What are the requirements for getting on the ballot of the Connecticut
gubernatorial race this year as an independent candidate? Supposing
all financing is kept as simple as possible, e.g. 100% self-funded, no
matching funds, etc. How many signatures need to be collected? By
when? Are there any fees? What personal info (financial or otherwise)
needs to be disclosed? What other questions should be asked? Looking
for detailed guidelines.

The ideal answer would specify a list of all the requirements and
deadlines, assuming that there is no campaign manager or other large
bureacracy, just one guy trying to run for governor (or two guys
running for governor and lieutenant governor on one ticket, as seems
to be the requirement of the CT constitution:
http://www.sots.ct.gov/RegisterManual/SectionI/ctconstit.htm).

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Clarification of Question by philm2005-ga on 30 Jan 2006 13:30 PST

That was a very helpful comment quintana-ga! Thank you very much.

What about campaign finance regulations? I do not plan to raise any
money but I may spend some. What do I need to do?

And finally, how do I find companies that canvas the electors and
collect signatures for the petition? I heard there were companies or
people that do that for a fee.

Thanks much!

Hello,

The procedures for running for statewide elective office as an
independent (which seems to be substantially easier than running with
a party) in Connecticut are as follows:

(1) Nominating Petition Application: This must be completed before the
Nominating Petition itself is issued.  This form is available here:
http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/electforms/Nov2006_ED602b.pdf.
 I'm not sure about the deadline for this form, but it should probably
be completed as soon as possible.

(2) The CT Sec. of State will then issue a Nominating Petition.  (They
will issue you only one of these and it will be your responsibility to
reproduce the form as needed.)  You will then use it to collect
signatures.  You must collect signatures equaling 1% of the votes cast
for that office in the previous election, or 7500, whichever is
lesser.  There were over one million voters for the major party
candidates for governor in 2002, so you'll only need to collect 7500
signatures.  (http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2002/pages/states/CT/index.html.)

(3) Next you will need to collect the signatures.  They need to be
submitted to the Sec. of State, pursuant to the instructions, NO LATER
THAN 4 p.m. on the 34th day prior to the date of the primary election.
 You will thus need to submit this by 4 p.m. on August 9, 2006.  You
may use people called "circulators," which are people chosen by you to
help circulate your petition and collect signatures.  Be aware,
however, that circulators must themselves be 18 years old, residents
of Connecticut and NOT on parole for a felony.  I assume that you
could make copies of this form and distribute them to some of your
friends and family to assist you in the signature collection process.

(4) Assuming the Sec. of State accepts your petition (i.e. no
misrepresentation or fraudulent signatures), you are on the ballot
and, presumably, free to campaign for governor!

Some notes:
-As far as I can tell there aren't any fees associated with this process.
-I don't think you need to disclose any information beyond basic
biographical details (name, address, party affiliation, if any, etc.).
-I believe that you can apply for the Nominating Petition and collect
signatures jointly with whomever runs with you for Lt. Governor.

Some relevant websites:
-State of Connecticut, Secretary of State, Election Administration
Forms: http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/Elecform.html
-Election Administration FAQ:
http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/electforms/np_faq_page.pdf
-Election Administration Nominating Petition Instructions:
http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/electforms/Nov2006_ED607.pdf
-State of Connecticut 2006 Election Calendar:
http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/Calendars/2006Election/2006.pdf


I hope this helps.  Good luck!!!