County Commissioner - 2022 Candidate Qualifying Requirements

District

Incumbent (Party)

Salary

Qualifying Period

Qualifying Officer

 2 - At Large

Pat Gerard (D)

$104,725*

NOON, June 13, 2022 - NOON, June 17, 2022

Pre-qualifying papers will be accepted beginning May 31, 2022**

Julie Marcus

Supervisor of Elections

Pinellas County, FL

13001 Starkey Rd.

Largo, FL 33773

(727) 464-4987 

4 - Single Member

Dave Eggers (R)

5 - Single Member***

Karen Seel (R)

6 - Single Member

Kathleen Peters (R)

7 - Single Member***

Rene Flowers (D)

*This amount is subject to change. The qualifying fee is based on the salary as of July 1, 2021.

**Pinellas County Elections Offices will be CLOSED in observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 30, 2022.
***Due to recent law changes (SB 524), County Commissioner Single Member Districts 5 & 7 have been added to the 2022 Election Cycle and will be up for re-election in 2024.

Term of Office

Election Dates

Type of Election

District 2, 4 & 6: 4 Year Term -Beginning November 22, 2022
***Districts 5 & 7: 2 Year Term - Beginning November 22, 2022

• Primary Election – August 23, 2022
• General Election – November 8, 2022

Partisan At Large Districts - Elected Countywide; Partisan Single Member Districts - Elected Within District

Residency /Additional Requirements

• A registered Florida voter. [F.S. 99.021]
• A resident of the district (At-Large or Single Member) on the date the county canvassing board certifies the election results. [F.S. 100.041(2)(a)] [Section 3.01 County Charter]
• Recent law requires a person seeking nomination as a candidate of a political party to be a member of that political party for the 365 days before the beginning of the applicable qualifying period. Additionally, the law requires a person seeking to qualify for office as a candidate with no party affiliation to not be a member of any political party for the 365 days before the beginning of the applicable qualifying period. Therefore, the last day for a person to make a change is June 12, 2021. [F.S. 99.021]

• Form DS-DE 9 (Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository)
• Candidate must file this form before opening a campaign account [F.S. 106.021]
• Form DS-DE 84 (Statement of Candidate)
• Candidate must file within ten (10) days after filing Form DS-DE 9 [F.S. 106.023]
• Form DS-DE 301SL (Candidate Oath with Party Affiliation - State and Local Partisan Office) or Form DS-DE 301SL (Candidate Oath with No Party Affiliation - State and Local Partisan Office) or Form DS-DE 301SL (Candidate Oath for Write-In - State and Local Partisan Office)
• Candidate must file during the Pre-Qualifying or Qualifying Period [F.S. 99.021]
• Form 6 2021 (Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests) Candidate must file during the Pre-Qualifying or Qualifying Period

The material contained in this information sheet is not comprehensive in nature. If you are running for office, it is your responsibility to become acquainted with relevant Florida election laws that might have a bearing on your campaign or qualifications to run for office.

Candidate Qualifying Methods

Qualifying Period: NOON, June 13, 2022 - NOON, June 17, 2022 [F.S. 99.061]

• Please email [email protected] or call (727) 464-4987 to make an appointment to file your qualifying documents
• Pre-qualifying papers will be accepted beginning May 31, 2022*

   F.S. 99.061(8) states that qualifying papers may be submitted to the qualifying officer beginning 14 days prior to the qualifying period.

*Pinellas County Elections Offices will be CLOSED in observance of Memorial Day on Monday, May 30, 2022.

Major Party Candidate Qualifying by Fee [F.S. 99.092]

• The qualifying fee is 6% of the salary of the office as of July 1, 2021 ($6,283.50)
• Campaign check made payable to Julie Marcus, Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections
• Campaign check to pay qualifying fee can only be accepted during the Pre-Qualifying or Qualifying Period

Candidate Qualifying by Petition [F.S. 99.095, F.S. 99.097]

• Deadline to submit petitions: PRIOR to NOON, May 16, 2022
• Candidates must collect signatures of 1% of the registered voters residing in the district or the county as of the last general election, November 6, 2020.
  • At Large Seats requires 7,112 valid signatures
  • Single Member Seats requires 1,778 valid signatures
• Petition Form - DS-DE 104 can be found here
• Signature verification fee of $0.10 per petition must be paid when petitions are submitted

No Party Affiliation & Minor Party Candidate Qualifying Methods [F.S. 99.0955, F.S. 99.096]

• The qualifying fee is 4% of the salary of the office as of July 1, 2021 ($4,189.00)
• Qualifications are in the same manner and at the same time as major party candidates
• Names are placed on the general election ballot
• Minor party candidates pay a party assessment if one has been levied by the minor party 
• Petitioning and write-in requirements are the same as those for major party candidates

Write-In Candidates [F.S. 99.061(4)(b)]

• Names of write-in candidates do not appear on the ballot

Missing or Incomplete Information [F.S. 99.061(7)]

• If the filing officer receives qualifying papers during the qualifying period which do not include all items required prior to the last day of qualifying, the filing officer shall make a reasonable effort to notify the candidate of the missing or incomplete items and shall inform the candidate that all required items must be received by the close of qualifying. 
• A candidate’s name as it is to appear on the ballot may not be changed after the end of qualifying. The filing officer performs a ministerial function in reviewing qualifying papers. In determining whether a candidate is qualified, the filing officer shall review the qualifying papers to determine whether all items required have been properly filed and whether each item is complete on its face, including whether items that must be verified have been properly verified pursuant to F.S. 92.525(1)(a). The filing officer may not determine whether the contents of the qualifying papers are accurate.