Qualifying for Office
The information on this page applies to candidates for county office, who qualify with our office. Candidates for
federal, state or multi-county offices should contact the
Florida Division of Elections.
Candidates must qualify to run for office by submitting qualifying forms and a qualifying fee. In lieu of paying a
qualifying fee, candidates may choose to qualify by petition or as a write-in candidate. Write-in candidates' names do
not appear on the ballot.
Our office can begin accepting qualifying forms and fees during the pre-qualifying period, which takes 14 days prior
to the official qualifying dates. Forms and fees will then be processed on the first day of qualifying week. All
qualifying forms and fees (if applicable) must be received no later than noon on the last day of the qualifying
period.
It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure that he or she files all required forms and timely completes the
candidate qualifying proccess.
JUNE 12, 2021 - Deadline for Candidate party changes for the 2022 election cycle.
Section 99.021 F.S. - The person has been a registered member of the political party for which he or she is
seeking nomination as a candidate for 365 days before the beginning of qualifying preceding the general election for
which the person seeks to qualify.
This includes persons seeking to qualify for office as a candidate with no party affiliation.
Additionally, any person seeking to qualify for office as a candidate with no party affiliation shall, at the time of
subscribing to the oath or affirmation, state in writing that he or she is registered without any party affiliation
and that he or she has not been a registered member of any political party for 365 days before the beginning of the
qualifying preceding the general election for which the person seeks to qualify.
Judicial Candidates
Noon, April 25, 2022 - Noon April 29, 2022
Note: Qualifying papers will be accepted beginning
Noon, April 11, 2022 pursuant to Section 99.061 and 105.031, F.S.
All Other Candidates
Noon, June 13, 2022 - Noon, June 17, 2022
Note: Qualifying papers will be accepted beginning
Noon, May 30, 2022, pursuant to Section 99.061, F.S.
Your qualifying fee must be paid using a check drawn from your campaign account, made payable to
the Supervisor of Elections, and signed by the treasurer. These fees are due the week of qualifying, but
can be turned in during the pre-qualifying period.
List of Fees for County Offices
Pursuant to 99.092 Florida Statutes, qualifying fees for 2022 Hernando County candidates are:
-
City Council Member - $216.00 (4% of annual salary of $5,400)
-
County Commissioner: Partisan - $4,572.18 (6% of annual salary of $76,203)
-
County Commissioner: Non-Partisan - $3,048.12 (4% of annual salary of $76,203)
-
County Court Judge: Non-Partisan - $6,255.08 (4% of annual salary of $156,377)
-
School Board Member: Non-Partisan - $1,560.64 (4% of annual salary of $39,016)
- Special District Candidates: $25.00
As an alternative to paying the qualifying fee, a pre-qualified candidate may qualify by means of the
petitioning process.
Candidate Petition Certification Procedure
Candidate Petition Form (DS-DE 104)
If you choose to qualify by the petition method for County Office, you must obtain signatures of 1% of
the total number of registered voters at the last general election. For local candidates in Hernando
County, the number of petitions needed is 1,469 based on the 146,893 registered voters in the 2020
General Election. A campaign check made payable to Shirley Anderson, Supervisor of Elections for $146.89
must be written before petitions can be validated.
There is a fee of 10 cents per signature or the actual cost of checking such signatures, whichever is
less, to be paid in advance to the supervisor of elections for the cost of verifying the signature.
The payment must be made with a campaign check with the exception of special district candidates who
choose not to open a campaign account pursuant to F.S. 99.061(3).
The deadline for accepting candidate petitions is noon of the 28th day before the first day of the
qualifying period fo the office sought.
For the 2022 Election Cycle:
Judicial: Noon - March 28th, 2022
All other Candidates: Noon - May 16th, 2022
If such charges impose an undue burden on the candidate's resources, the candidate may file an
Undue Burden Affidavit and the fee will be waived, pursuant to F.S. 99.097(4).
Affidavit of Undue Burden will be filed prior to the time petitions are submitted for
verification.
Affidavit of Undue Burden - Form DS-DE 19D
For additional information on candidate qualifying, please visit the:
Florida Division of Elections