2023 Municipal Primary Nominating Petition Info

May 16, 2023 Municipal Primary

Tuesday, February 14: First day on which Nomination Petitions may be circulated and signatures obtained.

Tuesday, March 7: Last day on which Nomination Petitions may be circulated and signatures obtained. Nomination Petitions and all other required documents and fees must be filed with the Elections Office before 4:30pm in order for a candidate’s name to appear on the primary ballot. This is a deadline set by state law; it is not negotiable and there are no exceptions. Candidates are strongly advised to file their petitions early. Candidates who wait to file their petitions at the end of the circulation period may experience long lines at Voter Services, and if there is a problem with the petitions there is no time to correct the error.

Wednesday, March 15: Where multiple candidates have filed petitions to run for the same office on the same party ballot, a casting of lost will be held to determine ballot position. The Casting of Lots will occur at 10:00am on March 15, 2023 at the Courthouse Annex, first floor, room 100, 1174 Elk St, Franklin.

Notice to Candidates and Circulators

The filing instructions and documents provided by the Elections Office are intended as introductory information and do not constitute legal advice. Elections Office personnel cannot provide legal, tax, or accounting advice. Additionally, all information provided about running for local offices is subject to change at any time by new state or federal laws or court rulings. Candidates and circulators who download, print, reproduce, circulate, and/or file the instructions and documents provided herein assume responsibility for the correctness and completeness of filed documents; the Election Office is not responsible for errors and omissions in filed documents. Candidates and circulators are strongly advised to solicit advice from a licensed professional in the appropriate field in advance of statutory deadlines and before filing documents.

The filing instructions and documents provided by the Elections Office are only usable by candidates who are running for local offices in Venango County. If you are running for office in a different county, you must contact that county's Board of Elections to obtain filing instructions and documents.

Candidates running for local offices in Venango County are strongly advised against obtaining filing instructions or documents from outside sources. The Elections Office cannot guarantee that documents obtained from outside sources are current or accurate.

Nominating Petition Instructions

Nomination Petition (Instructions)

Campaign Finance Waiver

Campaign Finance Waiver

All candidates who do not intend to form a political committee or receive contributions or make expenditures in excess of $250.00 during their campaigns are strongly advised to complete the Waiver of Expense Account Reporting Affidavit, commonly referred to as a Campaign Finance Waiver. Candidates who complete the Waiver are exempt from filing regular campaign finance reports during the election cycle.

Campaign Finance Report

Campaign Finance Report

All candidates, political committees and contributing lobbyists who are required to disclose contributions and expenditures. Candidates must file separate reports when they make expenditures or receive contributions on their own behalf and separate from their campaign committee. Candidates and their authorized political committee file reports in the office where their nomination documents are filed. If the candidate's reports are filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, a copy of the reports filed by the candidate and the authorized committee must be file with the County Board of Elections in the County in which the candidate resides.

2023 Campaign Finance Reporting Dates

Campaign Finance Reporting Dates

Statement of Financial Interests

Statement of Financial Interest Form

All candidates except those filing for poll worker offices (Judge and Inspector of Elections) must complete a Statement of Financial Interests. For most offices, the candidate must file the original Statement with the municipality or school district and attach a copy to the Nomination Petition.