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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 appear on the ballot. Candidates must submit these petitions, fees, and any other required paperwork by fixed deadlines. These requirements and deadlines, which are referred to collectively asballot access requirements, vary by state and office.

This article outlines ballot access requirements for 2025 state government elections.

Ballot access requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2025

Two states,New Jersey andVirginia, held gubernatorial elections in 2025. The incumbents in both states—Phil Murphy (D) in New Jersey andGlenn Youngkin (R) in Virginia—were 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.

Ballot access requirements for state legislative candidates, 2025

Two states,New Jersey andVirginia, held state legislative elections in 2025. The following table lists signature requirements, filing fees, filing deadlines, and qualifications for state legislative candidates in 2025.

Ballot access requirements for state legislative primary candidates, 2025
State	Office	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source	Qualifications
New Jersey	House	250	N/A	March 24, 2025	Source	At least 21 years old, a U.S. citizen, a resident of New Jersey for at least two years, a resident of the legislative district for at least one year, and a legal voter.
Virginia	House	125	$352.80	April 3, 2025	Source	At least 21 years old, a resident of Virginia for at least one year, a resident of the legislative district, and qualified to vote for and hold the office.

History

See also:Signature requirements and deadlines for 2021 state government elections

The section below includes historical ballot access information from the 2021 election cycle.

Signature requirements, filing fees, and filing deadlines, 2021

The table below outlines petition requirements, filing fees, and filing deadlines for gubernatorial and state legislative elections in 2021.

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2021
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
New Jersey	Governor	Democratic	1,000	Fixed number	N/A	N/A	4/5/2021	Source
New Jersey	Governor	Republican	1,000	Fixed number	N/A	N/A	4/5/2021	Source
Virginia	Governor	Democratic	2,000 signatures, including at least 50 valid signatures from each congressional district	Fixed number	$3,500.00	2% of annual salary	3/25/2021	Source
Virginia	Governor	Republican	2,000 signatures, including at least 50 valid signatures from each congressional district	Fixed number	$3,500.00	2% of annual salary	3/25/2021	Source

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2021
Chamber name	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
New Jersey General Assembly	Democratic	100	N/A	4/5/2021	Source
New Jersey General Assembly	Republican	100	N/A	4/5/2021	Source
New Jersey State Senate	Democratic	100	N/A	4/5/2021	Source
New Jersey State Senate	Republican	100	N/A	4/5/2021	Source
Virginia House of Delegates	Democratic	125	$352.80	3/25/2021	Source
Virginia House of Delegates	Republican	125	$352.80	3/25/2021	Source

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