1. Except as provided in subsections 3 and 4 of this section, each candidate for federal, state or county office shall, before filing his or her declaration of candidacy, pay to the treasurer of the state or county committee of the political party upon whose ticket he or she seeks nomination a certain sum of money as follows:

(1) To the treasurer of the state central committee, five hundred dollars if he or she is a candidate for statewide office or for United States senator, three hundred dollars if he or she is a candidate for representative in Congress, circuit judge or state senator, and one hundred fifty dollars if he or she is a candidate for state representative;

Terms Used In Missouri Laws 115.357

  • Ballot: the paper ballot, or ballot designed for use with an electronic voting system on which each voter may cast all votes to which he or she is entitled at an election. See Missouri Laws 115.013
  • County: any county in this state or any city not within a county. See Missouri Laws 115.013
  • District: an area within the state or within a political subdivision of the state from which a person is elected to represent the area on a policy-making body with representatives of other areas in the state or political subdivision. See Missouri Laws 115.013
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Independent: a candidate who is not a candidate of any political party and who is running for an office for which political party candidates may run. See Missouri Laws 115.013
  • New party: any political group which has filed a valid petition and is entitled to place its list of candidates on the ballot at the next general or special election. See Missouri Laws 115.013
  • person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • Political party: any established political party and any new party. See Missouri Laws 115.013
  • Political subdivision: a county, city, town, village, or township of a township organization county. See Missouri Laws 115.013
  • State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • United States: includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020

(2) To the treasurer of the county central committee, one hundred dollars if he or she is a candidate for county office.

2. The required sum may be submitted by the candidate to the official accepting his or her declaration of candidacy, except that a candidate required to file his or her declaration of candidacy with the secretary of state shall pay the required sum directly to the treasurer of the appropriate party committee. All sums submitted to the official accepting the candidate’s declaration of candidacy shall be forwarded promptly by the official to the treasurer of the appropriate party committee.

3. Any person who cannot pay the fee required to file as a candidate may have the fee waived by filing a declaration of inability to pay and a petition with his declaration of candidacy. Each such declaration shall be in substantially the following form:

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DECLARATION OF INABILITY TO PAY FILING FEE
I, ______, do hereby swear that I am financially unable to pay the fee of ______ (amount of fee) to file as a candidate for nomination to the office of ______ at the primary election to be held on the ______ day of ______, 20______.
__________________ Subscribed and sworn
Signature of candidate to before me this
______ day of
______, 20______.
__________________ __________________
Residence address Signature of election
official or officer
authorized to
administer oaths

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If the candidate’s declaration of candidacy is to be filed in person, the declaration of inability to pay shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate before the election official who witnesses the candidate’s declaration of candidacy. If his declaration of candidacy is to be filed by certified mail pursuant to subsection 2 of section 115.355, the declaration of inability to pay shall be subscribed and sworn to by the candidate before the notary or other officer who witnesses the candidate’s declaration of candidacy. With his declaration of inability to pay, the candidate shall submit a petition endorsing his candidacy. Except for the number of signatures required, each such petition shall, insofar as practicable, be in the form provided in sections 115.321 and 115.325. If the person filing declaration of indigence is to be a candidate for statewide office, his petition shall be signed by the number of registered voters in the state equal to at least one-half of one percent of the total number of votes cast in the state for the office at the last election in which a candidate ran for the office. If the person filing a declaration of indigence is to be a candidate for any other office, the petition shall be signed by the number of registered voters in the district or political subdivision which is equal to at least one percent of the total number of votes cast for the office at the last election in which a candidate ran for the office. The candidate’s declaration of inability to pay and the petition shall be filed at the same time and in the same manner as his declaration of candidacy is filed. The petition shall be checked and its sufficiency determined in the same manner as new party and independent candidate petitions.

4. No filing fee shall be required of any person who proposes to be an independent candidate, the candidate of a new party or a candidate for presidential elector.

5. Except as provided in subsections 3 and 4 of this section, no candidate’s name shall be printed on any official ballot until the required fee has been paid.

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