Most states don’t care how early an independent presidential candidate begins to circulate a petition. But some states do set a start date. These are believed to be the start dates for independent presidential petitioning:
California, April 29, 2016
Connecticut, Jan. 4, 2016
District of Columbia, March 25, 2016
Georgia, April 12, 2015
Illinois, March 29, 2016
Kentucky, November 4, 2015
Maine, January 1, 2016
Massachusetts, February 16, 2016
Minnesota, June 24, 2016
New Hampshire, January 4, 2016
New Mexico, March 1, 2016 (this is disputed)
New York, July 12, 2016
Pennsylvania, February 17, 2016
Rhode Island, June 29, 2016
South Dakota, January 1, 2016
Texas, March 2, 2016
Virginia, January 4, 2016
Washington, May 7, 2016
There is also Michigan, which doesn’t set a start date, but requires that the petition be completed in a six-month period of the candidate’s choosing; and Ohio, which also doesn’t set a start date but requires that the petition be completed in 12 months of the candidates’s own choosing.
The only states that don’t require a petition for independent presidential candidates are Colorado and Louisiana. Note that this post does not concern itself with start dates for petitions to recognize a new party. Fewer states have start dates for party petitions than for independent petitions. If anyone sees any error, please comment. Thank you.
I don’t think new jersey has a start date, on occasion i have seen petitions admitted and accepted before the state releases the forms for that election year, with the petitioner submitting forms from the prior year. Though if there is a change in the substance in the form i imagine that might impact its validity
You’re right. When there was a lawsuit almost 20 years ago against the old April petition deadline for independent candidates (for office other than president), the state insisted in court that independents could start as early as they wish.
(New Jersey lost that lawsuit, which is why non-presidential independents now can file in June).