Pre-Candidacy for Future Elections

The West Virginia Legislature added pre-candidacy provisions to campaign finance law in 1982 to allow prospective candidates to "test the waters" to allow them to see if seeking office was the right decision.  Once a determination for pre-candidacy is made, the future state, county or municipal candidate may lawfully begin to accept contributions and make expenditures for the election.  Federal candidates comply with Federal Election Commission rules instead.

Earliest Filing

The law sets the earliest one can begin their period of pre-candidacy in relation to the beginning of the term of the office sought.  Pre-candidacy filing is already "open" for all elections to be held in 2008  and for all elections to terms of four years or more to be held in 2010.  For those considering other future elections, here are examples of earliest dates.

• A candidate for an office having a two-year term may file pre-candidacy up to two years before the beginning of the term.

  House of Delegates	For the 2010 election:  December 1, 2008
  Municipal Office (2-yr)	For the 2009 election:  July 1, 2007

• A candidate for an office having a four, six, eight or twelve-year term may file up to four years before the beginning of the term.  For example:

  Constitutional Office	For the 2008 election:  January 15, 2005
  Supreme Court	For the 2008 election:  January 1, 2005
  Circuit Judge	For the 2008 election:  January 1, 2005
  Family Court Judge	For the 2008 election:  January 1, 2005
  State Senate	For the 2008 election:  December 1, 2005

Where to File

Pre-candidacy statement is a campaign finance filing, and is made with the same filing officer who will handle the committee designations and campaign finance reports. Filings go to the:

• Secretary of State -- for all candidates for statewide office, all legislative offices, multi-county judicial circuits and other multi-county offices.
• County Clerk -- for all candidates for single-county judicial circuits and all county offices.
• Municipal Recorder or Clerk -- for all candidates for municipal office.

Tips for Filing

Office:  As a prospective candidate, you are not required to name the office to be sought.  If a candidate is considering two offices at different filing levels, such as county commission and State Senate, the candidate should file with the Secretary of State.  If the decision is made to file for county office, the other filings will be transferred to the County Clerk.

Committee Treasurer or Financial Agent:  Make decisions early about how campaign finances will be handled.  If you plan to have a campaign committee, you will save a lot of headaches by organizing the committee at the same time you file pre-candidacy.  See Campaign Finance: Getting Started for more information and forms to establish a committee.

Form:  Download and print the pre-candidacy form on your computer, then complete the required information and submit the form to the proper filing officer.  Click the pencil image to select the form based.  Forms on this site require the Acrobat Reader.  See Acrobat Reader Help for information and tips for completing forms.

  Form F1 - Pre-candidacy Registration Form

Filing:  No fees are required for the pre-candidacy filing.  Find the address below, and be certain your filing is received by the filing officer before you accept any contribution to your campaign.

Secretary of State:  Use the address on the form to mail the filing.

County Clerk:  Get the address for your county from our Roster of County Clerks.

Municipal Recorder or Clerk:  Check our municipal rosters, or call your city hall to get the address.