This could be a knock on your door. It might be the person with the clipboard who greets you on your weekly trip to the supermarket.
The 2026 election season officially begins on Tuesday with the start of the three-week nomination filing period.
Wait? What are nomination requests?
In order for a candidate to appear on the primary ballot in Pennsylvania, he or she must obtain a certain number of valid signatures on nomination application forms from voters registered in the same party as the candidate.
The first day a candidate for office can begin collecting signatures is Tuesday, February 17, and the last day is Tuesday, March 10. It’s a three-week sprint for the campaign.
Pennsylvania requires a certain number of signatures on nomination petitions from candidates for elected office.
2026 Filing Fees and Signature Requirements for Candidates Filing Nomination Petitions to Access the General Election Ballot
| Office | Fee | Signature requirement | Declaration of financial interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | 200 dollars | 2,000 (including at least 100 from each of at least 10 counties) | Yes |
| Lieutenant Governor | 200 dollars | 1,000 (including at least 100 from each of at least 5 counties) | Yes |
| Representative in Congress | $150 | 1000 | NO |
| Senator in the General Assembly | 100 dollars | 500 | Yes |
| Representative at the General Meeting | 100 dollars | 300 | Yes |
| Member of the State Committee | $25 | 100 | NO |
Failure to follow any of the instructions below may result in your signature and/or petition being rejected.
1. USE INK.
2. DO NOT USE SUCH SIGNS anywhere in the petition.
3. Make sure all blank fields at the top of the first page of the nomination form are completed BEFORE you sign the petition.
4. YOU MUST SIGN THE PETITION: :
- Be a registered Democrat or Republican
- Find voter registration information including precinct, county and municipality HERE
- Live in the constituency to which your application relates
- Find your AP U.S. Congressional and House of Representatives district HERE
5. The statement must be stated in the statement of claim: :
- Your address, not your PO box.
- The municipality where you pay taxes. It may be different than your mailing address.
Were. Your mailing address is Lancaster, but your township is Manheim Township.
Find your commune HERE. - The signing date may be given digitally or in words; e.g. February 17, 2026 or February 17, 2026 or February 17, 2026
- Your name should match your voter registration information. You must exploit your full name, not your nickname or your spouse’s name (Ms. John Jones is not vital, Mary Jones is). Find voter registration information HERE
- Co-resident signatories MAY NOT USE THESE MARKS for name, address or any other information that already appears on the petition.
6. The number of candidate petitions you can sign for a given position depend on the number of holes in this position.
If a mistake is made, the entire line must be crossed out and the voter must copy the information on the next line.
A candidate or campaign may challenge individual voter signatures of another candidate/campaign. The basis of the challenges may be:
- Not registered to vote
- Not registered to vote at given address
- Out of county
- Illegible
- Line information omitted
- Duplicate
- Nickname/Initial
- Printed signature
- Statement about a defective circulator
- Signed after the date of the circulator’s statement
After filing an objection requestThe Tribunal will make an order regarding the timing and case management. The Commonwealth Secretary will also publish an order.
Those who forge signatures on petitions may also face problems.
In 2024, a Democratic campaign manager was charged with filing false nomination applications in the 2024 auditor general primary, including the forged signature of a Chester County judge. Mariel Kornblith-Martin of Philadelphia was accused of filing false nomination applications while serving as campaign manager Mark PinsleyLehigh County controller, looking to secure a spot in the competitive Democratic primary.
Pinsley’s campaign petitions included the names of people who said they did not sign them, including Chester County Judge Alita Rovitomembers of the Coatesville City Council Carmen Green AND Khadija Al-Aminand West Goshen District Supervisor Nate Wolman.
