13-10-201. Declaration for nomination -- term limitations. (1) Each candidate in the primary election, except nonpartisan candidates filing under the provisions of Title 13, chapter 14, shall file a declaration for nomination with the secretary of state or election administrator. Except for a candidate under 13-38-201(4) or a candidate covered under 7-1-205, a candidate may not file for more than one public office. Each candidate for governor shall file a joint declaration for nomination with a candidate for lieutenant governor.

(2) A declaration for nomination must be filed in the office of:

(a) the secretary of state for placement of a name on the ballot for the presidential preference primary, a congressional office, a state or district office to be voted for in more than one county, a member of the legislature, or a judge of the district court; or

(b) the election administrator for a county, municipal, precinct, or district office (other than a member of the legislature or a judge of the district court) to be voted for in only one county.

(3) Each candidate shall sign the declaration and send with it the required filing fee or, in the case of an indigent candidate, send with it the documents required by 13-10-203. Unless filed electronically with the secretary of state, the declaration for nomination must be acknowledged by an officer empowered to acknowledge signatures or by the officer of the office at which the filing is made.

(4) The declaration for nomination must include an oath of the candidate that includes wording substantially as follows: "I hereby affirm that I possess, or will possess within constitutional and statutory deadlines, the qualifications prescribed by the Montana constitution and the laws of the United States and the state of Montana." The candidate affirmation included in this oath is presumed to be valid unless proven otherwise in a court of law.

(5) The declaration, when filed, is conclusive evidence that the elector is a candidate for nomination by the elector's party. For a partisan election, an elector may not file a declaration for more than one party's nomination.

(6) (a) The declaration for nomination must be in the form and contain the information prescribed by the secretary of state.

(b) A person seeking nomination to the legislature shall provide the secretary of state with a street address, legal description, or road designation to indicate the person's place of residence. If a candidate for the legislature changes residence, the candidate shall, within 15 days after the change, notify the secretary of state on a form prescribed by the secretary of state.

(c) The secretary of state and election administrator shall furnish declaration for nomination forms to individuals requesting them.

(7) Except as provided in 13-10-211, a candidate's declaration for nomination must be filed no sooner than 145 days before the election in which the office first appears on the ballot and no later than 5 p.m., 85 days before the date of the primary election.

(8) A properly completed and signed declaration for nomination form may be sent by facsimile transmission, electronically mailed, delivered in person, or mailed to the election administrator or to the secretary of state.

(9) For the purposes of implementing Article IV, section 8, of the Montana constitution, the secretary of state shall apply the following conditions:

(a) A term of office for an official serving in the office or a candidate seeking the office is considered to begin on January 1 of the term for which the official is elected or for which the candidate seeks election and to end on December 31 of the term for which the official is elected or for which the candidate seeks election.

(b) A year is considered to start on January 1 and to end on the following December 31.

(c) "Current term", as used in Article IV, section 8, of the Montana constitution, has the meaning provided in 2-16-214.