The short version
New Hampshire holds a September state primary. You get on the ballot by filing a Declaration of Candidacy and either paying a small administrative filing fee or submitting primary petitions. The fees are notably low.
- Offices you can run for
- Federal (U.S. House and Senate); statewide (Governor and Executive Council); the State Senate and the 400-member House of Representatives; county offices; and local offices.
- How to get on the ballot
- File a Declaration of Candidacy and a Statement of Financial Interests, then either pay the filing fee or file the required primary petitions with an Assent to Candidacy. The amounts are small and scale with the office — for example Governor or U.S. Senator is $100 or 200 petitions, and a state representative is $2 or 5 petitions.
- Who runs candidate filing
- New Hampshire Secretary of State — Elections Division603-271-3242
This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice. Filing deadlines and fees change every election cycle and vary by office — the official New Hampshire resources below are the final word. When in doubt, the elections authority is right and we're wrong.
Official New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire is fully available — see how to get your voter file.
Talk to us about your New Hampshire 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.