SIERRA VISTA — People who want to get on the primary ballot in the fall must file their nomination paperwork and petitions May 5 to June 4, for all state, county and local offices.
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Most states stagger their state office election for off-presidential years, though some do not.
To run for legislative office — state senate or house — you must be at least 25 years old, a resident of Arizona for at least three years, and a resident of the represented county for at least one year before the elections. All state house and senate terms are two years.
The Arizona Corporation Commission is the only “statewide” office on the fall ballot, for which there is no minimum age or residency requirement in the state Constitution, though you may not run if you are in the employ of or hold an official relation to a corporation, or a person subject to ACC regulation, or a person holding stocks or bonds, or with otherwise pecuniary relation.
There are five Arizona Corporation Commissioners, and three of the seats will be on the ballot for four-year terms.
To get on the forthcoming ballot as a candidate for U.S. Congress, you have to be at least 25, have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years and must inhabit the state in which you run to represent, per article one-section two of the U.S. Constitution.
Every U.S. representative seat is open for election every two years, and every two years a third of all U.S. senate seats, which endure six-year terms, are up for election.
“For anybody on the ballot in the fall, you’re going to be running in the primary. Your nomination paperwork and your petitions will be filed between May 5 and June 4,” Kanefield said.
The deadlines and election dates are generally the same statewide for the fall elections, excepting some towns and cities which may hold local elections in the springtime. The Sierra Vista election, which is nonpartisan, was last on a spring ballot in 2003, and since then has been in line with the fall election schedule.
The number of signatures needed for partisan candidates in the state and county election process depends on the district, because it’s a percentage based minimum.
Tom Schelling is the Cochise County elections office director. He quoted the minimum signature requirements for the county offices up in the fall. For the Cochise County Board of Supervisors District 1 Republican primary, the minimum number of petition signatures is 262. For the Democratic primary for that seat, the minimum is 147.
For county supervisor district two seat, the Republican minimum is 92, and for the Democrats it’s 176.
For the district three seat, the Republicans need at least 151, and Democrats 109.
For the countywide offices up in the fall primary — Cochise County Superior Court Divisions 4 and 5, the Cochise County Assessor, Attorney, Recorder, School Superintendent, Sheriff, Treasurer, Precinct Committee seats, the Community College Governing Board, School District and Special Governing Boards — the Republican signature minimum is 505, and the 432 for Democrats.
In addition to petitions, a political committee must be formed by those seeking office.
A candidate can’t circulate any petition or collect any money until forming a political committee, which is the entity organized for campaign finance purposes.
After the petitions are filed, there is a 10-day period in which any qualified elector can bring a challenge to a person’s candidacy, which can be based on the candidate’s qualifications, “or more likely it’s a challenge to the signatures,” Kanefield said.
Signatures must be from party-affiliated, qualified electors. And for statewide offices, the minimum is one-half of 1 percent, of the total statewide party registration. Statewide legislatures, however, must have at least 1 percent of the total statewide party registration.
“We always get challenges. I primarily see the legislative challenges and some of the county officers here in Maricopa County, and that number ranges from 20 to 30 in an election cycle, if you can believe that,” Kanefield said.
The last two challenges — both unsuccessful — under the county purview of Schelling were during the 2006 fall elections process — one from the Sierra Vista City Council race, and one from the Justice of the Peace race in Douglas.
“The filing officer has to be named as a defendant, not because we defend that candidate, but by serving the lawsuit we become the process server, and we’re there at all the proceedings,” Kanefield said. In kind, Schelling as the county filing officer was named as a defendant in the 2006 challenges.
Schelling asked voters and would-be candidates to “call if they have questions, rather than mail in, and bring in paperwork that’s not complete, if they’re not sure.”
Though the public becomes more aware of the process each election cycle, Schelling felt the need to clarify that the county elections office is just where the petitions are filed, and the staff does not go through to verify the signatures. “We do not. We are an office of filing. An elector can come in and check, then they can file in Cochise County Superior Court their challenges,” Schelling said. That is not to say they do not take a look at what is filed, but they do not “verify” the petitions one way or the other.
To be a candidate for county office, you must be registered to vote, at least 18 and a U.S. citizen, and a reside within Cochise County. First-time convicted felons are not qualified electors in Arizona, though once rights are restored and probation is completed, the elector’s rights are automatically restored. If you’ve got two felonies, or a firearm-related felony, you have to petition through the Cochise County Superior Court to be reinstated as a qualified elector. And, ever having been adjudicated as mentally incompetent disqualifies people from qualified elector status.
Board of Supervisors candidates must be a qualified elector of their district. Superintendent candidates must hold a regular certificate to teach in the schools of Arizona and meet general qualifications for county offices. The County Attorney candidates must be an attorney at law, licensed and in good standing with the Arizona Bar and meet the general qualifications for county offices.
Superior Court judge candidates must be at least 30, of good moral character, admitted to the Arizona Bar and a resident of the state for at least five years before they take office, must be an elector of the county in which the duties of the office are to be exercised and be able to read and write in English.
Community College Governing Board member candidates must be a qualified elector within the precinct in which the duties are to be exercised, and employees of a community college district or their spouses are not eligible. County officers elected in other positions may not serve as a governing board member concurrent with said office term. School District Governing Board candidates must be a registered voter of the state and a resident of the school district for one year immediately preceding the day of election. Neither school employees nor their spouses are eligible.
Special District Governing Board candidates for a fire district must be, and during their incumbency remain a qualified elector of that district. Hospital board candidates must be real property owners within the district and cannot be an elected or appointive state, county or city official. Water improvement and sanitary improvement district candidates must be a qualified elector of the district.
Challenges have to be resolved within a 30-day statutory period, the court has to hear it within 10 days after it’s filed, and there exists an automatic right for either part to appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, Kanefield said.
“The Supreme Court is anticipating election disputes this summer, they will be staffed accordingly, ready to deal with them. They move through them very quickly,” Kanefield said. Last year the Supreme Court drafted new, more specific rules governing nomination appeals, for more uniformity, he said.
“Then we’re ready for the primary election, early voting starts, ballots are set and printed, then, whoever wins the primary goes on to be the representative for that party on the general ballot,” Kanefield said.
The state office is also the filing office for the statewide ballot measures, for which July 3 is the deadline for a measure to amend the Arizona Constitution or state laws. “There is no vetting process in terms of a proposal, there are no limits. The Constitution says people can enact any law that the legislature can enact,” Kanefield said. “File a short form, apply for a serial number indicating who you are or your organization, and the proposed text that you’re offering to the people — it would look like a legislative bill. That’s free and easy. The hard part is you have to go out there and gather hundreds of thousands of signatures. It’s based on the number of votes cast for governor in the last election. For a constitutional amendment it’s 15 percent, and that number this year is 230,047. And if you’re just proposing a changed law, it’s 10 percent of the votes cast for the governor’s last election, and that number is 153,365. That way, the number is the same for two election cycles.”
Five candidates have filed packets in the nonpartisan Sierra Vista council race, and when someone walks into City Hall, city clerk staff hands them a packet and sits down with the would-be candidate to go through the regulations. Forms included in the packet are a candidate checklist, nomination petitions, candidate’s affidavit, financial disclosure paperwork, a statement of organization, a $500 threshold of exemption statement, a copy of the Arizona Revised Statures which deal with campaign contributions and expenses, a campaign finance guidebook, a 2008 Sierra Vista election manual, rules about political signs, and a map of the city’s voting districts.
Council candidates must live in the city and be qualified electors.
The county elections office facilitates the elections in the city.
More information
For more information about county elections, go online to: co.cochise.az.us/elections and click on the “2008 candidate pamphlet PDF” link.
For more information about elections at the state level, visit: azsos.gov, and click on the “upcoming elections” link.
For information about the Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission, go to: azcleanelections.gov.
Timelines
A quick timeline in preparation for the fall primary elections:
• April 15 — Last day to file verified petition signature with the Secretary of State
• May 5 — Notice from Secretary of State Office listing offices that are opening for election; first day for partisan primary candidates to file papers (petitions, nomination paper affidavit of qualification statement of understanding and financial disclosure statement); first day to file “nomination other than by primary” or “independent”
• June 1 — First day to file June 30 campaign finance report
• June 4 — First day for candidate filing, at 5 p.m.; last day to file “nomination other than by primary” or “independent”
• June 30 — Last day to file June 30 campaign finance report
• July 24 — Last day for primary election write-in candidates to file
• July 31 — Early voting begins for primary election
• Aug. 4 — Last day to register to vote in primary election
• Aug. 14 — First day to file pre-primary election campaign finance report
• Aug. 21 — Last day to file pre-primary election campaign finance report
• Aug. 22 — Last day to request a ballot by mail
• Aug. 29 — Last day to vote at on-site location
• Tuesday, Sept. 2 — Primary election
• Sept. 23 — First day to file post-primary election campaign finance report
• Oct. 2 — Last day to file post-primary election campaign finance report
A quick timeline for the fall general elections:
• July 7 — First day for nonpartisan candidates to file nomination petitions and papers
• Aug. 6 — Last day for nonpartisan candidates to file nomination paper
• Sept. 25 — Last day for nonpartisan candidates to file nomination papers
• Oct. 2 — Early voting begins
• Oct. 6 — last day to register to vote in the general election
• Oct. 16 — First date to file pre-general election campaign reports
• Oct. 23 — Last day to file pre-general election campaign finance reports
• Oct. 24 — Last day to request a ballot by mail
• Oct. 31 — Last day to vote at on-site location
• Tuesday, Nov. 4 — General election
• Nov. 25 — First to file post-general election campaign finance reports
• Dec. 4 — Last day to file post-general election campaign finance reports
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