Article 6. Nomination Papers. Place Of Filing. Fees of California Elections Code >> Division 8. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 6.

All nomination documents shall be filed as follows:
  (a) For state offices, United States Senators, Representatives in Congress, Members of the State Senate and Assembly, and members of the Board of Equalization, in the office of the Secretary of State.
  (b) For all officers to be voted for wholly within one county, except as provided in subdivision (a), in the office of the elections official of that county.

All forms required for nomination and election to all congressional, state, county, and political party county central committee offices shall be furnished only by the county elections official. At the time of issuance of those forms the county elections official shall type in the forms the name of the candidate and the office for which he or she is a candidate, shall imprint a stamp which reads "Official Filing Form," and shall affix his or her signature. The forms shall be distributed without charge to all candidates applying for them.

No defect in any nomination document presented shall prevent the filing of another nomination document within the period allowed for presenting the nomination document.

(a) The following fees for filing declarations of candidacy shall be paid to the Secretary of State by each candidate:
  (1) Two percent of the first-year salary for the office of United States Senator or for any state office. The fee prescribed in this subdivision does not apply to the office of state Senator, Member of the Assembly, member of the State Board of Equalization, or justice of the court of appeal.
  (2) One percent of the first-year salary for the office of Representative in Congress, member of the State Board of Equalization, or justice of the court of appeal.
  (3) One percent of the first-year salary for the office of state Senator or Member of the Assembly.
  (b) For purposes of this section, "salary" means the annual salary for the office as of the first day on which a candidate may circulate petitions in lieu of filing fees pursuant to Section 8106.

The filing fee to be paid to the county elections official for filing a declaration of candidacy for an office to be voted for wholly within one county other than a legislative or congressional office shall be as follows:
  (a) No filing fee is required from any candidate for an office for which no fixed compensation is payable, or for which the annual salary is two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or less.
  (b) A filing fee of 1 percent of the annual salary of the office shall be paid to the county elections official by each candidate for a judicial office or for a county office. This subdivision shall not apply to any candidate for any office for which the annual salary is two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) or less. The filing fee shall be calculated on the basis of the annual salary for the office on the first day to circulate petitions to gather signatures in lieu of filing fees.

(a) The filing fees for all candidates shall be paid at the time the candidates obtain their nomination forms from the county elections official. The county elections official shall not accept any papers unless the fees are paid at the time required by this section, or unless satisfactory evidence is given to the county elections official or to the registrar of voters that the fee has been paid at the time of the declaration of candidacy in another county. The county elections official shall transmit the appropriate fees to the Secretary of State at the time he or she delivers the declarations of candidacy for filing. All filing fees received by the Secretary of State and county elections officials are nonrefundable.
  (b) The filing fees for candidates required to file declarations of intention pursuant to Section 8023 shall be paid at the time the declarations are filed with the county elections official.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a candidate may submit a petition containing signatures of registered voters in lieu of a filing fee as follows:
  (1) For the office of California State Assembly, 1,500 signatures.
  (2) For the office of California State Senate and the United States House of Representatives, 3,000 signatures.
  (3) For candidates running for statewide office, 10,000 signatures.
  (4) For all other offices for which a filing fee is required, if the number of registered voters in the district in which he or she seeks nomination is 2,000 or more, a candidate may submit a petition containing four signatures of registered voters for each dollar of the filing fee, or 10 percent of the total of registered voters in the district in which he or she seeks nomination, whichever is less.
  (5) For all other offices for which a filing fee is required, if the number of registered voters in the district in which he or she seeks nomination is less than 2,000, a candidate may submit a petition containing four signatures of registered voters for each dollar of the filing fee, or 20 percent of the total of registered voters in the district in which he or she seeks nomination, whichever is less.
  (6) A voter may sign both a candidate's nomination papers and his or her in-lieu-filing-fee petition. However, if signatures appearing on the documents are counted towards both the nomination paper and the in-lieu-filing-fee petition signature requirements, a person may only sign one of the documents.
  (b) The Secretary of State or an elections official shall furnish to each candidate, upon request, and without charge therefor, forms for securing signatures. The number of forms which the elections official shall furnish a candidate shall be a quantity that provides the candidates with spaces for signatures sufficient in number to equal the number of signatures that the candidate is required to secure pursuant to subdivision (a) if the candidate desires that number of forms. However, the elections official, rather than provide the candidate with the number of forms set forth in the preceding sentence, or upon the request of a candidate, may provide the candidate with a master form that may be duplicated by the candidate at the candidate's expense for the purpose of circulating additional petitions. The Secretary of State shall provide the master form. The elections official may provide candidates a form other than the master form provided by the Secretary of State. However, that form shall meet all statutory requirements, and the elections official shall also make available and accept the master form provided by the Secretary of State. All forms shall be made available commencing 45 days before the first day for circulating nomination papers. However, in cases of vacancies for which a special election is authorized or required to be held to fill the vacancy, and where the prescribed nomination period would commence less than 45 days after the creation of the vacancy, the forms shall be made available within five working days after the creation of the vacancy. No other form except the form furnished by the Secretary of State or the elections official or forms duplicated from a master form shall be used to secure signatures. Each petition section shall bear an affidavit signed by the circulator, in substantially the same form as set forth in Section 8041. The substitution of signatures for fees shall be subject to the following provisions:
  (1) Any registered voter may sign an in-lieu-filing-fee petition for any candidate for whom he or she is eligible to vote.
  (2) If a voter signs more candidates' petitions than there are offices to be filled, the voter's signatures shall be valid only on those petitions which, taken in the order they were filed, do not exceed the number of offices to be filled.
  (3) In-lieu-filing-fee petitions shall be filed at least 15 days prior to the close of the nomination period. Upon receipt of the minimum number of in-lieu-filing-fee signatures required, or a sufficient combination of signatures and pro rata filing fee, the elections official shall issue nomination papers provisionally. Within 10 days after receipt of a petition, the elections official shall notify the candidate of any deficiency. The candidate shall then, prior to the close of the nomination period, either submit a supplemental petition, or pay a pro rata portion of the filing fee to cover the deficiency.
  (4) If the petition is circulated for an office in more than one county, the candidate shall submit the signatures to the elections official in the county in which the petition was circulated. The elections official shall, at least two days after verifying the signatures on the petition, notify the Secretary of State of the total number of valid signatures. If the number of signatures is insufficient, the Secretary of State shall notify the candidate and the elections officials of the fact. The candidate may submit the necessary number of valid signatures at any time prior to the close of the period for circulating nomination papers. Each circulator shall meet the requirements of Section 102.
  (5) Each candidate may submit a greater number of signatures to allow for subsequent losses due to invalidity of some signatures. The elections official shall not be required to determine the validity of a greater number of signatures than that required by this section.
  (c) For the purposes of this section, the requisite number of signatures shall be computed from the latest registration figures forwarded to the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187 prior to the first day on which petitions are available.
  (d) All valid signatures obtained pursuant to this section shall be counted toward the number of voters required to sign a nomination paper in accordance with Section 8061 or 8405.

(a) If the number of days for a candidate to collect signatures on a petition in lieu of a filing fee for a special election that is held to fill a vacancy is less than the number of days that a candidate would have to collect signatures on a petition for a regular election for the same office, the elections official shall reduce the required number of signatures for the petition, as specified in subdivision (a) of Section 8106, by the same proportion as the reduction in time for the candidate to collect signatures. In determining the proportion of time by which the period for a candidate to collect signatures has been reduced, the elections official shall exclude any days allotted for filing a supplemental petition pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 8106.
  (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the number of signatures required on an in-lieu-filing-fee petition for a special election held to fill a vacancy in the office of Representative in Congress, state Senator, or Member of the Assembly shall be not less than 100.

The county elections official shall pay to the county treasurer all fees received from candidates pursuant to Section 8105. Within 10 days after the direct primary, the Secretary of State shall pay to the State Treasurer all fees received from candidates pursuant to Section 8103, which shall be deposited in the General Fund. It is the intention of the Legislature that the funds deposited in the General Fund pursuant to this section will be used by the Secretary of State in the performance of his or her duties pursuant to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 19000) of Division 19, to the extent that appropriations are made in the Budget Act from year to year.