      
King County Records, Elections & Licensing Services Division Hours: Monday - Friday (206) 296-VOTE for General Information (206) 296-1565 for Election Info.
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General Filing GuidelinesDeclaration of Candidacy and FilingsA candidate who desires to have his or her name printed on the ballot for election to an office other than President of the United States and Vice President of the United States, shall complete and file a Declaration and Affidavit of Candidacy. A person filing a Declaration of Candidacy for an office shall, at the time of filing, possess the qualifications specified by law for persons who may be elected to the office. The candidate must be properly registered to vote in the geographic area, district and/or division represented by the office at the time of filing. The officer with whom declarations are filed shall review each declaration for compliance with this law. (Reference RCW 29A.24) When filing for an office, no candidate may use a nickname that denotes present or past occupation or military rank, use a nickname that denotes the candidate's position on issues or political affiliation, or use a nickname designed to intentionally mislead voters. (Reference RCW 29A.24) Filings made by mail for regular candidates and Precinct Committee Officers must be received by the filing officer not earlier than ten working days before the first day of filing or no later than the close of business on the last day of the filing period, irrespective of postmark. Failure to meet the deadline renders the filing invalid and it will be returned. Candidate filings (except for Precinct Committee Officer) must be notarized if mailed in or if delivered by someone other than the candidate. (Reference RCW 29A.24) If a candidate files a declaration by fax, the original signed document must be received in the Auditor's Office not later than seven calendar days after the receipt of the fax. If there is a filing fee, it must be paid at the same time of the faxed declaration or it will not be accepted. (Reference WAC 434-208-070,080) Filing Fee GuidelinesFILING FEES ARE NOT REFUNDABLE. (Reference RCW 29A.24.131)
Filing Period July 24 -- July 28, 2006 Insufficient Assets for Filing If a candidate's committee and/or candidate lacks sufficient assets
or income to pay the filing fee required, he/she can submit a filing
fee with signatures of registered voters from their jurisdiction
instead of paying the filing fee. This petition must have at least the
number of signatures equal to the number of dollars of the filing fee.
The petition must be completed and submitted to King County Elections
no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday of filing week. Petitions may not be
submitted at a later date for a refund of the filing fee. Please remember
to allow enough time to check signatures, as no additional signatures
may be submitted after the close of filing on Friday. Petitions cannot
be combined with money to make up the filing fee. Blank petition forms are available at the Elections Office. No Double FilingsExcluding the office of Precinct Committee Officer, Freeholder, or Charter Review Commissioner, a candidate's name shall not appear more than once upon a ballot. (Reference RCW 29A.36.200) Reopening of FilingFilings for all offices shall be reopened for a period of three normal business days; such period to be fixed by the Election Officer with whom such Declarations of Candidacy are filed, and notice is given by notifying the press, radio and television in the county when, before the sixth Tuesday before a Primary, one of the following occurs:
Residency Requirements* US Senate: Candidates must be at least 30 years of
age, US citizens US Representative: Candidates must be at least 25 years
of age, US citizens and residents of the state for which they shall be
chosen. State Legislature: Candidates must be qualified voters in the district. (Reference State Constitution, Article II, Section 7) State Offices: Candidates must be qualified electors
of the State of Washington. Supreme, Superior, District, and Seattle Municipal Court Judges:
Candidates must be resident electors of their district and admitted to
practice law in the courts of record of the State of Washington. Municipal Court Judges (other than City of Seattle):
Candidates must be qualified resident electors of King County and admitted
to practice law in the courts of record of the State of Washington. Court of Appeals Judges: Candidates must be residents
of the district for not less than one year and admitted to practice law
in the courts of the State of Washington for not less than five years
prior to taking office. County Offices: Candidates must be at least 21 years
of age, residents and registered voters of King County. County Council
candidates must be residents and registered voters of their County Council
district. Non-Charter Code Cities: Candidates must be registered
voters at the time of filing and residents for at least one year on Election Day. Port Districts: Candidates must be registered voters of King County. (Reference RCW 53.12) School Districts: Candidates must be registered voters
of the district or director district. Mercer Island, Vashon and Skykomish
School District candidates need only be registered voters in the school
district. Candidates of all other school districts must be registered
voters in their director district. Park & Rec Districts: Candidates must be resident electors (registered voters) of district. (Reference RCW 36.69, 54.12) Fire, Water & Sewer Districts: Candidates must be qualified electors (registered voters) of district. (Reference RCW 42.04) *All candidates must be resident electors of their district. (Reference RCW 42.04) "Resident Elector": a citizen residing at his/her voter registration address. Minor Parties and Independent CandidatesUnder the pick-a-party system, minor party and independent candidates do not appear on primary ballots but advance directly to the general election. To appear on the general election ballot, minor party and independent candidates must be nominated at a convention and have either 100 or 1,000 signatures of registered voters, depending on the office. For 2005 only, if not held previously, a nominating convention must be held during the period beginning on August 13 and ending on August 20. At least ten days prior to holding a nominating convention, a notice must be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the county the convention is to be held. Declarations of candidacy and supporting convention documentation, for minor party and independent candidates, must be filed by 5:00 pm August 26, 2005. For more information on minor party or independent candidate procedures please refer to RCW chapters 29A.20 and 29A.24. Lapse of election when no filing for single positionsIf after both the normal filing period and special three day filing period as provided by RCW 29A.24.171 and 29A.24.181 have passed, no candidate has filed for any single city, town, or district position to be filled, the election for such position shall be deemed lapsed, the office deemed stricken from the ballot and no write-in votes counted. In such instance, the incumbent occupying such position shall remain in office and continue to serve until a successor is elected at the next election when such positions are voted upon. (RCW 29A.24.201) Where to File Declaration of Candidacy Any nonpartisan office except judicial and schools shall file in the Secretary of State: Offices that file with the Secretary of State:
Offices that file with King County Elections:
Withdrawal of FilingA candidate may withdraw in writing through Thursday, August 3, 2006. There shall be no withdrawal period for Declarations of Candidacy filed during special filing periods. Filing fees are not refundable. (Reference RCW 29A.24.131) Write-insAny person desiring to be a write-in candidate for any regular office or office of Precinct Committee Officer may, if the jurisdiction of the office sought is entirely within one county, file a Declaration of Write-in Candidacy with the County Auditor and pay the filing fee (if any) no earlier than the day after the regular filing period and no later than the day before the election. If the jurisdiction of the office sought encompasses more than one county, the Declaration of Write-in Candidacy shall be filed with the Secretary of State. Votes cast for write-in candidates who have filed such declarations, need only specify the name of the candidate in the appropriate location on the ballot and the oval filled in to the left of the write-in, in order to be counted. Write-in votes will not be tallied unless the number of write-in votes plus the sum of the number of under votes and over votes could make a difference in the results for a specific race. In that case, the number of votes for each write-in candidate for that race must be tabulated (whether a declaration of write-in candidacy has been filed or not.) No person may file as a write-in candidate where: At a General Election, the person attempting to file either filed as a write-in candidate for the same office at the preceding Primary or the person's name appeared on the ballot for the same office at the preceding Primary; the person attempting to file as a write-in candidate has already filed a valid write-in declaration for that Primary or election, unless one or the other of the two filings is for the office of precinct committee officer; the name of the person attempting to file already appears on the ballot as a candidate for another office, unless one of the two offices for which he or she is a candidate is precinct committee officer. The declaration of write-in candidacy shall be similar to that required by RCW 29A.24.031. No write-in candidate filing under RCW 29A.24.311 may be included in any voter's pamphlet produced under chapter 29A.32 RCW unless that candidate qualifies to have his or her name printed on the General Election ballot. The legislative authority of any jurisdiction producing a local voter's pamphlet under chapter 29A.32 RCW may provide, by ordinance, for the inclusion of write-in candidates in such pamphlets.(Reference RCW 29A.32.311) |
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Updated: May 17, 2006 King County | Elections | News | Services | Comments | Search
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