Cville Dems

The Charlottesville Democratic Committee

Guidance for Potential Candidates (June 2023 Democratic Primaries)

Photo of a piece of paper with a red checkmark above a ballot box with the words Primary Elections written in big letters

3/23/2023 Update: Last week we posted the information below for candidates about how to file your paperwork with the nominating committee chair, and we also flagged some additional information to be helpful. But each candidate is ultimately responsible for reviewing all relevant Virginia Department of Elections regulations to learn about all the requirements to qualify for the primary election ballot, including How to Run for Virginia General Assembly or How to Run for Local Office.

 

The Democratic Party nominating committees for state legislative and local office primary elections will accept Candidate Nomination filings for the June 20, 2023 Primary for all candidates from March 20th at 12:00PM to April 6th at 4:59PM.  

House of Delegates District 54 primary.  Candidates for the 54th District House of Delegates can file required paperwork in person with the HD-54 nominating committee chair, John McLaren. John will be at C’ville Coffee, 1301 Harris St, Charlottesville, on Monday, March 20, 12:00PM to 3:00PM to receive these materials. After that, candidates can set up an appointment to present these materials by contacting cvilledemschair@gmail.com (please put “#Primary” in the subject line).

For the Democratic Senate District 11 primary and the House of Delegates District 55 primary, please contact Karen Combs (chair of both of those nominating committees) for instructions. Karen can be reached by email at karencombs6522@gmail.com or at 423-833-6456.

Charlottesville City Council. Candidates for the City Council primary can file required paperwork in person with the local Charlottesville Democratic Committee chair, John McLaren. The same instructions apply as for the House primary above.

These should include from each candidate:

■ Petition Signatures

  •     House of Delegates – 125 signatures
  •     City Council — 125 signatures

■ Declaration of Candidacy

■ Primary Filing Fee Receipt from the local Treasurer in the locality in which the Candidate lives. For candidates who live in Charlottesville, the fee must be paid to the Treasurer’s Office at City Hall, and is:

  • House of Delegates: $352.80
  • City Council: $360.00

For any House of Delegates District 54 candidates who live in Albemarle County, the fee must be paid to the Albemarle County Department of Finance.

Note: If more than one candidate files at the same time, both filings will be marked as such and the Department of Elections (for state legislative races) or the local electoral board (for local office races) will draw straws to randomly determine the order names will appear on the primary ballot. If multiple candidates are ready to present materials before noon on March 20, all of those candidates will be declared as simultaneous at noon. There is no value to being first if you arrive before noon. Please don’t camp overnight at C’ville Coffee to be first in line!

Contact cvilledemschair@gmail.com if you have questions about the City Council or HD-54 filing process.  May the odds be ever in your favor!