ELECTION INFO: SECRETARY OF STATE

Email: elections@sec.state.ma.us
Phone: (617) 727-2828
STATE-ISTICS: STATE INFORMATION

When you register to vote designate you are a member of America's Third Party

General ballot access for non-recognized and independent candidates:

Petition: 10,000 signatures [53-6]
Deadline: last Tuesday in August [53-10]

Recognized party qualifications:

Received 3% of the vote in the previous statewide election
Or have voters equal to or greater than 1% of voters in the state [50-1] These parties are eligible to hold a nominating primary, but also have the option of nominating within the party (Currently, the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, and Green parties qualify)

Primary ballot access:

1. Secretary of State Places nationally recognized candidates on the ballot [53-70E]
2. Petition (for those not selected) 2,500 signatures statewide [53-70E]
Deadline: first Friday in January [53-48]

Last day to withdraw from the ballot:

6 days after the primary

Primary date:

first Tuesday in March [53-28]

Voter registration:

20 days before the election [51-26&28]

Source: The Reform Institute (December 2003). Presidential Ballot Access: State by State Scorecard. Retrieved November 10, 2008, from https://www.policyarchive.org/bitstream/handle/10207/5646/2003scorecard.....

Write-In Information

The candidate must file the following by Friday, September 5, 2008:
1) A Certificate of Write-In Candidacy for President and Vice-President (1 form). This form contains 12 spaces for the names, addresses, and signatures of the 12 electors. So each of the electors must put their name, address and signature on this form.
2) 12 Elector Registration Certificates (1 for each of the candidate’s 12 presidential electors) These forms must be physically taken in by each elector to their local voter registrar's office, and must be signed or stamped by the voter registrar certifying that the elector is a registered voter. These forms can be obtained by contacting the Elections Division at: (617) 727-2828 Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division McCormack Building, Room 1705 One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 The following is from: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ELE/elepres/presidx.htm "Write-in candidates may also run, but only if their names and their slate of elector candidates have been filed by Friday, September 5, 2008 with the Secretary of the Commonwealth." "For elector candidates pledged to write-in or sticker candidates: Write-in or sticker candidates for president and vice-president select their own elector candidates. These twelve names, with the written acceptance of the elector candidates, are filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth at least 60 days before the date of the election. M. G. L. c. 54, § 78A (2004 ed.). Therefore, the final filing deadline with the Secretary of the Commonwealth is no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 5, 2008."

Source: Frank Moore (May 8, 2008). US Presidential Write-In Candidate Requirements For Each State. Retrieved November 10, 2008, from http://www.writein2008.blogspot.com/