Page Contents

• Introduction
• Party-Nominated/Partisan Offices
  • President of the United States
  • County Central Committee Offices
• Voter-Nominated Offices
  • Federal Offices
  • State Offices
• Nonpartisan Offices
  • Judicial Offices
  • County Offices

Introduction

This page lists offices with filing fees that are up for election in the March 5, 2024, Presidential Primary Election (president and party central committees are excluded because they do not have filing fees). 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

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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. More information about these offices is available on our Party Central Committees page.

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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

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State Offices

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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

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County Offices

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