The short version
Colorado gives major-party candidates two paths onto the primary ballot: going through the party assembly (winning enough delegate support) or petitioning on. Unaffiliated and minor-party candidates qualify by petition for the general election.
- Offices you can run for
- Federal (U.S. House and Senate); statewide offices (Governor and other state officials); the State Senate and House; county offices; and judicial seats (retention).
- How to get on the ballot
- To petition on, collect the required signatures and file by the deadline with a notarized Candidate Acceptance of Petition Nomination form attached. Major-party candidates can instead be designated by their party assembly. Unaffiliated candidates must have been registered unaffiliated since the first business day of January in the election year. Signature counts vary by office.
- Who runs candidate filing
- Colorado Secretary of State — Elections Division
This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice. Filing deadlines and fees change every election cycle and vary by office — the official Colorado resources below are the final word. When in doubt, the elections authority is right and we're wrong.
Official Colorado candidate resources
Start here for the exact deadlines, fees, forms, and signature counts for your office and cycle.
Once you're on the ballot, Motion51 runs your field game.
Get your district's voter file loaded, cut into walkable turf, and onto an app your volunteers use at the door. Colorado is fully available — see how to get your voter file.
Talk to us about your Colorado race
Tell us what you're running for and we'll help you go from "qualified" to "knocking doors" — voter file loaded, turf cut, volunteers set up.