Know your exact ballot access requirements in 30 seconds
Select your country and office type. Get exact signature counts, deadlines, fees, deposits, and known pitfalls — each figure sourced and dated. No 200-page legal PDFs.
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Where These Numbers Come From
Every figure in this tool is sourced from the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, International IDEA, or the official election commission of the country shown. Each result links to the exact source page with the date we retrieved it.
What we include: stated signature thresholds, filing deadlines, fees, deposits, and known structural pitfalls documented in the same sources. What we don't include: rejection rates, probability of success, or legal advice — those depend on your specific circumstances and we won't guess.
Rules change. Always verify against the official source linked in your result before filing. If you find an outdated number, email us and we'll update it within 48 hours.
Source organizations:
ACE Electoral Knowledge Network
International IDEA
Pitfalls That Catch First-Time Candidates
The most common ballot-access traps we see across the 12 covered democracies. Not exhaustive — just the ones that sink campaigns most often.
Signature pages must be notarized in some U.S. states
United StatesDeposit is forfeited if you receive under 5% of the vote in Germany
GermanyIndependent candidates need more signatures than party candidates in France
FranceSignatures must come from voters in your specific constituency, not anywhere in the country
United Kingdom, CanadaDeadline is measured from election announcement, not a fixed calendar date
AustraliaParty endorsement can substitute for signatures in some jurisdictions
Japan, IndiaIndependent candidates face complex registration process without party backing
Brazil, MexicoNotarization of each signature page required
Russia