{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/24.2-505.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/24.2-505.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/24.2-505.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/24.2-505.html"}],"law_id":56801,"edition_id":1,"section_id":56801,"structure_id":14868,"section_number":"24.2-505","catch_line":"Declaration of candidacy required of independent candidates","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 24-130, 24-131, 24-134.1, 24-135; 1958, c. 605; 1960, c. 427; 1962, c. 536; 1964, cc. 540, 541; 1970, c. 462, \u00a7 24.1-166; 1971, Ex. Sess., cc. 119, 247; 1972, c. 620; 1973, c. 30; 1974, c. 428; 1975, c. 515; 1976, c. 616; 1978, c. 778; 1981, c. 425; 1983, c. 461; 1984, c. 480; 1991, c. 137; 1993, c. 641; 1996, c. 270.","full_text":"A\n\nAny person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or a party nominee, who intends to be a candidate for any office to be elected by the qualified voters of the Commonwealth at large or of a congressional district shall file a declaration of candidacy with the State Board, on a form prescribed by the Board, designating the office for which he is a candidate. The written declaration shall be attested by two witnesses who are qualified voters of the Commonwealth or of the congressional district, or acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgements to deeds. The declaration shall be signed by the candidate, but if he is incapable of writing his proper signature then some mark adopted by him as his signature shall be acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds.\n\t\t\tThe State Board shall notify the respective secretaries of the appropriate electoral boards of the qualified candidates who have so filed.B\n\nAny person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or party nominee, who intends to be a candidate for election to the General Assembly shall file a declaration of candidacy with the general registrar of the county or city where he resides. The declaration shall be in all respects the same as that required to be given to the State Board by statewide and congressional district candidates. The general registrar shall, within three days after receiving the declaration, (i) deliver it in person or transmit it by certified mail, along with the petitions required by § 24.2-506 or copies thereof, to the general registrars of the other counties or cities, if any, in the legislative district for delivery to the secretaries of the electoral boards and (ii) deliver the declaration and such petitions to the secretary of his electoral board. He shall transmit the names of the candidates who have filed with him to the State Board immediately after the filing deadline.C\n\nAny person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or party nominee, who intends to be a candidate at any election for any other office shall file a declaration of candidacy with the general registrar of the county or city where he resides. The declaration shall be in all respects the same as that required to be given to the State Board by statewide and congressional district candidates. The general registrar shall, within three days after receiving the declaration, deliver it in person or transmit it by certified mail, along with the petitions required by § 24.2-506 or copies thereof, to the secretaries of the electoral boards of the counties or cities whose electors vote for the office. He shall transmit the names of the candidates who have filed with him to the State Board immediately after the filing deadline.D\n\nIf requested in writing by a candidate filing pursuant to subsection B or C, the secretary of the electoral board shall notify him of any irregularity in the declaration or petitions which can be corrected prior to the filing deadline.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":208035,"text":"Any person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or a party nominee, who intends to be a candidate for any office to be elected by the qualified voters of the Commonwealth at large or of a congressional district shall file a declaration of candidacy with the State Board, on a form prescribed by the Board, designating the office for which he is a candidate. The written declaration shall be attested by two witnesses who are qualified voters of the Commonwealth or of the congressional district, or acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgements to deeds. The declaration shall be signed by the candidate, but if he is incapable of writing his proper signature then some mark adopted by him as his signature shall be acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds.\n\t\t\tThe State Board shall notify the respective secretaries of the appropriate electoral boards of the qualified candidates who have so filed.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":208036,"text":"Any person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or party nominee, who intends to be a candidate for election to the General Assembly shall file a declaration of candidacy with the general registrar of the county or city where he resides. The declaration shall be in all respects the same as that required to be given to the State Board by statewide and congressional district candidates. The general registrar shall, within three days after receiving the declaration, (i) deliver it in person or transmit it by certified mail, along with the petitions required by § 24.2-506 or copies thereof, to the general registrars of the other counties or cities, if any, in the legislative district for delivery to the secretaries of the electoral boards and (ii) deliver the declaration and such petitions to the secretary of his electoral board. He shall transmit the names of the candidates who have filed with him to the State Board immediately after the filing deadline.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":208037,"text":"Any person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or party nominee, who intends to be a candidate at any election for any other office shall file a declaration of candidacy with the general registrar of the county or city where he resides. The declaration shall be in all respects the same as that required to be given to the State Board by statewide and congressional district candidates. The general registrar shall, within three days after receiving the declaration, deliver it in person or transmit it by certified mail, along with the petitions required by § 24.2-506 or copies thereof, to the secretaries of the electoral boards of the counties or cities whose electors vote for the office. He shall transmit the names of the candidates who have filed with him to the State Board immediately after the filing deadline.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":208038,"text":"If requested in writing by a candidate filing pursuant to subsection B or C, the secretary of the electoral board shall notify him of any irregularity in the declaration or petitions which can be corrected prior to the filing deadline.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C"}},"ancestry":[{"id":14868,"edition_id":1,"name":"Independent Candidates","identifier":"2","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13313,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:50:29","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:50:29","permalink":{"id":188215,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14868,"identifier":"2","token":"24.2\/5\/2","url":"\/24.2\/5\/2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13313,"edition_id":1,"name":"Candidates for Office","identifier":"5","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12937,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:37","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:37","permalink":{"id":188187,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13313,"identifier":"5","token":"24.2\/5","url":"\/24.2\/5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12937,"edition_id":1,"name":"Elections","identifier":"24.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:03","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:03","permalink":{"id":187149,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12937,"identifier":"24.2","token":"24.2","url":"\/24.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":56801,"structure_id":14868,"section_number":"24.2-505","catch_line":"Declaration of candidacy required of independent candidates","url":"\/24.2-505\/","token":"24.2\/5\/2\/24.2-505","metadata":false},{"id":77384,"structure_id":14868,"section_number":"24.2-506","catch_line":"Petition of qualified voters required; number of signatures required; certain towns excepted","url":"\/24.2-506\/","token":"24.2\/5\/2\/24.2-506","metadata":false},{"id":79004,"structure_id":14868,"section_number":"24.2-507","catch_line":"Deadlines for filing declarations and petitions of candidacy","url":"\/24.2-507\/","token":"24.2\/5\/2\/24.2-507","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":77384,"structure_id":14868,"section_number":"24.2-506","catch_line":"Petition of qualified voters required; number of signatures required; certain towns excepted","url":"\/24.2-506\/","token":"24.2\/5\/2\/24.2-506","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/24.2-505\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 17 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1958, chapter 605; in 1960, chapter 427; in 1962, chapter 536; in 1964, chapters 540 and 541; in 1970, chapter 462; in 1972, chapter 620; in 1973, chapter 30; in 1974, chapter 428; in 1975, chapter 515; in 1976, chapter 616; in 1978, chapter 778; in 1981, chapter 425; in 1983, chapter 461; in 1984, chapter 480; in 1991, chapter 137; in 1993, chapter 641; in 1996, chapter 270<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":58935,"section_number":"10.1-523","catch_line":"Nominating petitions; posting of notice","order_by":null,"url":"\/10.1-523\/"},{"id":54362,"section_number":"24.2-313","catch_line":"Rescheduling of certain local elections following the decennial redistricting of districts for the governing body","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-313\/"},{"id":74008,"section_number":"24.2-540","catch_line":"Other parties may also nominate; independent candidates","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-540\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":77384,"section_number":"24.2-506","catch_line":"Petition of qualified voters required; number of signatures required; certain towns excepted","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-506\/"}],"permalink":{"id":188217,"object_type":"law","relational_id":56801,"identifier":"24.2-505","token":"24.2\/5\/2\/24.2-505","url":"\/24.2-505\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/24.2-505\/","token":"24.2\/5\/2\/24.2-505","dublin_core":{"Title":"Declaration of candidacy required of independent candidates","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 24.2-505","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> Any person, other than a candidate<\/span> for a party<\/span> nomination or a party<\/span> nominee, who intends to be a candidate<\/span> for any office to be elected by the qualified voters<\/span> of the Commonwealth at large or of a congressional district shall file a declaration of candidacy with the State Board<\/span>, on a form prescribed by the Board, designating the office for which he is a candidate<\/span>. The written declaration shall be attested by two witnesses who are qualified voters<\/span> of the Commonwealth or of the congressional district, or acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgements to deeds. The declaration shall be signed by the candidate<\/span>, but if he is incapable of writing his proper signature then some mark adopted by him as his signature shall be acknowledged before some officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds.\n\t\t\tThe State Board<\/span> shall notify the respective secretaries of the appropriate electoral boards<\/span> of the qualified candidates<\/span> who have so filed. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Any person, other than a candidate<\/span> for a party<\/span> nomination or party<\/span> nominee, who intends to be a candidate<\/span> for election<\/span> to the General Assembly shall file a declaration of candidacy with the general registrar<\/span> of the county or city where he resides. The declaration shall be in all respects the same as that required to be given to the State Board<\/span> by statewide and congressional district candidates<\/span>. The general registrar<\/span> shall, within three days after receiving the declaration, (i) deliver it in person or transmit it by certified mail, along with the petitions<\/span> required by § 24.2-506<\/a> or copies thereof, to the general registrars<\/span> of the other counties or cities, if any, in the legislative district for delivery to the secretaries of the electoral boards<\/span> and (ii) deliver the declaration and such petitions<\/span> to the secretary of his electoral board<\/span>. He shall transmit the names of the candidates<\/span> who have filed with him to the State Board<\/span> immediately after the filing deadline. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> Any person, other than a candidate<\/span> for a party<\/span> nomination or party<\/span> nominee, who intends to be a candidate<\/span> at any election<\/span> for any other office shall file a declaration of candidacy with the general registrar<\/span> of the county or city where he resides. The declaration shall be in all respects the same as that required to be given to the State Board<\/span> by statewide and congressional district candidates<\/span>. The general registrar<\/span> shall, within three days after receiving the declaration, deliver it in person or transmit it by certified mail, along with the petitions<\/span> required by § 24.2-506<\/a> or copies thereof, to the secretaries of the electoral boards<\/span> of the counties or cities whose electors vote for the office. He shall transmit the names of the candidates<\/span> who have filed with him to the State Board<\/span> immediately after the filing deadline. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> If requested in writing by a candidate<\/span> filing pursuant to subsection B or C, the secretary of the electoral board<\/span> shall notify him of any irregularity in the declaration or petitions<\/span> which can be corrected prior to the filing deadline. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDECLARATION OF CANDIDACY REQUIRED OF INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES (\u00a7 24.2-505)\n\nA. Any person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or a party nominee,\nwho intends to be a candidate for any office to be elected by the qualified\nvoters of the Commonwealth at large or of a congressional district shall file a\ndeclaration of candidacy with the State Board, on a form prescribed by the\nBoard, designating the office for which he is a candidate. The written\ndeclaration shall be attested by two witnesses who are qualified voters of the\nCommonwealth or of the congressional district, or acknowledged before some\nofficer authorized to take acknowledgements to deeds. The declaration shall be\nsigned by the candidate, but if he is incapable of writing his proper signature\nthen some mark adopted by him as his signature shall be acknowledged before some\nofficer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds.\n\t\t\tThe State Board shall notify the respective secretaries of the appropriate\nelectoral boards of the qualified candidates who have so filed.\n\nB. Any person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or party nominee,\nwho intends to be a candidate for election to the General Assembly shall file a\ndeclaration of candidacy with the general registrar of the county or city where\nhe resides. The declaration shall be in all respects the same as that required\nto be given to the State Board by statewide and congressional district\ncandidates. The general registrar shall, within three days after receiving the\ndeclaration, (i) deliver it in person or transmit it by certified mail, along\nwith the petitions required by § 24.2-506 or copies thereof, to the general\nregistrars of the other counties or cities, if any, in the legislative district\nfor delivery to the secretaries of the electoral boards and (ii) deliver the\ndeclaration and such petitions to the secretary of his electoral board. He shall\ntransmit the names of the candidates who have filed with him to the State Board\nimmediately after the filing deadline.\n\nC. Any person, other than a candidate for a party nomination or party nominee,\nwho intends to be a candidate at any election for any other office shall file a\ndeclaration of candidacy with the general registrar of the county or city where\nhe resides. The declaration shall be in all respects the same as that required\nto be given to the State Board by statewide and congressional district\ncandidates. The general registrar shall, within three days after receiving the\ndeclaration, deliver it in person or transmit it by certified mail, along with\nthe petitions required by § 24.2-506 or copies thereof, to the secretaries\nof the electoral boards of the counties or cities whose electors vote for the\noffice. He shall transmit the names of the candidates who have filed with him to\nthe State Board immediately after the filing deadline.\n\nD. If requested in writing by a candidate filing pursuant to subsection B or C,\nthe secretary of the electoral board shall notify him of any irregularity in the\ndeclaration or petitions which can be corrected prior to the filing deadline.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7\u00a7 24-130, 24-131, 24-134.1, 24-135; 1958, c. 605; 1960,\nc. 427; 1962, c. 536; 1964, cc. 540, 541; 1970, c. 462, \u00a7 24.1-166; 1971, Ex.\nSess., cc. 119, 247; 1972, c. 620; 1973, c. 30; 1974, c. 428; 1975, c. 515;\n1976, c. 616; 1978, c. 778; 1981, c. 425; 1983, c. 461; 1984, c. 480; 1991, c.\n137; 1993, c. 641; 1996, c. 270.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}