Handbook·Elections

Running for office in North Dakota

State page·Verified 2026-07-10

This page covers what's specific to North Dakota on top of the general guide to filing for local office.

Filing in North Dakota

North Dakota splits candidate filing by office level. City, county, and school district candidates file locally, while statewide, legislative, and judicial candidates file with the Secretary of State. City candidates collect signatures equal to 10 percent of the electors who voted for that office in the last city election, capped at 300, and file with the city. County candidates file the same style of package with the County Auditor, needing signatures equal to 2 percent of prior electors for that office, also capped at 300. Legislative candidates filing by petition need signatures equal to 1 percent of their district's population, capped at 300. Party-endorsed candidates use a Certificate of Endorsement instead. Every candidate package requires an accompanying Statement of Interests.

Deadlines and numbers

  • 2026 primary: Tuesday, June 9, 2026. General: Tuesday, November 3, 2026
  • Earliest day to circulate petitions: January 1, 2026. Earliest day to file: January 2, 2026
  • Filing deadline for city, county, legislative, statewide, judicial, and school district candidates: 4:00pm, Monday, April 6, 2026 (the 64th day before the election)
  • General-election-only independent nomination filing deadline: 4:00pm, Monday, August 31, 2026
  • Signatures: city 10% of prior electors (max 300), county 2% of prior electors (max 300), legislative petition route 1% of district population (max 300), statewide petition route 3% of prior votes cast (max 300)
  • Independent statewide/congressional nomination: minimum 1,000 signatures

The dossier didn't locate specific per-office signature counts for township offices in the candidate filing guide, since township elections are lightly regulated and run on their own March election window. Check with your county auditor or /engage for township specifics.

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