1 / 27

Petitions & Candidate Filing

Learn about the rules and guidelines for filing candidacy petitions in Indiana elections, including the types of offices, petition submission processes, signature requirements, deadlines, and more.

marylynn
Download Presentation

Petitions & Candidate Filing

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Petitions &Candidate Filing General Rules & Guidelines

  2. Who’s on the Ballot? • Federal • President/Vice President • US Senate • US House • State • Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Attorney General • Superintendent of Public Instruction • Indiana Senate (25 seats) • Indiana House • Judicial Officers • County Officials • Vary from each county • State Convention Delegate • Republican Precinct Committeeman

  3. Two Types of Candidate Filing • Petition Submission • President • Governor • U.S. Senator • School Board • Minor party and independent candidates • “Direct” filing • No petition process

  4. Petition Process • Depending on the office sought, “there’s a form for that!” • President (CAN-8) • Governor (CAN-25) • U.S. Senator (CAN-4) • School Board (CAN-34) • Files summer of 2016 • Minor party & Independent candidates (CAN-19 & 20) • Files summer of 2016

  5. General Petition Rules • Collect signatures from REGISTERED voters of the election district • Voter’s residence address MUST match the residence address in the VR record • Petition carrier can be anyone • Affidavit must be signed by the carrier before submission to Voter Registration

  6. Petition Signature Counts • President/U.S. Senate/Governor • 500 VALID signatures in each of the NINE Congressional districts • School Board • 10 VALID signatures of registered voters in the election districts • Minor Party & Independent Candidates • 2% of votes cast in 2014 SOS Election for election district • See page 101 of Candidate Guide for counts

  7. Deadlines • Petition Submission Deadlines for VERIFICATION by Voter Registration officials • Presidential Candidates • January 6, 2016 through NOON (local prevailing time) January 26, 2016 • U.S. Senator/Governor Candidates • January 6, 2016 through NOON (local prevailing time) February 2, 2016 • School Board & Minor Party/Independent Candidates • Summer 2016 (discussion at future Clerk’s conference)

  8. Quick SVRS Overview • HAVA Administrator sets up petition offices for primary election • All candidates using petition process for May election are either federal or state • County may need to set up “petition office” for minor/independent party and/or school board candidates in summer 2016 Quest Training Sessions for attaching petitions to a candidate in SVRS were held December 8 and 9. Couldn’t attend? Look for web training on county portal or reach out to Kelly Sprague

  9. Quick SVRS Overview • Add to a Master Petition • Main Menu > Election > Petition > Master Petition • Select petition type from drop down menu • Click on candidate name • On new screen, press ‘Add petition’ • Insert Date Filed & click save • Your county will now appear as an option to enter petition signatures

  10. Quick SVRS Overview • Petition Signature Entry • Main Menu > Election > Petition > Petition • Select Petition Type (CAN 4, CAN 25, etc) • Click candidate name • Click View Signatures • Click Add Signatures • Search for voter name • Click ACPT (accept) to attach name to petition • Click RES (research) to investigate further Don’t forget to mark whether or not a signature was counted on the front of the paper petition! Critical information for a reviewing body should there be a candidate challenge.

  11. Finalizing VR Review • Once petition is reviewed, VR officials: • Complete back of petition form • Note number of signatures • Certify results to candidates • Certified forms • Candidate can collect them from VR office OR • VR can mail to the Indiana Election Division No statutory deadline to finish verification process; however, any critical delay could lead to court action by a candidate or party.

  12. FAQs • Can anyone sign a petition? • Yes, but only properly registered Indiana voters living in the election district count toward the total • What if they update their registration at the same time they sign the petition? • What matters is the residence address on file with Voter Registration • Registration updated BEFORE petitions are filed, then it’s OK • Registration updated AFTER petitions are filed, then signature is rejected

  13. FAQs • Do all the signatures on a petition have to come from the same county? • No, not legally speaking. All ten signatures could come from voters living in different counties. • Practically speaking, this is a headache for candidates AND counties • Candidates would hope county A finished their work before the deadline in order to submit the remainder to county B on time for verification and so on

  14. FAQs • Does there need to be one signature in each of Indiana’s 92 counties? • Nope. A minimum of 500 valid signatures must be collected in each Congressional District, regardless if one or ten counties within the CD is represented. • Do signatures have to be original? • YES! Absolutely no copies, emails or faxes.

  15. FAQs • Can a voter with a disability be provided assistance in completing the petition? • Yes. Person providing assistance must complete the affidavit on the back side of the petition.

  16. FAQs • Who can circulate petitions? • Anyone can be a petition carrier; however, ALL petition carriers MUST complete the affidavit on the bottom of the form (petition side).

  17. FAQs • What about… • Stapled pages? • All up to the county officials to accept (or not) • Common sense should prevail, however • Stapled front to back pages understandably affect work flow but also not a technical defect

  18. FAQs • What about… • Missing certification sheets (i.e. back side)? • All up to the county officials to accept (or not) • Common sense should prevail, however • Counties can make additional certification sheet copies to attach to the petition • Some counties also require the back and instead, creating a cover sheet (memo) certifying the total number of petition signatures to a candidate • If counties create their own certification form, it’s still a requirement to note whether or not each individual signature counted (or not)

  19. Candidate Filing NOON, Friday, February 5, 2016 Deadline for all major party candidates to file • Declaration of Candidacy • Certain candidates almost must file petitions • Statement of Economic Interest • Legislative, Judicial candidates must file a copy or a receipt of statement of economic interest • Local candidates must file CAN-12

  20. Candidate Filing • Federal Candidates • Paperwork is filed with the SOS or IED • President: declaration (CAN-7); petitions (CAN-8) • U.S. Senator: declaration (CAN-2); petitions (CAN-4) • Candidates for U.S. House files CAN-2 only

  21. Candidate Filing • Statewide candidates • Paperwork is filed with SOS or IED • Copy/ Receipt of Statement of Economic Interest • Handled by Office of Inspector General • Declaration of Candidacy (CAN-2) • Candidates for Governor must also file petitions (CAN-25)

  22. Candidate Filing • State Legislative candidates • Paperwork is filed with SOS or IED • Copy/ Receipt of Statement of Economic Interest • Handled by Principal Clerk of House (House candidates) • Handled by Principal Secretary of the Senate (Senate candidates) • Declaration of Candidacy (CAN-2) Remember, campaign finance committees for STATE LEGISLATIVE candidates are filed with the Indiana Election Division. It’s OK for them to file a courtesy copy with the county, however.

  23. Candidate Filing • Judicial candidates • Paperwork is filed with the SOS or IED • Copy/Receipt of Statement of Economic Interest • Handled by State Court Administration • Declaration of Candidacy • Filed with Indiana Election Division or SOS Remember, campaign finance committees for JUDICIALcandidates are filed with the county election board.

  24. Candidate Filing • County & Local Candidates • Paperwork is filed with County Clerk • Statement of Economic Interest (CAN-12) • Dated for 2015! • Declaration of Candidacy (CAN-2) Clerks MUST reject a declaration of candidacy if statement of economic interest is NOT filed at the same time (or before)

  25. Candidate Filing • Precinct Committeeman & State Convention Delegate (CAN-37) • Can run for both offices in the primary • MUST file separate forms for each office sought • Reminder: Delegate Districts (if using) are apportioned by the county chairs • Parties file state convention delegate paperwork by NOON, December 31, 2015 A statement of economic interest does NOT need to be filed to run for these offices; No need to open or file campaign finance reports, either.

  26. After Filing • Provide a receipt to filer • Can be a copy of the file-stamped declaration of candidacy at the time of filing OR • Use CAN-5 form • Must be hand-delivered, e-mailed or mailed to candidate no later than one day after filing IC 3-8-2-12

  27. After Filing • Post publicly a list of candidates after filing deadline • Publish legal notice of election • Notice for May election (CAN-9) requires candidate name, address, party and position sought • Notice for November election (CAN-39) only requires the offices on the ballot to be listed • No candidate name, address required on CAN-39 IC 3-8-2-13

More Related