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Offices to be elected in 2010: U.S. Senator (Patrick Leahy's seat), U.S. Representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer,
Secretary of State, Auditor of Accounts, Attorney General, ALL State Senate seats, ALL State Representative seats, State's Attorney, Assistant Judge,
Probate Judge, Sheriff, High Bailiff and Justices of the Peace.
Major Party Candidates - (
Petition
&
Consent
Form) can be filed between June 7, 2010 and July 19, 2010 (5:00 p.m.) for the Primary Election
held on Sept. 14, 2010. ALL MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES RUN IN THE PRIMARY, WHETHER THEIR RACE IS CONTESTED OR NOT.
Minor Party Candidates - (
Nomination
&
Consent
Form) can be filed between Sept. 3 and Sept 17, 2010 (5:00 p.m.) for the General Election
held on November 2, 2010.
Independent Candidates - (
Petition
&
Consent
Form) can be filed between June 7 and Sept. 17, 2010 (5:00 p.m.) for the General Election
held on November 2, 2010.
Justices of the Peace: JPs may be nominated by party caucus or, failing that, by party committee of major or minor political parties by filing of a
statement of nomination signed by the town party chair and secretary, along with a copy of the notice sent to all town committee members, between
September 3 and September 17 at 5 p.m. To run as an independent candidate for JP, a legal voter of the town must file a petition (statement of
nomination) with 30 signatures or 1% of the legal voters of the town, whichever is less. The petition and consent form may be filed with the Town
Clerk starting June 7, 2010 and no later than 5 p.m. on September 17, 2010.
All candidates: You MUST file your Consent of Candidate form at the same time as your nomination paperwork (petitions). This
applies to major party candidates in the Primary Election, independent candidates in the General Election and candidates nominated by party caucus
(including candidates for Justice of the Peace).
Number of Signatures Required - MAJOR PARTY Candidates
| Office
Sought |
Number of Signatures |
Place
to File |
| State/Congressional Officers |
500 signatures |
Office of the Secretary of State |
| State Senate |
100 signatures |
Senatorial District Clerk |
| State Representative |
50 signatures |
Representative District Clerk |
| County Office (State's Attorney, Assistant Judge, Probate Judge, Sheriff and High Bailiff) |
100 signatures |
County Clerk |
Number of Signatures Required - INDEPENDENT Candidates
| Office
Sought |
Number of Signatures |
Place
to File |
| State/Congressional Officers |
500 signatures |
Office of the Secretary of State |
| State Senate |
100 signatures |
Office of the Secretary of State |
| State Representative |
50 signatures |
Office of the Secretary of State |
| County Office (State's Attorney, Assistant Judge, Probate Judge, Sheriff and High Bailiff) |
100 signatures |
Office of the Secretary of State |
| Justice of the Peace |
30 signatures or 1 percent of legal voters of town, whichever is LESS |
Town Clerk |
You MUST fill out the petition heading before seeking signatures. When obtaining signatures on a petition, you must fill in the name of the office
(i.e. governor, state representative, etc.) you are seeking BEFORE having voters sign. For state senate and state representative, you must fill in the
district name, for example Washington 3-2 or Caledonia Senate District. You can add the names of the towns in the district if you choose, but if you
do not also include the district name your petition will not be accepted.
Don't start too early. Although Vermont statute is silent on when to start collecting signatures on a petition, if you obtain signatures too far in advance,
some of those signors may move from the town they lived in when they originally signed the petition, invalidating the signature.
Get extra signatures. It's always a good idea to obtain more than the minimum number of signatures, as some signatures may not be valid.
MINOR PARTY NOMINATION
For the 2010 election cycle, all minor parties organized in Vermont will be posted on the Secretary of State's website after January 1, 2010. This listing
will include contact information for the party's chair and/or executive director.
Minor party candidates do not participate in the primary elections. Instead, minor party state committees meet to nominate candidates. The chair of the
committee sets a date, time and place for the meeting and gives five days' notice to all members of the committee. If the chair of the committee
has not called a meeting then any three members of the committee may set the date, time and place of meeting.
The committee then files a Statement of Nomination with the Secretary of State between Sept. 3 and Sept. 17, 2010 (5:00 p.m.). An original signed
copy of the Consent of Candidate form for each candidate nominated by a minor party MUST be filed at the same time as the Statement of
Nomination or the nomination will NOT be accepted. In order to ensure that your candidate(s) will appear on the ballot, you should have the
candidate(s) sign the Consent of Candidate form(s) at the meeting to nominate.
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