Kansas Secretary of State - 2004 Candidate Filing Information

Office of the Kansas Secretary of State

2004 Candidate Filing Information

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Candidates for public office in Kansas may be nominated either by political party nomination or independent nomination. Democratic and Republican candidates must run in the primary and may file either by fee or by petition. Candidates of other recognized parties (currently, Libertarian and Reform) do not run in the primary, but are nominated for the general election by the party’s caucus or convention. Independent candidates do not run in the primary and may file for the general election only by petition. All candidates must pay administrative fees to the Governmental Ethics Commission and to the Secretary of State, and all non-federal candidates must appoint treasurers and file periodic campaign finance reports.

FILING DEADLINES

Democratic and Republican party candidates who wish to appear on the primary ballot on August 3, 2004, must file by noon June 10, 2004. [KSA 25-205]

Libertarian and Reform party candidates nominated by caucus or convention must have nomination papers filed by the party in the Secretary of State's office by noon June 10 in order to appear on the general election ballot. [KSA 25-202, -305]

Independent candidates must file nomination petitions by noon August 2, 2004. [KSA 25-305(b)]

OBTAINING FORMS

Petition forms and declaration of intention forms (used to file by fee) for national offices may be obtained only through the Secretary of State's office. Forms for state offices may be obtained either at the Secretary of State's office or the county election office. Forms for county and township offices may be obtained at the county election office.

FILING LOCATION

Candidates for national and state offices, state legislature and judicial offices file with the Secretary of State's office. The signature on a declaration of intention may be attested at the county election office and the declaration then filed with the Secretary of State's office. NOTE: The candidate is not considered filed until the petition or declaration and fee are received by the Secretary of State's office. (KSA 25-208) It is the responsibility of the candidate, not the county election officer, to ensure that filing documents are sent to and received by the Secretary of State. Candidates for county and township offices and precinct committeemen and committeewomen file only at the county election office. [KSA 25-208] Precinct committee candidates may have their signatures attested by a notary public rather than the county election officer, but their declarations of intention must be filed with the county election officer. [KSA 25-206]

FILING PROCEDURE

Filing by Fee

Only Democratic and Republican primary candidates may file by fee. The filing fee is either a set amount or based on a percentage of the salary of the office the candidate is seeking. [KSA 25-206]

Filing by Petition

National and State Offices Elected on a Statewide Basis

President/Vice President (see special section below), US Senator

Democratic and Republican primary candidates for US Senator must have signatures of 1% of the party’s total voter registration in the district. [KSA 25-205(e)(1)]

Independent candidates must have 5,000 signatures of all registered voters in the district. [KSA 25-303(b)]

National and State Offices Elected on Less Than a Statewide Basis

US Representative, State Senator, State Representative, District Judge, District Magistrate Judge,

State Board of Education, District Attorney

Democratic and Republican primary candidates (except state board of education and district attorney) must have valid signatures of 2% of the party's total voter registration in the district. [KSA 25-205(e)(2)]

Independent candidates (except state board of education and district attorney) must have valid signatures of 4% of the registered voters in the district. The petition must contain at least 25 but not more than 5,000 signatures. [KSA 25-303(c)]

Candidates for state board of education (partisan or independent) must have valid signatures of 200 voters in the district.

[KSA 25-1903]

Candidates for district attorney (partisan or independent) must have valid signatures of 5% of the previous vote for the office of Secretary of State in the county. [KSA 22a-102]

County Offices Commissioner, sheriff, county attorney, clerk, treasurer, register of deeds

Democratic and Republican primary candidates must have valid signatures of 3% of the party's registered voters in the county or district. [KSA 25-205(e)(3)]

Independent candidates must have valid signatures of 4% of the total registered voters in the county or district. [KSA 25-303(c)]

Township Offices Trustee, treasurer

Democratic and Republican primary candidates must have valid signatures of 3% of the party's registered voters in the township. [KSA 25-205(e)(4)]

Independent candidates must have valid signatures of 5%, and not less than 10 total, of the registered voters in the township. [KSA 25-303(d)]

PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE PRIMARY AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

General Election

Candidates for president and vice president must file and run as teams. They do not appear on the August primary ballot. Party candidates are nominated at national party conventions. Independent candidates are nominated by petitions containing 5,000 valid signatures of qualified voters. [KSA 25-303(b)] Write-in candidates must file an affidavit of write-in candidacy with the Secretary of State’s office by noon October 25, 2004. [KSA 25-305(b)]

Presidential Preference Primary

The 2004 Kansas presidential preference primary was canceled.

FILING CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS

The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission (GEC) oversees campaign finance and ethics laws for the State of Kansas. This agency monitors the campaign finance and other reports submitted by state elected officials and candidates. Before receiving or spending any funds in a political campaign, a candidate must file an appointment of treasurer form with the Secretary of State. [KSA 25-4144] This form must be filed within 10 days after the candidate has filed for office, if not before. GEC provides these forms to candidates. Candidates must file campaign finance reports by the dates listed below. Reports must include contributions and expenditures of candidates for that reporting period.

Candidates for local offices file reports with the county election officer pursuant to KSA 25-4148 and KSA 25-901.

Deadlines for filing campaign finance reports

KSA 25-4148