Qualifying Period & Steps

Qualifying Period for the City of Pinellas Park March 19, 2024 General Election

• Opens - November 6, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.
• Closes - November 21, 2023 at 1:00 p.m.

Steps

Step Number 1 - Form DS-DE 9

To receive your DS-DE 9 you can email candidates@pinellas-park.com or call the City Clerk’s Office at 727-369-0616 to set up an appointment if you do not have the resources to print out the document.

Form DS-DE 9, Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository for Candidates is the first document that must be filed with the City Clerk to become a candidate. At the same time, the candidate must designate the office for which he or she is running. Nothing prohibits a person from announcing their intention to become a candidate prior to filing Form DS-DE 9, as long as no contributions are received, no expenditures are made, and no signatures are obtained on a candidate petition.

*** Party affiliation must be selected as No Party Affiliation (NPA) on all qualifying documents. ***

• Form DS-DE 9, shall be filed with the City Clerk PRIOR to opening the campaign account.
• Form DS-DE 9, is not effective until the campaign treasurer signs it and it is filed with the City Clerk and is not considered “filed” upon mailing, but only upon receipt by the City Clerk.
• Form DS-DE 9 must be on file with the City Clerk PRIOR to the candidate accepting any contributions or making any expenditures, or authorizing another to accept contributions or make expenditures on the person’s behalf.
• Form DS-DE 9 must be on file with the City Clerk PRIOR to obtaining signatures on a DS-DE 104, Candidate petition.
• All campaign accounts/checks/debit cards must contain the name of the candidate Campaign Account, (for example: John Doe Campaign Account) refer to Chapter 106.

Step Number 2 - Form DS-DE 84 Statement of Candidate

Each Candidate will be provided a copy of the State of Florida Campaign Financing Act by the City Clerk (after filing Form DS-DE 9).

The candidate is then required to file Form DS-DE 84, Statement of Candidate, with the City Clerk within 10 days after filing their Form DS-DE 9. Form DS-DE 84 states candidate has read and understands the requirements of the Campaign Financing Act, Chapter 106.

Please save the following links or print them out. You must read these documents prior to qualifying. There will be a form you must sign stating you received them and read them.

FLORIDA ELECTION CODE

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CANDIDATE & CAMPAIGN TREASURER HANDBOOK

Once you have opened your campaign account, download the documents from the links and read them. You can then email candidates@pinellas-park.com or call the Clerk’s Office at 727-369-0616 to set up your appointment to finalize all your documents and receive your petitions to qualify to run.

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Step Number 3 Petitions (Form DS-DE 104) & Qualifying Fees

• Beginning November 6, 2023 at 8 a.m., the City Clerk will provide nomination petitions FORM DS-DE 104 and affidavits of circulators.
• Candidates are required to submit petitions containing 200 registered electors’ signatures and no fee OR 40 registered electors’ signatures AND a fee of $50.
• Petitions must be brought to the City Clerk’s Office and the Clerk will submit the petitions to the Supervisor of Elections Office (SOE) to verify petition signatures. The City Clerk will inform candidates the number of valid signatures after notification from the SOE
• Checks for qualifying and assessment fees must be made payable to City of Pinellas Park from the candidate’s campaign account.

Assessment Fees

• All qualifying forms and fees must be completed and paid by 1 p.m. on November 21, 2023.
• Arrange with the City Clerk a time to meet at her office to complete all necessary forms by calling 369-0616.

**Please plan accordingly to ensure there is adequate time to complete the qualifying process.**