How to Run for Office in California

Money:

Expect to spend at minimum $5,500. Also you will be required to fill out a Form 700 declaring your financial conflicts of interest, and either a Form 460 if you want to create a committee and raise more than $2,000 per calendar year or a Form 470. A Form 470 does not require a committee but limits you to only raising and spending $2,000 on top of your filing fees and candidate statement.

Example:

Filing fee: ~$1,300 (1% of the salary)

Candidate statment: ~$2,200

Everything else ~$2,000   

Time:

You do not have to quit your job or be retired. The most time consuming aspect is collecting signatures and that can be done over several weekends.

Step 1:

Decide whether you want to run for Assembly or Senate. Assembly Members serve for 2 year and Senators serve for 4, but represent a larger district. There are 80 Assembly Members and 40 Senators.

Step 2:

Identify your district. https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/ You must be a registered voter in the district you want to serve.

Step 3:

Identify the largest county in that district. Elections are run by the county Registrar of Voters.

Pro tip: The Registrar of Voters often has a candidate guide that describe the processes in detail and important dates. Be nice to the staff they can be incredibly helpful.

Step 4:

Signatures in Lieu

Signatures in lieu of the filing fee allow you to collect signatures to reduce the amount you must spend to appear on the ballot. That is likely not going to happen and the time required is better spent elsewhere. However, the signatures you collect do count toward your nomination total. Use the signatures in lieu time to get a head start collecting voter nomination signatures.

Pro tip: Farmers markets are a great place to meet voters, and collect signatures. They often have a ‘free speech area’ available for no cost to you. Use a banner with your campaign themes to start the conversation.

Step 5:

Media contact

You will required to provide a mailing address for your campaign. This is public information, it should not be your residence. Get a P.O. Box or similar.

Step 6:

Declare your candidacy

This is when you pay your fees and pick up your Voter Nomination signature forms. Hopefully, you’ve already collected the 40 signatures on your Signatures in Lieu forms.  This is also when you will declare your party preference.

Step 7:

Candidate Statement.

This is a 250 word statement about issues you care about and why people should vote for you.

Step 8:

Campaign:

Make a website, talk to the media and get out and meet your voters.

This is meant as a general guide, talk to your local Registrar of Voters, the Secretary of State and the Fair Political Practices Committee for details and specific questions.