Effective August 27, 2019, certain aspiring candidates seeking a primary election nomination or nomination other than by primary, including for federal, statewide, and legislative office, must file a Statement of Interest with the appropriate filing officer no later than the date of the first nomination petition signature. A.R.S. § 16-311(H); A.R.S. § 16-341(I). Signatures collected before the filing of the Statement of Interest are subject to challenge. However, for the 2019 and 2020 elections, candidates who began collecting nomination petition signatures before August 27, 2019 have until January 2, 2020 to file a Statement of Interest. S.B. 1451 § 6(A), 54th Leg., 1st Sess. (Az. 2019).

Filing a Statement of Interest indicates that a person is collecting petition signatures for a possible nomination. However, it is not a formal declaration of candidacy – filing a nomination paper is the formal declaration of candidacy. Filing a Statement of Interest also does not mean that a candidate will appear on the ballot for a particular election. To appear on the ballot, a candidate must submit valid nomination documents (including a nomination paper and sufficient petition signatures) by the applicable deadline and successfully defend against any nomination challenge filed in court.