Signature requirements and deadlines for 2025 state government elections

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Candidates for elective office must often file petition signatures or pay filing fees in order to have their names printed on the ballot. Candidates must submit these petitions, and any other required paperwork or filing fees (sums of money paid to either the state or to a political party) by fixed deadlines. These requirements and deadlines, which are referred to collectively as ballot access rules, vary by state and office.

This article outlines filing deadlines and petition requirements for state government elections in the 2025 election cycle.

Filing deadlines and primary dates for statewide elections

The following table lists primary dates and filing deadlines for statewide elections in 2025.

StateElection dateFiling deadlineSource
New Jersey6/10/2025
  • 3/24/2025 - New Jersey statewide primary candidate filing deadline
Source
Pennsylvania5/20/2025
  • 3/11/2025 - Pennsylvania statewide primary candidate filing deadline
Source
Virginia6/17/2025
  • 4/3/2025 - Virginia statewide primary candidate filing deadline
Source
Wisconsin2/18/2025
  • 1/7/2025 - Wisconsin statewide spring primary candidate filing deadline
Source

Ballot access requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2025

Two states, New Jersey and Virginia, are holding gubernatorial elections in 2025. The incumbents in both states—Phil Murphy (D) in New Jersey and Glenn Youngkin (R) in Virginia—are term-limited. The following table lists signature requirements, filing fees, filing deadlines, and qualifications for gubernatorial candidates in 2025.

Ballot access requirements for gubernatorial primary candidates, 2025
State Office Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source Qualifications
New Jersey Governor 2,500 N/A March 24, 2025 Source At least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 20 years, and a New Jersey resident for at least seven years.
Virginia Governor 10,000[1] $3,500 April 3, 2025 Source A U.S. citizen, at least 30 years old, a Virginia resident and registered voter for at least five years.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Must include signatures of at least 400 qualified voters from each congressional district.