Elections - Running for Office - Town of Southwest Ranches, Florida

Below is some general information regarding running for office. The information contained herein is not intended to be a comprehensive breakdown of the election process or the election laws. If you are interested in running for office, then you must contact the Town Clerk and arrange an appointment to obtain a copy of the Town's 2010 Candidate Handbook. Please allow approximately 20-30 minutes to review the package with the Town Clerk.

The Qualifying Period for the November 2, 2010 Election begins at noon on September 1, 2010 and runs through noon on September 8, 2010. During this time, candidates must submit all neccessary forms to the Town Clerk, and pay any qualifying fees or assessments levied by the State or the Town. Absolutely no qualifying documents will be accepted after 12:00PM on September 8, 2010! Please contact the Town Clerk for official qualifying requirements and deadlines.

There are two (2) qualifying and/or assessment fees for all Southwest Ranches candidates. There is a State Election Assessment Fee of 1% of the position's annual salary, and a $100 Town Qualifying Fee. All State fees must be paid by a check drawn on the campaign checking account and are to be made payable to the Town; and, the Town qualifying fee must be paid separately from any State fees and are also to be made payable to the Town. For the November 2, 2010 elections, the total qualifying and assessment fees are broken down as follows:

       Office of Mayor (annual salary is $15,000.00 per year): $250.00
       State Election Assessment Fee- $150.00
       Town Qualifying Fee- $100.00

       Council Member Seats (annual salary is $12,000.00 per year): $220.00
       State Election Assessment Fee- $120.00
       Town Qualifying Fee- $100.00

Prior to qualifying for office, a candidate may announce his intention to run and secure promises for contributions and other assistance by:

Filing a completed Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository form with the Town Clerk’s Office (THIS MUST BE DONE PRIOR TO ACCEPTING CONTRIBUTIONS) ; and
Filing a completed Statement of Candidate form (Must be submitted within 10 days of filing the Appointment of Campaign Tresurer and Designation of Campaign Depository form)

Submittal of these items to the Qualifying Officer prior to the Qualifying Period does NOT guarantee that a Candidate is qualified to run for office.

The contribution limit for all municipal candidates is $500 per contributor per election. (Contribution limits do not apply to contributions made by a candidate to his/her own campaign.) No unemancipated child under the age of 18 years may make a contribution to any candidate in excess of $100 per election. For futher information on Election Finance Laws, please refer to F.S. Chapter 106.

Campaign Treasurer's Reporting Information

All candidates must file Treasurer Reports regarding the activities within their campaign accounts. The financial reporting dates for the November 2, 2010 election are:

            7/12/10 (covering the period of 4/1/10 - 6/30/10)
             9/17/10 (covering the period of 7/1/10 - 9/10/10)
             10/1/10 (covering the period of 9/11/10 - 9/24/10)
             10/15/10 (covering the period of 9/25/10 - 10/8/10)
             10/29/10 (covering the period of 10/9/10 - 10/28/10)

After Qualifying, all opposed candidates must file all Treasurer's Reports, regardless of activity. Any candidate who is unopposed must dispose of his/her funds and file a report reflecting the disposition within 90 days after becoming unopposed.

Should the reporting date occur on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the report shall be filed on the next following day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. All reports must be filed by 5:00 p.m. on the designated day; however, any report postmarked by the US Postal Service no later than midnight of the day designated shall be deemed to have been filed in a timely manner. A certificate of mailing obtained from and dated by the US Postal Service at the time of mailing, or a receipt from an established courier company, which bears a date on or before the date on which the report is due shall be proof of mailing in a timely manner.

Late filings of Treasurer's Reports are subject to a $50 fine for each late day for the first three days and, thereafter, $500 per day for each late day. The fine is not to exceed 25% of the total receipts or expenditures, whichever is greater, for the period covered by the late report. However, for the reports immediately preceding each election, the fine shall be $500 per day for each late day, not to exceed 25% of the total receipts or expenditures, whichever is greater, for the period covered by the late report. Late report penalties are the responsibility of the candidate and are to be paid from the personal funds of the candidate. Such fines are to be paid to the Town of Southwest Ranches within 20 days after receipt of notice of payment due.

Campaign Sign Regulations & Permits

Candidates are solely responsible for the compliant useage and removal of all campaign signage. Please contact the Town Clerk's Office for information regarding campaign sign regulations and Town permits.

A political advertisement is any paid expression in any communication media, whether radio, television, newspaper, magazine, periodical, campaign literature, direct mail, or display or by means other than the spoken word in direct conversation, which expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate or the approval or rejection of an issue. Political advertisements are strictly regulated by the State and require different disclaimers for different advertisements. For comprehensive and udpated information regarding political advertisements and disclaimers, please refer to F.S. Chapter 106.

DISCLAIMER: It is not the responsibility of the Town of Southwest Ranches or the Office of the Town Clerk to interpret Florida Statutes as prescribed by Florida Law. For further interpretation or legal opinion, you may contact: The Florida Department of State Division of Elections at (850) 245-6240.

Please be advised that under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone at (954)434-0008, or in writing at 6589 SW 160 AVE, Southwest Ranches, FL 33331.

Legal: Disclaimer