Editing Ballot access (section)

{{Short description|Aspect of United States election law}}

{{About|access to elections and right to candidacy in the United States|right to stand for election elsewhere|Nomination rules}}
'''Ballot access'''  are rules and procedures regulating the '''right to candidacy''', the conditions under which a [[candidate]], [[political party]], or [[ballot measure]] is entitled to appear on voters' [[ballot]]s in [[elections in the United States]].<ref>{{cite web| title=Ballot access| url=https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access| website=www.ballotpedia.org| access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>  

The jurisprudence of the right to candidacy and right to create a political party are less clear than [[voting rights in the United States]].<ref>[https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/ukalr25&div=25&id=&page= Gordon, Nicole A. "The Constitutional Right to Candidacy." U. Kan. L. Rev. 25 (1976): 545.]</ref> However, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] has established in multiple cases that the [[Constitution of the United States|federal constitution]] does not recognize a [[Fundamental rights#United States|fundamental right]] to candidacy,<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Amado|editor-first=Alexandra|year=2022|title=Election Law Manual|publisher=[[National Center for State Courts]]/[[College of William & Mary]]|edition=2nd|page=19|url=https://www.electionlawprogram.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/83833/ELM_Fall_22.pdf|access-date=January 8, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Baude|first1=William|last2=Paulsen|first2=Michael Stokes|date=August 14, 2023|title=The Sweep and Force of Section Three|ssrn-access=free|journal=[[University of Pennsylvania Law Review]]|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Law School]]|pages=56–57|url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=4532751|ssrn=4532751|access-date=December 29, 2023}}</ref> and that [[State governments of the United States|state governments]] have a [[Rational basis review|legitimate government interest]] in blocking "frivolous or fraudulent candidacies".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Raskin|first1=Jamin|last2=Bonifaz|first2=John|year=1994|title=The Constitutional Imperative and Practical Superiority of Democratically Financed Elections|journal=[[Columbia Law Review]]|publisher=Columbia Law Review Association|volume=94|issue=4|page=1169|doi=10.2307/1123281|jstor=1123281}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|last1=Gamboa|first1=Anthony H.|title=Elections: The Scope of Congressional Authority in Election Administration|date=March 13, 2001|publisher=[[Government Accountability Office|General Accounting Office]]|page=3|url=https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-01-470.pdf|access-date=June 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|last1=Elsea|first1=Jennifer K.|last2=Jones|first2=Juria L.|last3=Whitaker|first3=L. Paige|date=January 10, 2024|title=Disqualification of a Candidate for the Presidency, Part II: Examining Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment as It Applies to Ballot Access|publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]]|page=3|url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/LSB/LSB11096|access-date=January 14, 2024}}</ref> As election processes are decentralized by [[Article One of the United States Constitution|Article I]], Section 4, of the [[United States Constitution]], '''ballot access''' laws are established and enforced by the [[U.S. state|states]].<ref name="BaracskayMTU">{{cite encyclopedia| url=https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/980/ballot-access| title=Ballot Access| last=Baracskay| first=Daniel| encyclopedia=The First Amendment Encyclopedia| publisher=Middle Tennessee State University| location=Murfreesboro, Tennessee| access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref> As a result, ballot access processes may vary from one state to another.  

State access requirements for candidates generally pertain to personal qualities of a candidate, such as: [[age of candidacy|minimum age]], [[Primary residence|residency]], and [[citizenship]]. Additionally, many states require prospective candidates to collect a specified number of qualified voters' signatures on petitions of support and mandate the payment of filing fees before granting access; ballot measures are similarly regulated (as is the wording and format of petitions as well). Each state also regulates how political parties qualify for automatic ballot access, and how those [[Third party (politics)|minor parties]] that do not can. Fundamental to [[democracy]], topics related to ballot access are the subject of considerable debate in the United States. 

In order to get on the [[ballot]], a [[candidate]], [[political party]], or [[ballot measure]] must meet various requirements.  The [[Elections Clause]] in [[Article One of the United States Constitution|Article I]] of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] states that "the Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the Legislature thereof."<!-- PLEASE DO NOT change capitalization, This is a direct quote. Thank you. --> Consequently, each state may design its own unique criteria for ballot access.<ref name=BaracskayMTU/> The United States is one of the few nations that do not have uniform national laws on ballot access.<ref>{{cite web| last=Avlon| first=John P.| date=December 30, 2011| title=How ballot access laws hurt voters| url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/12/29/opinion/avlon-ballot-access/index.html| work=CNN| access-date=February 16, 2019}}</ref>