A non-refundable filing fee (see section A) must be paid to the elections official before candidate filing documents will be issued for certain offices. To help candidates reduce the amount of their required filing fee, candidates may circulate and submit a Signature In Lieu of Filing Fee Petition (see section B below). This petition contains signatures of registered voters within the candidate’s district, and each valid signature on the petition will reduce the filing fee.
For certain offices, candidates must collect a designated number of valid signatures on a Nomination Petition (see section C) and submit that petition when filing to run for office.
To officially declare themselves a candidate for office, all candidates must file a Declaration of Candidacy form (see section D below) . On the Declaration of Candidacy form, candidates declare which office they are running for, how their name shall appear on the ballot, and whether or not they want a ballot designation to appear on the ballot under their name. If a candidate wants a ballot designation, they must complete a Ballot Designation Worksheet (see section E below). Candidates may elect to compose and submit a statement of qualifications, commonly known as a Candidate Statement that will be printed in the County Voter Information Guide. If a candidate wants a statement printed in the guide, they must indicate this request on the Candidate Statement Form (see section F below).
Candidates for a city office must request and file candidate filing documents with the City Clerk for that city.
Filing Fees
A filing fee is a non-refundable payment that must be paid to the elections official. Filing fees vary by office and are typically calculat ed based on a percentage of the office’s annual salary. Not all offices require filing fees; however, if a filing fee is required, then the filing fee must be paid at the time a candidate requests candidacy documents. Or in the case of candidates for Superior Court Judge, the filing fee must be paid at the time the Declaration of Intention form is filed. Payments for State and Federal candidates are accepted in the form of personal check, cashier’s check and money order. Payments for local candidates are accepted in the form of cash, personal check, cashier’s check, money order, or credit card .
For county offices, the non-refundable filing fee must be paid to the Registrar of Voters.
For federal and state offices, the non-refundable filing fee must be paid to the Office of the Secretary of State. Candidates submit payments to the Registrar of Voters, and these payments will be forwarded to the Secretary of State.
The Filing fee for each office is listed in Appendix B.
Signature In Lieu of Filing Fee Petition
The Signature In Lieu of Filing Fee Petition is a form that contains signatures of registered voters within a particular district. Candidates who are required to pay a filing fee may circulate and submit this petition to help reduce the cost of a filing fee. Each signature is assigned a value, based on the office, and each valid signature gathered will reduce the filing fee. The amount of the reduction is
11
Page 64
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator