For President & Vice President

Have you announced your candidacy and filed the required campaign finance forms?

Yes, continue to Step 1.

No, I need to become a candidate.

Steps

1. Eligibility for nomination and petition circulation
2. Petition signature requirements
3. Receive petition format approval
4. Start circulating petition
5. Submit petition, candidate acceptance forms, and presidential electors’ acceptance form
6. Signature verification, cure, and notice of sufficiency or insufficiency
7. Submit audio recording
8. Names placed on general election ballot
9. Additional filing requirements

Step 1: Eligibility for nomination and petition circulation

Candidates must meet the basic qualifications for office.

A candidate must meet the qualifications for office outlined in Article II, Section 1(5) of the U.S. Constitution.

In order to be eligible to circulate a petition, a person must be a citizen of the United States and at least 18 years of age. [1]

Step 2: Petition signature requirements

A petition must contain at least 1,500 signatures in each of the 8 congressional district (12,000 total) from registered Colorado voters who have not signed a petition for any other candidate for the same office. [2]

Step 3: Receive petition format approval

Petition formats must be approved by the Secretary of State’s office prior to circulation. [3]

The Secretary of State’s Office cannot create a petition template until the candidate provides the Presidential Electors’ Acceptance of Nomination form (PDF) to our office with the ten presidential electors that will represent the candidate. The names of the electors will be printed on the petition.

Contact the Secretary of State’s office at 303-894-2200 x6333 or ballot.access@coloradosos.gov to learn about the petition format approval process.

Step 4: Start circulating petition

Once your petition format is approved, you can begin circulating the petition on the 173rd day before the general election (May 16, 2024). [4]

Step 5: Submit petition, candidate acceptance forms, and presidential electors’ acceptance form

The completed petition must be filed no later than 3:00 PM on the 117th day before the general election (July 11, 2024). [5]

1. Complete the Unaffiliated Candidate Acceptance of Petition Nomination for President (PDF) and Unaffiliated Candidate Acceptance of Petition Nomination for Vice President (PDF) forms and have them notarized. [6]

The forms must state the candidate’s name the way it will appear on the ballot. Candidate names cannot contain any title or degree designating the business or profession of the candidate. [7]

2. Submit the notarized acceptance of petition nomination forms with the completed petition. [8]

3. Hand deliver petition and acceptance forms to:

Colorado Secretary of State – Elections Division
Attention: Ballot Access
1700 Broadway, Suite 550
Denver CO, 80290

Please contact the Secretary of State’s office at 303-894-2200 x6333 or ballot.access@coloradosos.gov for more information on procedures for submitting petitions.

Step 6: Signature verification, cure, and notice of sufficiency or insufficiency

Petition signatures will be verified by the Secretary of State’s office. If found to be sufficient, the petition will be deemed valid, unless a protest is made in writing within five days after the statement of sufficiency is issued. [9]

During the petition review, the Secretary of State’s office will notify candidates of any errors or insufficiencies in the circulator affidavits. Upon receipt of such notification, candidates have five calendar days to cure the errors by submitting a new circulator affidavit that corrects the mistakes. [10]

During the petition review, the Secretary of State’s office will notify candidates of any signer signatures that do not match the signatures in the voter registration records. Upon receipt of such notification, candidates have three calendar days to cure the mismatched signatures by submitting a form provided by our office that is completed by the signer and a copy of the signer’s identification. [11]

Step 7: Submit audio recording

Candidate audio recordings for president and vice president must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office no later than 117 days before the general election (July 11, 2024).

The audio recording must state the candidate’s name exactly as it appears on the candidate acceptance form, as this is how the candidate’s name will appear on the ballot. [12]

Audio recording instructions

Step 8: Names placed on general election ballot

Additional filing requirements

All candidates for president or vice president should contact the Federal Election Commission for campaign finance information and other requirements not addressed at the state level.

Federal Election Commission
1050 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20463
1-800-424-9530
Website: www.fec.gov

[1] 1-4-905(1), C.R.S.
[2] 1-4-802(1)(c)(I) & 1-4-904(1), 2(b), C.R.S.
[3] 1-4-903, C.R.S.
[4] 1-4-802(1)(d)(l), C.R.S.
[5] 1-4-802(1)(f)(I), C.R.S.
[6] 1-4-906, C.R.S.
[7] 1-4-906 & 1-4-303(1), C.R.S.
[8] 1-4-906 & 1-4-303(1), C.R.S.
[9] 1-4-908 & 1-4-909, C.R.S.
[10] 1-4-912(2), C.R.S.
[11] 1-4-908, C.R.S.
[12] SOS Election Rule 4.6.1