Ballot access in the 2024 United States presidential election

2024 U.S. presidential election
Republican Party
Democratic Party
Third parties
Related races
← 2020 2024 2028 →

In the 2024 United States presidential election, different laws and procedures govern whether or not a candidate or political party is entitled to appear on voters' ballots.[1] Under Article 2, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, laws about election procedure are established and enforced by the states.[2] Additionally, there are often different requirements for primary and general elections, and requirements for primary elections may additionally differ by party.

Additionally, the filing requirements to appear on the ballot often differ between parties and independents, leading some independents such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to create a party to get on the ballot in states where the requirement is lower for party-sponsored candidates. Conversely, parties like the Libertarians and Greens will have their nominee petition as an independent in states where such a route is less restrictive.[3]

Deadlines

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All dates are in the year 2024 unless otherwise stated.

Deadlines for ballot access in the 2024 United States presidential election
(as of September 18, 2024)
State Minor party[4] Independent[5] Write-in
AL Mar 5 Aug 15 Automatic[6]
AK Aug 7 Aug 7 No write-ins[7]
AZ Nov 30, 2023 Aug 17 Sep 26[8]
AR Aug 5 Aug 1 No write-ins[6]
CA Jul 5 Aug 9 Oct 22[9]
CO Jul 1 Jul 11[10] Jul 18[11]
CT N/A[a] Aug 7 Oct 7[12]
DE N/A[b] Sep 3 Oct 28[13]
DC TBD Aug 7 Nov 12[14]
FL N/A[c] Jul 15 Jul 15[15]
GA Jul 9 Jul 9[16] Sep 3[17]
HI Feb 22 Aug 7 No write-ins[6]
ID Aug 30 Aug 1 Sep 6[18]
IL N/A[d] Jun 24 Sep 5[19]
IN N/A[e] Jul 15 Jul 3[20]
IA N/A[f] Aug 16 Automatic[6]
KS Jun 1 Aug 5 Oct 14[21]
KY N/A[g] Sep 6 Oct 25[22]
LA N/A[h] Aug 23 No write-ins[6]
ME N/A[i] Aug 1 Aug 27[23]
MD Aug 5 Aug 5 Oct 17[24]
MA N/A[j] Aug 27 Sep 6[25]
MI Jul 18 Jul 18 Oct 25[26]
MN Jun 4 Aug 20 Oct 29[27]
MS N/A[k] Sep 6 No write-ins[6]
MO Jul 29 Jul 29 Oct 25[28]
MT Feb 22 Aug 14[29] Sep 11[30]
NE N/A[l] Aug 1 Oct 25[31]
NV May 17 Jul 5 No write-ins[6]
NH Aug 7 Jun 14 Automatic[6]
NJ N/A[m] Jul 29 Automatic[6]
NM TBD[n] Jun 27 No write-ins[6]
NY N/A[o] May 28 Oct 15[32]
NC Jun 1 Mar 5 Aug 7[33][p]
ND N/A[q] Sep 3 Oct 15[34]
OH Jul 3 Sep 1[35] Aug 25[36]
OK Feb 29 Jul 15 No write-ins[6]
OR TBD[r] Aug 27 Automatic[6]
PA N/A[s] Aug 1 Automatic[6]
RI Aug 1 Sep 6 Automatic[6]
SC May 5 Jul 15 No write-ins[6]
SD Mar 26 Aug 6 No write-ins[6]
TN Aug 7 Aug 15 Sep 16[37]
TX May 28[t] May 13 Aug 19[38]
UT Nov 30, 2023 Jun 15[u] Sep 1[40]
VT N/A[v] Aug 1 Automatic[6]
VA N/A[w] Aug 23 Oct 28[41]
WA N/A[x] Aug 2 Poll closure[42]
WV N/A[y] Aug 1 Sep 17[43]
WI Apr 1 Aug 6 Oct 22[44]
WY Jun 1 Aug 26 Automatic[6]

General election

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The following is a table of which parties and independent candidates received presidential ballot access in which states.

 Yes  indicates that the party or candidate was on the ballot in 2024.

   indicates that the state has automatic write-in access.

 write-in  indicates that the candidate was a recognized write-in candidate.

 No  indicates that the party or candidate did not qualify for the ballot.

 No  indicates that the party or candidate did qualify for the ballot, but withdrew.

 No  indicates that the party or candidate was listed on the ballot, but votes for them were considered spoiled due to lawsuits.

Parties which did not field candidates for president and parties without presidential ballot access are not included in this table.

Ballot access in the 2024 United States presidential election
State / electors Nominated parties and independents
Constitution[A]
Terry/Broden 		Democratic[B]
Harris/Walz 		Green[C]
Stein/Ware 		Independent
Kennedy/
Shanahan[z] 		Independent
West/
Abdullah 		Libertarian
Oliver/
ter Maat 		PSL
De la Cruz/
Garcia 		Republican
Trump/Vance
AL 9 Registration not required Yes as Independent Yes Registration not required as Independent Registration not required Yes
AK 3 Yes Yes as Independent Yes As nominee of Aurora Party Yes No Yes
AZ 11 No Yes Yes No No Yes Write-in Yes
AR 6 No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
CA 54 No Yes Yes As Nominee of American Independent Party No Yes as Peace and Freedom Party Yes
CO 10 Yes Yes Yes Yes as Unity Party Yes Write-in Yes
CT 7 No Yes Yes Yes Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
DE 3 No Yes Write-in As Independent Party of Delaware Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
DC 3 No Yes No Yes No Write-in Write-in Yes
FL 30 Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
GA 16 No Yes Yes No No Yes as Independent Yes
HI 4 No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
ID 4 as Independent[D] Yes as Independent Yes No Yes As Independent Yes
IL 19 No Yes Write-in Yes Write-in Write-in Write-in Yes
IN 11 No Yes No as We The People Party Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
IA 6 Registration not required Yes Registration not required as We The People Party Registration not required Yes Yes Yes
KS 6 No Yes Write-in Yes Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
KY 8 No Yes Yes Yes Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
LA 8 Yes Yes Yes as We The People Party as Justice For All Party Yes Yes Yes
ME 4 No Yes Yes No as Justice For All Party Yes Write-in Yes
MD 10 No Yes Yes Yes Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
MA 11 No Yes Yes No Write-in as Libertarian Association of Massachusetts Yes Yes
MI 15 Yes Yes Yes as Natural Law Party Yes Yes No Yes
MN 10 No Yes Yes Yes as Justice For All Party Yes Yes Yes
MS 6 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes as Independent Yes
MO 10 No Yes Yes No No Yes Write-in Yes
MT 4 No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
NE 5 No Yes Yes No as Nebraska Legal Marijuana NOW Party Yes No Yes
NV 6 No[E] Yes No No No Yes No Yes
NH 4 Registration not required Yes Yes Registration not required No Registration not required Yes Registration not required Yes
NJ 14 Yes Yes as Independent Yes Registration not required Yes Yes Yes
NM 5 No Yes Yes Yes No as nominee of unaffiliated Libertarian Party of New Mexico Yes Yes
NY 28 No Yes Write-in No Write-in Write-in Write-in Yes
NC 16 Yes Yes Yes No as Justice For All Party Yes Write-in Yes
ND 3 No Yes No No No as Independent Write-in Yes
OH 17 No Yes as Independent No Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
OK 7 No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
OR 8 as nominee of unaffiliated Oregon Constitution Party Yes Yes as We The People Party As nominee of Oregon Progressive Party Yes Registration not required Yes
PA 19 Registration not required Yes Yes Registration not required No Registration not required Yes Registration not required Yes
RI 4 Registration not required Yes as Independent Yes Registration not required as Independent as Independent Yes
SC 9 Yes Yes Yes No As nominee of United Citizens Party Yes As nominee of SC Workers Party Yes
SD 3 No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes
TN 11 No Yes as Independent Yes Write-in Write-in as Independent Yes
TX 40 No Yes Yes No Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
UT 6 No[F] Yes Yes No Yes Yes as Independent Yes
VT 3 Registration not required Yes Registration not required as We The People Party As Green Mountain Peace and Justice Party Yes Yes Yes
VA 13 No Yes Yes No Yes Yes as Independent Yes
WA 12 No Yes Yes as We The People Party as Justice For All Party Yes Yes Yes
WV 4 No Yes Yes Yes Write-in Yes Write-in Yes
WI 10 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes as Independent Yes
WY 3 Registration not required[G] Yes Registration not required Registration not required No Registration not required Yes Registration not required Yes
Constitution
Terry/Broden
Certified states & DC
(write-in) 		12
(7) 		51 37
(7) 		31
(3) 		15
(20) 		47
(4) 		19
(24) 		51
Certified electors
(write-in) 		133
(48) 		538 420
(68) 		283
(26) 		132
(234) 		477
(61) 		220
(268) 		538
Ref. [46]

Ballot access in ten states or fewer

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Party Presidential
candidate 		Vice presidential
candidate 		States on Ballot (Electors)
Printed Write-in
American Solidarity Party Peter Sonski Lauren Onak 7 (74)[aa] 35 (400)[ab]
Socialist Workers Party Rachele Fruit Dennis Richter 6 (58)[ac] 7 (53)[ad]
Independent Shiva Ayyadurai Crystal Ellis 7 (57)[ae] 28 (318)[af]
Socialist Equality Party Joseph Kishore Jerry White 3 (41)[ag] 13 (117)[ah]
Independent Richard Duncan Mitch Bupp 1 (17)[ai] 9 (70)[aj]
Constitution Party dissidents[H] Joel Skousen Rik Combs 3 (16)[ak] 11 (93)[al]
Independent Jay Bowman De Bowman 1 (11)[am] 15 (144)[an]
Approval Voting Party Blake Huber Andrea Denault 1 (10)[ao] 9 (70)[ap]
Godliness, Truth, Justice Party Mattie Preston Shannel Conner 1 (8)[aq] 9 (70)[ar]
Independent Chris Garrity Cody Ballard 1 (7)[as] 15 (145)[at]
Socialist Party USA Bill Stodden Stephanie Cholensky 1 (6)[au] 10 (77)[av]
Prohibition Party Michael Wood John Pietrowski 1 (6)[aw] 9 (70)[ax]
Independent Lucifer "Justin Case" Everylove None 1 (6)[ay] 9 (70)[az]
Liberal Party USA Laura Ebke Trisha Butler 1 (5)[ba] 9 (70)[bb]
Party Party Robby Wells Tony Jones 1 (4)[bc] 9 (78)[bd]
Pirate Party Vermin Supreme Jonathan Realz 1 (3)[be] 9 (70)[bf]
Ref. [46]

Non-binding advisory straw polls

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Guam

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See also: 2024 United States presidential straw poll in Guam

As a territory, Guam does not receive electoral votes in the presidential election. However, beginning in 1980, the island has held a non-binding advisory primary. Seven candidates qualified for the ballot.[47]

  • Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (Democratic)
  • Donald Trump and JD Vance (Republican)
  • Jill Stein and Butch Ware (Green)
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan (Independent)
  • Peter Sonski and Lauren Onak (American Solidarity)
  • Michael Wood and John Pietrowski (Prohibition)
  • Bill Stodden and Stephanie Cholensky (Socialist Party USA)

Puerto Rico

[edit]
See also: 2024 United States presidential straw poll in Puerto Rico

As a territory, Puerto Rico does not receive electoral votes in the presidential election. For the first time, the island held a non-binding advisory primary. Two candidates qualified for the ballot.[48]

  • Kamala Harris and Tim Walz (Democratic)
  • Donald Trump and JD Vance (Republican)

Controversies

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Georgia

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The Chief State Administrative Law Judge kicked Kennedy, Stein, West and Cruz off the ballot in his rulings on Democratic lawsuits.[49] Three days later, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger restored Stein, West and Cruz to the ballot and ruled Kennedy's ballot access was moot, as he had withdrawn.[50] Democrats were considering an appeal. Kennedy, West and Cruz were challenged for collecting signatures in the name of the presidential candidate, rather than each of the 16 elector candidates. Stein was challenged over whether the Green Party had ballot access in 20 other states.[51] Kennedy was also challenged over his address.[52]

New York

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In 2020 the state of New York tightened its ballot access prerequisites, among other things raising the threshold for parties to automatically qualify onto the ballot and for candidates to independently petition onto it. In a separate issue, Kennedy's petition was denied by a state judge for using a false address. As a result, the state is the only one where all third-party or independent candidates failed to qualify to be on the ballot.[53][54]

Democratic primary

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Florida controversy

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Main article: 2024 United States presidential election in Florida

On November 30, 2023, the Florida Democratic Party only submitted Joe Biden's name to the secretary of state. Candidates can be placed on the ballot either by petition, or having the party submit their name to the secretary of state.[55] As his name was the only one on the ballot, the Democratic primary was cancelled under Florida law. Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips heavily criticized the decision, stating "Americans would expect the absence of democracy in Tehran, not Tallahassee."[56] A lawsuit attempting to place Phillips as well as Marianne Williamson and Cenk Uygur candidates was lost in district court.[57]

Tennessee controversy

[edit]
Main article: 2024 Tennessee Democratic presidential primary

Tennessee secretary of state Tre Hargett only certified Joe Biden's name for the Democratic primary ballot.[58] Dean Phillips's petition to be placed on the ballot was rejected, as he did not collect enough valid signatures.[59] As voters are still able to vote for Uncommitted as well as write-in candidates, the primary still took place.[60] Joe Biden won the Tennessee primary against Uncommitted by 84 percentage points.[61]

Republican primary

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Chris Christie Maine qualification controversy

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This section is transcluded from 2024 Maine Republican presidential primary. (edit | history)

Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie failed to make the Maine primary ballot, as he did not submit the required 2,000 signatures to the Secretary of State by the November 20 deadline. Christie attempted to appeal the decision, but the Maine Superior Court upheld the secretary's ruling.[62]

Democratic primary

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The following is a table of which candidates received ballot access in which states in the Democratic Party primaries.

Yes indicates that the candidate was on the ballot for the primary contest.
Dropped indicates that the candidate was a recognized write-in candidate.
No indicates that the candidate did not appear on the ballot in that state's contest.
Maybe indicates that a candidate withdrew before the election but was still listed on the ballot.

Ballot access in the 2024 Democratic presidential nominating contests
Contest Date Biden Palmer Williamson Phillips Others Uncommitted[bg]
New Hampshire
(state-run)[bh][63][64] 		Jan 23 Write-in Yes Yes Yes Yes[I] No
South Carolina [65] Feb 3 Yes No Yes Yes No No
Nevada[66] Feb 6 Yes Yes Yes No Yes[J] Yes
Michigan[67] Feb 27 Yes No Yes-withdrawn Yes No Yes
Alabama[68] Mar 5 Yes No No Yes No Yes
American Samoa[69] Yes Yes No Yes No No
Arkansas[70][71] Yes No Yes Yes Yes[K] No
California[72][73] Yes No Yes Yes Yes[L] No
Colorado[74] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[M] Yes
Iowa[bi][75] Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Maine[76] Yes No No Yes No No
Massachusetts[77] Yes No Yes Yes No Yes
Minnesota[78] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[N] Yes
North Carolina[79] Yes No No No No Yes
Oklahoma[80] Yes No Yes Yes Yes[O] No
Tennessee[81] Yes No No No No Yes
Texas[82] Yes No Yes Yes Yes[P] No
Utah[83] Yes No Yes Yes Yes[Q] No
Vermont[84] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[R] No
Virginia[85] Yes No Yes Yes No No
Hawaii[86] Mar 6 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes[S] Yes
Democrats Abroad[bk][87] Mar 12 Yes No Yes No No Yes
Georgia[88] Yes No Yes Yes-withdrawn No No
Mississippi[89] Yes No No No No No
Northern Mariana Islands[bk][90] Yes Yes Yes Yes-withdrawn No No
Washington[91] Yes No Yes Yes-withdrawn No Yes
Arizona[92] Mar 19 Yes Yes Yes Yes-withdrawn Yes-withdrawn[T] No
Illinois[93] Yes No Yes Yes-withdrawn Yes-withdrawn[U] No
Kansas[94] Yes Yes Yes Yes-withdrawn No Yes
Ohio[95] Yes No No Yes-withdrawn No No
Louisiana[96] Mar 23 Yes No Yes Yes-withdrawn Yes[V] No
Missouri[97] Yes Yes Yes Yes-withdrawn Yes[W] Yes
North Dakota[98] Mar 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes-withdrawn Yes[X] No
Connecticut[99] Apr 2 Yes No Yes Yes-withdrawn Yes-withdrawn[Y] Yes
New York[100] Yes No Yes Yes-withdrawn No No
Rhode Island[101] Yes No No Yes-withdrawn No Yes
Wisconsin[102][103] Yes No No Yes-withdrawn No Yes
Alaska[104] Apr 13 Yes No No No No No
Wyoming[105] Yes Yes Yes Yes-withdrawn Yes[Z] Yes
Pennsylvania[106] Apr 23 Yes No No Yes-withdrawn No No
New Hampshire
(party-run)[107] 		Apr 27 Yes No No No No No
Puerto Rico[108] Apr 28 Yes No Yes Yes-withdrawn No No
Indiana[109] May 7 Yes No No No No No
Maryland[110] May 14 Yes No Yes Yes-withdrawn No Yes
Nebraska[111] Yes No No Yes-withdrawn No No
West Virginia[112] Yes Yes No Yes-withdrawn Yes[AA] No
Kentucky[113]