(a) Except in the case of a judicial office filled in accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 16 of Article VI of the Constitution, every candidate for a judicial office, not more than 14 nor less than five days prior to the first day on which his or her nomination papers may be circulated and signed or may be presented for filing, shall file in the office of the elections official in which his or her nomination papers are required to be filed, a written and signed declaration of his or her intention to become a candidate for that office on a form to be supplied by the elections official. A candidate for a numerically designated judicial office shall state in his or her declaration for which office he or she intends to become a candidate.

(b) No person may be a candidate nor have his or her name printed on any ballot as a candidate for judicial office unless he or she has filed the declaration of intention provided for in this section. If the incumbent of a judicial office fails to file a declaration of intention by the end of the period specified in subdivision (a), persons other than the incumbent may file declarations of intention no later than the first day for filing nomination papers.

(c) Declarations shall be in substantially the following form:

“I hereby declare my intention to become a candidate for the office of____(name of office and district, if any) at the ____, 2____ election.”

No candidate for a judicial office shall be required to state his or her residential address on the declaration of intention. However, if the address is not stated on the declaration of intention, the address must be provided to the elections official for verification.

(d) This section shall apply to all judicial offices whether numerically designated or not.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 199, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2008.)