Ballot access requirements for political parties in Iowa

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Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • As of May 2024, Iowa officially recognized three political parties: the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties.
  • In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. Iowa allows candidates to use political party designations.

    • To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Iowa, see this article.

    DocumentIcon.jpg See state election laws

    Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

    Seal of Iowa

    DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Section 43, Title II of the Iowa Code

    To be recognized as a political party in Iowa, a political organization's candidate must receive at least 2 percent of the total number of votes cast for president or governor in the last general election. If the political organization's candidate did not receive enough votes, it is considered a Non-party Political Organization, or NPPO. NPPOs do not need to file any special paperwork to be recognized by the state. However, they are subject name restrictions. An NPPO cannot use a name that is longer than five words, and it cannot use the name, or part of the name, of any officially recognized political party.[1][2][3]

    For an NPPO to become a political party, it must do the following:

    1. Place a candidate for president or governor on the general election ballot.
    2. That candidate must then receive at least 2 percent of the votes cast for that office.
    3. Once the first two conditions are met, the organization must file an application for political party status with the Iowa Secretary of State. This must be done after the state's canvass of votes but within one year of the general election date.
    4. The new political party's candidate for president or governor must continue to receive 2 percent of the vote at the general election in order for the party to maintain qualified status. If a candidate does not receive enough votes, the party's status will be revoked and the process will have to be repeated.[1]

    Political parties

    See also: List of political parties in the United States

    As of May 2024, Iowa officially recognized three political parties. These are listed in the table below. In order to be recognized by the state, a party's candidate for president or governor must receive at least 2 percent of the total votes cast for those offices in the general election.[4]

    Party Website link By-laws/platform link
    Democratic Party of Iowa Link Party platform
    Republican Party of Iowa Link Party platform
    Libertarian Party of Iowa Link Party platform

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    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Iowa Secretary of State Website, "Forming a Political Party in Iowa," accessed January 13, 2014
    2. ↑ Iowa Code, "Title II, Section 43.2," accessed January 13, 2014
    3. ↑ Iowa Code, "Title II, Section 43.121," accessed January 13, 2014
    4. ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, "Forming a Political Party in Iowa," accessed May 15, 2024
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