The short version
Washington uses a top-two primary: every candidate appears on one August primary ballot regardless of party, and the two highest vote-getters advance to November. You get on the ballot by filing a Declaration of Candidacy during the May filing week — online, by mail, or in person.
- Offices you can run for
- Federal (U.S. House and Senate); statewide executive offices; the Legislature; Court of Appeals and Superior Court; and county and local offices. Federal and state offices file with the Secretary of State; local offices file with the county auditor.
- How to get on the ballot
- File a Declaration of Candidacy and pay a filing fee equal to 1% of the office's annual salary (offices with no fixed salary have no fee). If you can't afford the fee, you may submit a filing-fee petition instead — one signature for each dollar of the fee. Filing is done online or by mail or in person during filing week.
- Who runs candidate filing
- Washington 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 Washington resources below are the final word. When in doubt, the elections authority is right and we're wrong.
Official Washington 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. Washington is fully available — see how to get your voter file.
Talk to us about your Washington 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.