Candidate Qualification Period Confirmed

I spoke with Cathy Fowler at the Supervisor of Elections office yesterday and she confirmed that the time period for candidates to file their qualifications was from Monday, April 14 thru 12 noon, Friday, April 18. She stressed that 12 noon was the deadline and NO qualifications would be accepted after that date. Cathy is located in the Sarasota office and can be contacted at 941-861-8605. She did say that qualification packages would be available at the South County Administration Center in the Supervisor of Elections office there.

She also stated that the deadline for the Petition form of qualification for this election had passed. Candidates will now be required to pay a $25 fee. Only the "short form" financial statement is required for candidates; but she did suggest that the form be picked up in advance of qualifying and completed by candidates before submitting the full qualification package. The "loyalty oath" required for qualification can be administered by elections personnel at the time of filing, or may be completed earlier if properly notarized.

As of March 17 when I spoke with her, she is not aware of any candidates having contacted her office about qualifying for the election in June.