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 week.
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 process.
June 10, 2023 - Deadline for Candidate party changes for the 2024 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 22, 2024 - Noon April 26, 2024
*Note: Qualifying papers will be accepted beginning April 8, 2024 pursuant to Section 99.061 and 105.031, F.S.
All Other Candidates
Noon, June 10, 2024 - Noon, June 14, 2024
*Note: Qualifying papers will be accepted beginning May 27, 2024, pursuant to Section 99.061, F.S.
The qualifying fee is based on the salary of the office sought as of July 1, 2023 pursuant to 99.092 Florida Statutes.
The qualifying fee must be paid with a check drawn on the candidate's campaign account, made payable to the Supervisor of Elections, and signed by the campaign treasurer.
These fees are due the week of qualifying, but can be turned in during the pre-qualifying period.
2024 Candidate Qualifying Fee Information
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
1,485 based on the 148,485 registered voters in the 2022 General Election. A campaign check made payable to Shirley Anderson,
Supervisor of Elections for $148.49 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 fo rthe 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 2024 Election Cycle:
Judicial: Noon, 3/25/2024
Local: Noon, 5/13/2024
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