Run Green for State and Federal Office in March 2024 primary election

Greens are known for thinking globally and acting locally. This is an invitation to think globally and run locally for public office. Running for public office is a great way to promote needed green issues and policies!

In Los Angeles County there are multiple district races for State Assembly, State Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, in which Green candidates can run in the March 5, 2024 California state primary election.

Qualifying for the ballot requires gaining a certain number of nomination signatures in-lieu of the filing fee from registered voters in your district, paying a filing fee, or a combination of both:

State Assembly - $1,197.02 or 679 nomination signatures-in-lieu (or a combination of both) 

State Senate - $1,197.02 or 1,358 nomination signatures-in-lieu (or a combination of both) 

U.S. House of Representatives - $1,740 or 1,358 nomination signatures-in-lieu (or a combination of both) 

To obtain your official nomination petitions, you must go to the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters office in Norwalk. If you obtain enough nomination signatures-in-lieu of the filing fee, you pay no filing fee.  If you don't, you pay a pro-rated amount of the filing fee depending upon how many nomination signatures you submit. 

The period in which to gather nomination signatures-in-lieu of paying a filing fee is Thursday, September 14 through Wednesday, November 8. Signatures submitted on the in lieu petitions may also be applied to the signature requirements for offices on the nominating petition. Candidates will be notified of any deficiency within 10 calendar days of filing the petition. Candidates may then prior to the close of the nomination period pay the pro rata portion of the filing fee to make up the deficiency.

Next comes filing your declarations of candidacy and nomination papers between Monday, November 13 and Friday, December 8 at the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters office in Norwalk. All candidates must pay the nonrefundable pro rata portion of the filing fees. A candidate shall not be required to execute a nomination paper if the number of in-lieu signatures that meets the nomination requirement on the in-lieu petitions equals or exceeds the minimum number required.

What are the district lines in which you can run? The state of California has just completed its decennial redistricting process to draw new state and federal legislative district lines. You can download the new district maps here. You can also find the district you are in, by putting in your address here.

After qualifying for the ballot, candidates may also pay for and submit a Candidate Statement to appear in the official Voter Information Guide. This is a critical and cost-effective way to reach voters. The period to submit your candidate statement is Monday, November 13 and Friday, December 8, 2023. For more information about the candidate statements, contact the State of California Elections Division at (916) 657-2166 or by email at Candidate-Statements@sos.ca.gov.

What should you do to prepare to run? 

Step #1: Assess your skills and experience

What office best suits you, your skills, experience, interests and resources? What issues are most important to you and your community? What do the Green Party of California platform and Green Party of the United States platform have to say about the issues you would be running on? How have other Greens running for the same type of office fared?  Search the Elections Database of the Green Party of the United States to find out.

Step #2: Talk to your friends, colleagues and local Green Party leaders

To run a successful campaign, it helps to have a record of prior involvement in your community, as well as support from friends and family, and from Greens and others active in politics. Seek advice from others in your area who have run for office.

Step #3: Review the record of the incumbent and consider how would your positions be similar or different?

Here is a list of current incumbents for State Assembly • State Senate • U.S. House of Representatives. 

Step #4: Make sure you meet the deadlines and qualifications for filing for office 
• https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/upcoming-elections/presidential-primary-election-march-5-2024/key-dates-deadlines

Step #5: Follow the campaign finance rules from the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC)
• https://www.fppc.ca.gov/learn/campaign-rules.html

• View this FPPC Candidate/Treasurer video tutorial to learn how to start your campaign, required campaign forms, campaign contributions, advertising disclosures, filing schedules, and what to do after an election. Be sure to register early as spaces will fill up)

Step #6: Plan for a quality campaign website and campaign social media

Purchase a domain name for your website that helps voters identify with your campaign. Create a professional looking website.  Reserve social media pages on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with an exact or similar name as your campaign domain. Note: it is a lengthy process to get a campaign page on Facebook - read more here.

Step #7: Plan for a campaign treasurer and ideally a campaign manager as well

Step #8: File your Candidate Intention Statement Form 501, build your campaign team, and open a campaign bank account and start raising money. Within ten days of raising $2,000, file your Statement of Organization Form 410.

If you are considering running, please contact the Green Party at gplac-info@cagreens.org and we will get you in touch with other Greens who have run for office. Here is how to seek the Green Party endorsement. If we endorse your candidacy, we will promote your campaign to the registered Greens in your district and to the general public.

We hope to see you on the ballot in March 2024!