ARTICLE 2. Nomination of Candidates [10220. - 10230.]

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC 2.
in effect

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10220. Section 10220.

Candidates may be nominated for any of the elective offices of the city in the following manner: Not earlier than the 113th day nor later than the 88th day before a municipal election during normal office hours, as posted, the voters may nominate candidates for election by signing a nomination paper. Each candidate shall be proposed by not less than 20 nor more than 30 voters in a city of 1,000 registered voters or more, and not less than five nor more than 10 voters in a city of less than 1,000 registered voters, but only one candidate may be named in any one nomination paper. No voter may sign more than one nomination paper for the same office, and in the event the voter does so, that voter’s signature shall count only on the first nomination paper filed which contains the voter’s signature. Nomination papers subsequently filed and containing that voter’s signature shall be considered as though that signature does not appear thereon. Each seat on the governing body is a separate office. Any person who meets the requirements of Section 102 may circulate a nomination paper. Only one person may circulate each nomination paper. Where there are full terms and short terms to be filled, the term shall be specified in the nomination paper.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10220.5. Section 10220.5.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a candidate shall not file nomination papers for more than one municipal office or term of office for the same municipality in the same election.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10221. Section 10221.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the signatures to each nomination paper shall be appended on the same sheet of paper, and each signer shall add his or her place of residence, giving the street and number, if any, or another designation of his or her place of residence, so as to enable its location to be readily ascertained. (b) Once a nomination paper is filed with the elections official, the nomination paper may not be returned to the candidate to obtain additional signatures. If the nomination paper is determined to be insufficient or the candidate fails to obtain the correct number of valid signatures on his or her nomination paper, the elections official shall retain the original nomination paper, provide a copy of the nomination paper to the candidate with an indication on of which signatures are valid, and issue one supplemental petition to the candidate on which the candidate may collect additional signatures. The supplemental petition shall be filed not later than the last day for filing for that office. The form of the supplemental petition shall be the same as the nomination paper, except that the word “Supplemental” shall be inserted above the phrase “Nomination Paper.”

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10222. Section 10222.

Every nomination paper shall have annexed an affidavit of the person who circulated it, to the effect that he or she saw written all the signatures appended thereto, and knows that they are the signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10224. Section 10224.

All nomination papers shall be filed with the city elections official during regular business hours as posted, not later than the 88th day before the election. Until that time, but not after, a candidate may withdraw his or her nomination paper after it is filed with the elections official as provided in this section.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10224.5. Section 10224.5.

No later than three days before the deadline for submission of nomination papers for a municipal election, the city elections official shall post on the city’s internet website, or publish a public notice that includes all of the following: (a) A list of the offices to be filled. (b) Whether the city elections official has furnished nomination papers to the incumbent for each open office. (c) Whether, due to redistricting, there is no eligible incumbent for an open office. (d) The location where nomination papers may be obtained. (e) The location, dates, and hours of operation of the office where completed nomination papers may be filed.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10225. Section 10225.

(a) Notwithstanding Sections 10220 and 10224, if nomination papers for an incumbent officer of the city are not filed by or on the 88th day before the election, during normal business hours, as posted, or are filed but then are withdrawn before the close of normal business hours on the 88th day before the election, the voters shall have until the 83rd day before the election during normal business hours, as posted, to nominate candidates other than the person who was the incumbent on the 88th day, for that incumbent’s elective office. (b) This section is not applicable where there is no incumbent eligible to be elected. If this section is applicable, notwithstanding Section 10224, a candidate may withdraw their nomination paper until the 83rd day before the election during normal business hours, as posted.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10226. Section 10226.

(a) The nomination paper shall be in substantially the following form: NOMINATION PAPER I, the undersigned signer for ______ for nomination to the office of ____, to be voted for at the municipal election to be held on the ____ day of ____, 20__, hereby assert as follows: I am a resident of the municipality of ____ and registered to vote at the address shown on this paper. I am not at this time a signer of any other nomination paper of any other candidate for the above-named office, or in case there are several places to be filled in the above-named office, I have not signed more nomination papers than there are places to be filled in the above-named office. My residence is correctly set forth after my signature hereto: Name Residence (b) The affidavit of the circulator shall read as follows: AFFIDAVIT OF THE CIRCULATOR I, ______, solemnly swear (or affirm) all of the following: 1. That I am 18 years of age or older. 2. That my residence address, including street and number, is . [If no street or number exists, a designation of my residence adequate to readily ascertain its location is .] 3. That the signatures on this section of the nomination paper were obtained between _____, 20__, and _____, 20__; that I circulated the petition and I witnessed the signatures on this section of the nomination paper being written; and that, to the best of my information and belief, each signature is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be. Signed Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___________ day of _____________, 20__. (SEAL) Notary Public (or other official) Examined and certified by me this ___________ day of _____________, 20__. Elections Official WARNING: Every person acting on behalf of a candidate is guilty of a misdemeanor who deliberately fails to file at the proper time and in the proper place any nomination paper in the person’s possession which is entitled to be filed under Section 18202 of the Elections Code.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10226.3. Section 10226.3.

(a) The declaration of candidacy by a candidate shall be substantially as follows: DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY I hereby declare myself a candidate for nomination to the office of ________ District Number ________ to be voted for at the municipal election to be held ________, 20__, and declare the following to be true: My name is . I want my name and occupational designation to appear on the ballot as follows: ______________________________________. Addresses: Residence Business Mailing Telephone numbers: Day _________ Evening _________ Internet website:_______________________________________ I meet the statutory and constitutional qualifications for this office (including, but not limited to, citizenship, and residency). I am at present an incumbent of the following public office (if any) __________. If nominated, I will accept the nomination, and if elected, I will accept the office. Signature of candidate A Notary Public or other officer completing this certificate verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which this certificate is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document. State of California ) County of ) ss. ) Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___ day of ________, 20____. Signature of Notary Public (or other official) Notary Public Seal Examined and certified by me this ________ day of ________, 20____. County Elections Official WARNING: Every person acting on behalf of a candidate is guilty of a misdemeanor who deliberately fails to file at the proper time and in the proper place any declaration of candidacy in the person’s possession which is entitled to be filed under the provisions of the Elections Code Section 18202. (b) At the discretion of the elections official, a candidate for any office whose voter registration information is confidential under Section 2166, 2166.5, 2166.7, 2166.8, or 2166.9 may withhold the candidate’s residence address from the declaration of candidacy. If a candidate does not state the candidate’s residence address on the declaration of candidacy, the elections official shall verify whether the candidate’s address is within the appropriate political subdivision and add the notation “verified” where appropriate on the declaration. (c) If a candidate will not be within the State of California within the entire nomination period and is unable to appear before a notary public appointed by the Secretary of State or other state official to complete their declaration of candidacy, the candidate may appear before a notary public in another state to complete the declaration of candidacy. The candidate shall attach to their declaration of candidacy a notarial certificate from the out-of-state notary that complies with the law of the notary’s state.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10226.5. Section 10226.5.

The Secretary of State shall establish uniform filing forms for candidates to use when filing nomination papers pursuant to Section 10226 and a declaration of candidacy pursuant to Section 10226.3.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10227. Section 10227.

All forms required for nomination and election to all municipal offices shall be furnished only by the city elections official during regular business hours. At the time of issuance of those forms the city elections official shall type in the forms the name of the candidate and the office for which he is a candidate, shall imprint a stamp which reads “Official Filing Form,” and shall affix his or her signature. At the time nomination papers are issued to a candidate, the city elections official shall imprint the date. The forms shall be distributed without charge to all candidates applying for them.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10228. Section 10228.

A filing fee proportionate to the costs of processing a candidate’s nomination papers or a candidate’s supplemental nomination papers filed pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 10221 as determined by the city council and set by ordinance, but not exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25), may be imposed, to be paid upon the filing of the nomination papers.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10229. Section 10229.

(a) If, by the 88th day, during normal business hours as posted, before the day fixed for a regularly scheduled municipal election or the 83rd day before the election, during normal business hours as posted, if an incumbent fails to file or files but then withdraws pursuant to Section 10225, (i) no one or only one person has been nominated for any office that is elected on a citywide basis, or (ii) no one or only one person is nominated to be elected from or by a legislative district, or (iii) in the case of any office or offices to be elected at large, the number of persons who have been nominated for those offices does not exceed the number to be filled at that election; or, if, by the 88th day, during normal business hours as posted, before a municipal election to fill any vacancy in office, no one or only one person has been nominated for any elective office to be filled at that election, and the election is subject to Section 36512 of the Government Code, the city elections official shall submit a certificate of these facts to the governing body of the city and inform the governing body of the city that it may, at a regular or special meeting held before the municipal election, adopt one of the following courses of action: (1) Appoint to the office the person who has been nominated. (2) Appoint to the office an eligible elector if no one has been nominated. (3) Hold the election, if either no one or only one person has been nominated. The city elections official shall publish a notice of the facts described in this section and the courses of action available under this subdivision. Publication shall be made pursuant to Section 6061 of the Government Code in any newspaper of general circulation as designated by the city elections official. After the fifth day following the date of posting or publication, the governing body of the city may make the appointment or direct an election to be held in the affected territory. The person appointed, if any, shall qualify and take office and serve exactly as if elected at a municipal election for the office. Notwithstanding Section 10403, if, by the 75th day before the municipal election, no person has been appointed to office pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2), the election shall be held. (b) Subdivision (a) shall not apply if, at the regularly scheduled municipal election, more than one person has been nominated to another city office to be elected on a citywide basis or a city measure has qualified and is to be submitted to the voters at that municipal election. (c) Notwithstanding Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 8600) of Part 3 of Division 8, or any other provision of the law to the contrary, if the governing body of a city makes an appointment pursuant to subdivision (a), the elections official shall not accept for filing any statement of write-in candidacy that is submitted after the appointment is made. (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a city from enacting an ordinance pursuant to Section 36512 of the Government Code, requiring that a special election be held, or from enacting an ordinance pursuant to Section 36512 of the Government Code, providing that a person appointed to fill a vacancy on the city council shall hold office only until the date of the special election, or both. Any ordinance or ordinances may allow for appointment consistent with subdivision (a) without requiring or providing for a special election. If an appointment to office is made in a particular legislative district pursuant to subdivision (a), that appointment shall not affect the conduct of the municipal election in other legislative districts of the city.

Cal. Elections Code - ELEC § 10230. Section 10230.

If the date of a general municipal election is changed by municipal ordinance pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 10403.5 or by charter, the period to file as a candidate for the general municipal election shall be the same as the nomination period to file as a candidate for the election in which the general municipal election is consolidated, notwithstanding Section 10220.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026

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