Want to be on the ballot against Lindsey Graham? Here’s what it costs to file
Filing to run for office in November’s election opens Monday and candidates who want to win the Democratic or Republican nominations will have to bring more than just a form officially declaring their candidacies at the elections office.
They’ll have to come with a check or money order. Cash won’t be accepted.
The South Carolina Elections Commission charges a filing fee to be on the ballot that is equal to 1% of the office’s annual salary times the length of the term, or $100, whichever is greater.
For example, the annual salary to be a U.S. senator is $174,000. The filing fee to run for the six-year term is then $10,440.
The fees help offset the cost of putting on the primary elections, said TJ Lundeen, the director of public information and outreach for the SC Elections Commission.
Paying the filing fee also indicates a candidate will have the financial resources to run a campaign.
Lundeen added the filing fees do not cover the full cost of running primaries, which are scheduled for June 9 in South Carolina, nor any necessary runoffs, which would take place June 23.
Not all candidates have to pay.
Nominees of third parties, which nominate candidates by conventions, do not have to pay a filing fee. If a person runs as a petition candidate, they would need to gather signatures of at least 5% of the active registered voters in the geographic area the office represents.
Filing to run for office begins at noon Monday and runs through noon March 30.
Here are the filing fees for offices on the ballot in November:
- Governor: $4,243.12
- Secretary of State: $5,400
- State Treasurer: $6,560
- Attorney General: $8,320
- Comptroller General: $6,040
- State Superintendent of Education: $8,560
- Commissioner of Agriculture: $6,480
- U.S. Senate: $10,440
- U.S. House of Representatives: $3,480
- State House of Representatives: $208
- Solicitor: $8,877
