BECOME A CANDIDATE
Candidates for office must meet certain qualifications and are required to file specific documents in order to qualify to appear on the ballot. These qualifications and requirements may vary slightly depending on whether the office sought is a Town of Culpeper or a Culpeper County office. Generally, all candidates must meet the following minimum qualifications:
- Be qualified to vote for and hold the office sought; and
- Be a resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia for one year immediately preceding the election.
The following steps will help you through the candidate registration process:
All links below will take you to the corresponding form provided on the Virginia Department of Elections website. Links may be subject to change without our notice. Please contact us if you notice any errors.
- Read the Candidate Bulletins for local office.
- Complete the Certificate of Candidate Qualification form for the office sought. This form may be filed any time after January 1 of the election year and before the filing deadline of the election. It must be filed before a candidate can purchase a Registered Voter’s list from the State Board of Elections. Registered voters lists CANNOT be obtained from the local Registrar.
- Complete necessary campaign finance documents and review corresponding Laws and Policies for Campaign Committees.
- Note: All campaign finance reports for candidates are filed online using the State's COMET System. For COMET-related questions, please watch the COMET Tutorial Videos on YouTube or review the COMET User Manual and COMET Quick User Guide provided by the Virginia Department of Elections.
- To search for campaign finance reports filed by a candidate, please visit the State Board of Elections website.
- Complete the Statement of Economic Interests (link is to a fillable PDF).
- Complete the Declaration of Candidacy and Petition of Qualified Voters to begin circulation. These two forms must be filed together on or before the filing deadline for the election.
- Submit all qualifying forms by the deadline specified in the Candidate Bulletin to the Voter Registration Office.
The prospective candidate is encouraged to file all related documents well before the deadline in the case that there are any omissions or corrections that need to be addressed before the deadline. Specifically, candidates filing petitions should begin bringing those petitions to the Registrar’s Office for signature verification well in advance of the deadline.