for party county central committee offices open on Friday, September 29, 2023, and close on Friday, December 8, 2023. Per California Elections Code § 8001(a), a candidate for a party county central committee must meet the following qualifications:

• Have been registered with the political party of that committee for the past three continuous months
• Not have been registered with any other qualified political party in the past twelve months

American Independent Party County Central Committee

The American Independent Party of California has notified the California Secretary of State that it is not using the public ballot process to elect its central committee members in 2024. See County Clerk/Registrar of Voters (CC/ROV) Memorandum #23079 issued September 12, 2023.

Democratic Party County Central Committee

The Sonoma County Democratic Party elects twenty-two (22) county central committee members by supervisorial district. A candidate must run for a seat in the supervisorial district where they reside.

Green Party County Council

The Sonoma County Green Party elects seven (7) at-large members to the Green Party of Sonoma County Council. See County Clerk/Registrar of Voters (CC/ROV) Memorandum #23088 issued September 20, 2023.

Libertarian Party County Central Committee

The Sonoma County Libertarian Party has not notified the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office that it intends to use the public ballot process to elect county central committee members in 2024.

Peace and Freedom Party County Central Committee

The Sonoma County Peace and Freedom Party elects seven (7) at-large county central committee members.

Republican Party County Central Committee

The Sonoma County Republican Party elects twenty-two (22) county central committee members by supervisorial district. A candidate must run for a seat in the supervisorial district where they reside.

Voter-Nominated Offices

Under the California constitution, political parties are not entitled to formally nominate candidates for voter-nominated offices at the primary election. A candidate nominated for a voter-nominated office at the primary election is the nominee of the people and not the official nominee of any party at the following general election. A candidate for nomination or election to a voter-nominated office shall have his or her party preference, or lack of party preference, reflected on the primary and general election ballot, but the party preference designation is selected solely by the candidate and is shown for the information of the voters only. It does not constitute or imply an endorsement of the candidate by the party designated, or affiliation between the party and candidate, and no candidate nominated by the qualified voters for any voter-nominated office shall be deemed to be the officially nominated candidate of any political party. The parties may list the candidates for voter-nominated offices who have received the official endorsement of the party in the sample ballot.

All voters may vote for any candidate for a voter-nominated office, provided they meet the other qualifications required to vote for that office. The top two vote-getters at the primary election advance to the general election for the voter-nominated office, even if both candidates have specified the same party preference designation. No party is entitled to have a candidate with its party preference designation participate in the general election unless such candidate is one of the two highest vote-getters at the primary election.

Federal Offices

State Offices

Nonpartisan Offices

Under the California Constitution, political parties are not entitled to nominate candidates for nonpartisan offices at the primary election, and a candidate nominated for a nonpartisan office at the primary election is not the official nominee of any party for the office in question at the ensuing general election. A candidate for nomination or election to a nonpartisan office may not designate his or her party preference, or lack of party preference, on the primary and general election ballot. The top two vote-getters at the primary election advance to the general election for the nonpartisan office.

Judicial Offices

County Offices