Candidate Information
Candidate Information
2026 General Primary
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
The first step to become a candidate for an office on the 2026 General Primary ballot is to circulate a nomination petition for signatures. The petition period begins on Feb. 17, 2026, and ends on March 10, 2026, which means signatures can only be obtained within those three weeks.
Nomination petitions and related paperwork for Party County Committee Positions can be picked up in the Office of Election Services or printed here. If printing, all nomination petitions MUST be printed as duplex (two-sided, front and back, head-to-head) on white 8.5x11 paper (letter size). This cannot be satisfied by stapling, taping or paper clipping pages together.
Federal and State Offices
Candidates running for a federal or state level office must receive and file their petition paperwork with the Department of State. Please review the state's Running for Office webpage for more information, email ra-elections@pa.gov or call 1-877-868-3772, option 3.
Party County Committee Positions
Candidates running for Democratic County Committee or Republican County Committee positions receive and file petitions with the Berks County Office of Election Services. The petition packet includes the Candidate Instructions, the Nomination Petition and the Candidate Affidavit.
Office | Term | Signatures |
| Democratic County Committeeperson | 4 years | 10 |
| Republican County Committeeman | 4 years | 10 |
| Republican County Committeewoman | 4 years | 10 |
| Republican County Committeeperson | 4 years | 10 |
The following instructions are strictly introductory in scope and should not be construed as legal advice.
Candidates and/or voters are responsible for ensuring the correctness and completeness of all submitted documents. The Berks County Office of Election Services is not responsible for errors and omissions on the part of a candidate and/or voter.
- ELECTORAL DISTRICT: This refers to the geographical area of the office the candidate is seeking. For County Committee positions, the electoral district is the candidate’s voting precinct.
- POLITICAL PARTY: This refers to the political party of the candidate and signers of the nomination petition.
- NAME OF CANDIDATE: The candidate’s name should be printed clearly on the front of the petition exactly as the candidate wants it to appear on the official ballot. Candidates should list their name as it appears on their voter registration record. Candidates should avoid the use of nicknames.
- PROFESSION, BUSINESS, OR OCCUPATION: This refers to the candidate’s current job title. Retired is an acceptable entry for this line.
- PLACE OF RESIDENCE: This refers to the candidate’s residential address and should include their house number, street name, municipality and zip code.
- TITLE OF OFFICE: This refers to the official name of the office for which the candidate is seeking election. Examples: Democratic County Committeeperson, Republican County Committeeman.
- TERM OF OFFICE: This refers to the number of years of the office for which the candidate is seeking election. All County Committee positions are 4-year terms.
- Each signer may sign nomination petitions for as many candidates for each office as he/she is permitted to vote for, and no more.
- Each signer MUST be a registered voter and an enrolled member of the party referred to in the petition. Democratic electors can only sign Democratic petitions and Republican electors can only sign Republican petitions.
- Each signer must personally sign his or her name in the “Signature of Elector” column and legibly print his or her name in the “Printed Name of Elector” column.
- Each signer shall add his or her residence, providing the municipality (city, borough or township), with street name and number, if any, and add the date of signing, expressed in words or numbers (Examples: February 17, 2026 or 2/17/26).
- Do not use ditto marks or whiteout anywhere on the petition. The use of ditto marks (“) or white out is grounds for rejecting the petition.
All circulators must be registered voters of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and enrolled members of the party for which they are circulating. The Statement of Circulator shall comply with the requirements of Section 909 of the Pennsylvania Election Code (25 P.S. § 2869) and all other legal provisions pertaining to circulator statements.
- Petitions must be filed in the Office of Election Services by 5:00 PM on March 10, 2026, the “Last day to circulate and file nomination petitions” for the 2026 General Primary. Petitions will be accepted if the submitter is in line by 5:00 PM. POST MARKS DO NOT COUNT! Candidates must include all required documents with their submitted nomination petition. The Candidate Affidavit must be notarized. The Office of Election Services employes two notary publics who charge $5 per seal. The notaries only accept cash.
- Nomination petitions may consist of several sheets. If more than one sheet is used, all sheets for that nomination petition shall be bound together when submitted, and each sheet shall be numbered consecutively, beginning with the number one (1) of __ at the bottom of each page. (Ex. 1 of 2, 2 of 2)
- If no obvious defects are identified when a petition is filed, the petition will be accepted at face value. The Office of Election Services cannot determine or speculate what challenges may be filed against any petition, or how any judge will rule on those challenges. The Office of Election Services does NOT provide legal advice on petition challenges.
- Completed Nomination Petition with the required number of signatures
- Completed and Notarized Candidate’s Affidavit
- The petition was not reproduced correctly
- There are not enough signatures on the petition
- The petition was circulated prior to February 17, 2026.
- The petition contains incorrect or incomplete information in the designated columns or blank lines. (ex. Zip code instead of date)
- The petition contains ditto marks and/or whiteout.
- Any part of the petition document is not filled in.
- An incorrect notary stamp, no notary stamp, or expired notary commission on the Candidate Affidavit.
- The petition does not include the Candidate Affidavit.