Petitions Candidate Filing General Rules Guidelines

Petitions & Candidate Filing General Rules & Guidelines

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 2

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

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 4

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 5

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 6

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) 7

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 8

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 9

Quick SVRS Overview • Petition Signature Entry – – – Main Menu > Election > 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. 10

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. 11

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 12

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 13

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. 14

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. 15

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). 16

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 17

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) 18

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 19

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 20

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) 21

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. 22

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 JUDICIAL candidates are filed with the county election board. 23

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) 24

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. 25

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 26

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 27