Other Important Candidate Information

• There is no earliest date to gather candidate petition signatures or to submit signed candidate petitions to county election administrators. However, the candidate declaration form cannot be filed with the appropriate filing officer before February 17, 2026.
• Independent Candidates:
  • Under 13-10-507, MCA, a person seeking office as an independent candidate may not be associated with a political party for 1 year prior to the submission of the person’s nomination petition.
    • For the purposes of the law, “associated with a political party” means having run for office in Montana as a partisan candidate or having held a public office in Montana or a precinct committee representative office in Montana with a political party designation.
  • Individuals cannot file as independent or party candidates for nonpartisan offices.
• Qualified independent and minor party candidates appear on the general election ballot only.
• Under 13-10-602, MCA, a political party and its regularly nominated candidates, members, and officers have the sole and exclusive right to the use of the party name. A candidate for office may not use any word of the name of any other political party or organization other than that by which the candidate is nominated in a manner that indicates or implies the individual is a candidate of the non-nominating party. An independent or nonpartisan candidate may not use any word of the name of any existing political party or organization in the candidacy in a manner that indicates or implies that the individual is a candidate of that party or organization.
• An individual who files as an indigent candidate is not required to pay a filing fee and must submit the same total number of signatures as an independent or minor party candidate. A candidate who files as an indigent-independent candidate or as an indigent‐minor party candidate is only required to file one set of petition signatures.
  • An individual who files as an indigent major party candidate must submit signatures to county election officials by February 25, 2026, one week before the March 4^th deadline to file the major party declaration for nomination.
  • An individual who files as an indigent independent or minor party candidate for the general election must submit signatures to county election officials by May 26, 2026, one week before the June 1^st deadline to file the independent/minor party declaration for nomination.
  • An individual who files as an indigent write-in candidate:
    • For the primary election, candidates must submit signatures to county election officials one week before the applicable deadline to file the write-in declaration for nomination.
    • For the general election, candidates must submit signatures to county election officials one week before the applicable deadline to file the write-in declaration for nomination.