                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PETITION OF QUALIFIED VOTERS REQUIRED; NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED; CERTAIN
TOWNS EXCEPTED (§ 24.2-506)

A. The name of any candidate for any office, other than a party nominee, shall
not be printed upon any official ballots provided for the election unless he
shall file along with his declaration of candidacy a petition therefor, on a
form prescribed by the State Board, signed by the number of qualified voters
specified in this subsection on and after January 1 of the year in which the
general election is held, or on and after the day on which the writ of election
is issued in the case of a special election, and listing the residence address
of each such voter. Each signature on the petition shall have been witnessed by
a person who is not a minor or a felon whose voting rights have not been
restored and whose affidavit to that effect appears on each page of the
petition. Each such person circulating a petition who is not a legal resident of
the Commonwealth shall sign a statement on the affidavit that he consents to the
jurisdiction of the courts of Virginia in resolving any disputes concerning the
circulation of petitions, or signatures contained therein, by that person. The
signatures of qualified voters collected by a nonresident petition circulator
who fails to sign such statement, or who later fails to appear or produce
documents when properly served with a subpoena to do so, shall not be counted
towards the minimum number of signatures required pursuant to this subsection.
			Each voter signing the petition may provide on the petition the last four
digits of his social security number, if any; however, noncompliance with this
requirement shall not be cause to invalidate the voter&#8217;s signature on the
petition.
			The minimum number of signatures of qualified voters required for candidate
petitions shall be as follows:

   1. For a candidate for the United States Senate, Governor, Lieutenant
   Governor, or Attorney General, 10,000 signatures, including the signatures of
   at least 400 qualified voters from each congressional district in the
   Commonwealth;

   2. For a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, 1,000
   signatures;

   3. For a candidate for the Senate of Virginia, 250 signatures;

   4. For a candidate for the House of Delegates or for a constitutional office,
   125 signatures;

   5. For a candidate for membership on the governing body or elected school
   board of any county or city, 125 signatures; or if from an election district
   not at large containing 1,000 or fewer registered voters, 50 signatures;

   6. For a candidate for membership on the governing body or elected school
   board of any town that has more than 3,500 registered voters, 125 signatures;
   or if from a ward or other district not at large, 25 signatures;

   7. For a candidate for membership on the governing body or elected school
   board of any town that has at least 1,500 but not more than 3,500 registered
   voters, 50 signatures; or if from a ward or other district not at large, 25
   signatures;

   8. For a candidate for membership on the governing body or elected school
   board of any town that has fewer than 1,500 registered voters, no petition
   shall be required;

   9. For a candidate for director of a soil and water conservation district
   created pursuant to Article 3 (&#xA7; 10.1-506 et seq.) of Chapter 5 of Title
   10.1, 25 signatures; and

   10. For any other candidate, 50 signatures.

B. The State Board shall approve uniform standards by which petitions filed by a
candidate for office, other than a party nominee, are reviewed to determine if
the petitions contain sufficient signatures of qualified voters as required in
subsection A.
			The State Board of Elections, on or before January 1, 2020, shall revise its
processes and associated regulations for reviewing and processing candidate
petitions. Such revisions shall provide a process for checking petition
signatures that includes a method for determining if a petition signature
belongs to an individual whose prior registration has been canceled and the
reason for such cancellation. The process shall provide for the tracking of such
information associated with each petition. The process shall provide for the
escalation of cases of suspected fraud to the electoral board, the State Board,
or the office of the attorney for the Commonwealth, as appropriate.

C. If a candidate, other than a party nominee, does not qualify to have his name
appear on the ballot by reason of the candidate&#8217;s filed petition not
containing the minimum number of signatures of qualified voters for the office
sought, the candidate may appeal that determination within five calendar days of
the issuance of the notice of disqualification pursuant to &#xA7; 24.2-612 or
notice from the State Board that the candidate did not meet the requirements to
have his name appear on the ballot.
			Appeals made by candidates for a county, city, or town office shall be filed
with the electoral board. Appeals made by candidates for all other offices shall
be filed with the State Board. The appeal shall be heard by the State Board or
the electoral board, as appropriate, within five business days of its filing.
The electoral board shall notify the State Board of any appeal that is filed
with the electoral board.
			The State Board shall develop procedures for the conduct of such an appeal.
The consideration on appeal shall be limited to whether or not the signatures on
the petitions that were filed were reasonably rejected according to the
requirements of this title and the uniform standards approved by the State Board
for the review of petitions. Immediately after the conclusion of the appeal
hearing, the entity conducting the appeal shall notify the candidate and, if
applicable, the State Board, of its decision in writing. The decision on appeal
shall be final and not subject to further appeal.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 24-133; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-168; 1971, Ex. Sess., cc.
119, 247; 1978, c. 778; 1980, c. 639; 1982, c. 650; 1983, c. 188; 1987, c. 118;
1989, c. 141; 1992, c. 855; 1993, cc. 407, 641; 1998, cc. 152, 246; 2000, cc.
232, 252; 2001, c. 53; 2003, c. 477; 2010, c. 215; 2012, cc. 166, 538; 2013, c.
684; 2017, c. 355; 2019, c. 682; 2020, c. 501; 2024, c. 498.