Candidate Information 

Information for Elected Officials & Candidates

General Information

Visit the Indiana Secretary of State's website, where you will find all necessary forms, an Indiana Candidate Guide, a Campaign Finance Guide, and other useful information. 

Important Notes:  

• Candidates must sign their declaration of candidacy after swearing or affirming the truth of the statements made in the statement before an individual who has the authority to administer an oath (such as a notary public (IC 3-8-2-7).  Notaries are located in the Tippecanoe County Elections Office.
• A person must use the most recent version of any form approved by the Indiana Election Division (IED) to comply with the election statutes (IC 3-5-4-8).  Filing will be rejected if not authorized by the IED.
• CAN-12 Statement of Economic Interest must be filed along with CAN-2 Declarations of Candidacy, Consent of Independent Candidate, and Petition of Nominations.  Failure to file a CAN-12 will result in your submission to be rejected. 
• Candidates for Precinct Committeeman or State Convention Delegates, please use CAN-37.  CAN-37 submissions DO NOT require a CAN-12.
• Late filings will not be accepted.  Faxed or emailed forms will not be accepted.  Mailed forms, if received late, regardless of when the envelope was postmarked, will not be accepted.

Petition of Nomination, Local Office

If a person wishes to run as an independent or minor party candidate for a local office, they must file a Petition of Nomination (CAN-21) and Consent of Independent or minor political Party Candidate (CAN-20) forms with the Tippecanoe County Board of Elections.  Those forms can be found on the Indiana Secretary of State's website. In order to be placed on the ballot, an independent or minor party candidate must obtain signatures of registered voters in the election district the candidate wishes to represent. The petition must be signed by the number of registered voters equal to 2% of the total votes cast for Secretary of State in the 2022 general election in the election district that the candidate seeks to represent. Please call our office for details on this.

Statement of Organization

After filing for office, a candidate must fill out a CFA-1 (DOC) no later than noon 10 days after filing for office, or noon 7 days after the final day to file for candidacy, whichever comes 1st. Please note that there are special exceptions for a candidate for local office in which the compensation is less than $5,000 a year, and the candidate does not raise or spend more than $500. A person in this scenario does not have to file any reports. Please call our office at 765-423-9303 with any questions.

Receipt & Expenditures

In most cases a candidate has to file a CFA-4 (DOC) Receipt and Expenditures report, commonly known as a Campaign Finance Report. There are 3 different reports, pre-primary, pre-election, and annual. Candidates who receive $1,000 or more within 25 days before an election must also fill out a CFA-11 (DOC) within 48 hours of the contribution. Please note that all of this information is also available on the Indiana Secretary of State's website.