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Offices to be elected in 2008: U.S. Representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, Auditor of
Accounts,
Attorney General, ALL State Senate seats, ALL State Representative seats, High Bailiff. (Please see 2008 Presidential Candidates page for
information on becoming a presidential candidate in Vermont.)
Major Party Candidates - (
Petition
&
Consent
Form) can be filed between June 2, 2008 and July 21, 2008 (5:00 p.m.) for the Primary Election
held on Sept. 9, 2008. ALL MAJOR PARTY CANDIDATES RUN IN THE PRIMARY, WHETHER THEIR RACE IS CONTESTED OR NOT.
Minor Party Candidates - (
Nomination
&
Consent
Form) can by filed between Sept. 5 and Sept 12, 2008 (5:00 p.m.) for the General Election
held on November 4, 2008.
Independent Candidates - (
Petition
&
Consent
Form) can be filed between June 2 and Sept. 12, 2008 (5:00 p.m.) for the General Election
held on November 4, 2008.
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 5 and September 12 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 2, 2008 and no later than 5 p.m. on September 12, 2008.
All candidates: You MUST file your Consent of Candidate form at the same time as your nomination paperwork. 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 (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 (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 2008 election cycle, all minor parties organized in Vermont will be posted on the Secretary of State's website after January 1, 2008. 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 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. 5 and Sept. 12, 2008 (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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