HOW TO RUN FOR OFFICE
CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACKET
Douglas County Elections Office 125 Stephanie Place Castle Rock, Colorado 80109 Phone: 303-660-7444 Fax: 720-733-6977 Email: [email protected]
How to Run for Office – Candidate Information Packet
Contents Contents ...... 2 NOTICE ...... 3 Steps for Candidacy ...... 4 Running for State Office ...... 5 Running for County Office ...... 6 Qualifications and Duties ...... 6 Specific Offices ...... 6 County Candidate Responsibilities and Liabilities ...... 7 Candidate Definition ...... 7 Candidate Affidavit ...... 7 Campaign and Political Finance ...... 7 Where to File Candidate Affidavits and Committee Information ...... 8 Timeliness ...... 8 Petition Requirements ...... 8 School District Candidates ...... 9 Douglas County School District ...... 9 Special District Candidates ...... 9 Municipal Candidates ...... 9 Candidate Withdrawals ...... 10
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NOTICE This manual was created for reference and training purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice. It is the candidate’s responsibility to obtain the actual knowledge of the campaign finance laws and regulations. Candidates are strongly urged to check changes to the Colorado Revised Statutes and the Secretary of State’s Rules or consult legal counsel regarding specific questions and dates addressed in this document.
Further, dates listed in this document are correct as of February 2018.
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Steps for Candidacy
STEP 1: Review the candidate requirements, office responsibilities and duties of county elected offices in the Colorado Constitution and Revised Statutes. Qualifications can be found on page 3. You will be required to swear and affirm by oath that you meet the qualifications for county elected office in a Candidate Affidavit.
STEP 2: Review your voter registration at www.govotecolorado.com to ensure you are registered to vote and qualified to run for office. Further, confirm with the county, city, school district or special district in which you are running that you are a resident of that jurisdiction.
STEP 3: You become a candidate when you publicly announce your intent to run for office and thereafter receive a contribution or make an expenditure in support of your candidacy. You should register your candidate committee before receiving or spending any money and your Candidate Affidavit with the Secretary of State at tracer.sos.colorado.gov.
STEP 4: Familiarize yourself with Colorado Campaign Finance rules and laws as well as the Secretary of State TRACER system for all campaign finance disclosure reports and committee registration using the following resources: • Colorado Campaign and Political Finance Manual published by the Secretary of State • Colorado Constitution Article XXVIII (Campaign and Political Finance) and XIV (Counties) • Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.) Title I, Article 45 (Fair Campaign Practices Act) and • Article 4 (Elections - Access to Ballot by Candidates) • Current year Election Calendar and Campaign Finance calendars.
STEP 5: Get your name on the ballot in one of three ways (see pages 4-5 for details): • Certificate of Designation by Assembly • Certificate of Designation by Petition • Certificate of Designation by Write-In
STEP 6: County Coroner and Sheriff candidates must have their fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency, submitting a receipt evidencing the fingerprinting at the time of filing your written acceptance or candidate affidavit. Results of the fingerprint background check will be submitted to the Douglas County Clerk and Recorder to verify candidate eligibility.
STEP 7: Complete a Candidate Affidavit Form within 10 days of becoming a candidate. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.
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Running for State Office
If you are considering running for a statewide office (i.e. Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, etc.), State House or Senate seat in the General Assembly, Judge or District Attorney, please contact your political party and/or the Colorado Secretary of State.
Colorado Secretary of State www.sos.state.co.us 303-894‐2200 State Court Administrator www.courts.state.co.us 303-861‐1111
Colorado Democratic Party www.coloradodems.org 303-623‐4762 Colorado Republican Party www.cologop.org 303-758‐3333
If you are seeking information related to a County or District Court Judge, contact the Secretary of State or the office of the State Court Administrator, as indicated above.
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Running for County Office
Qualifications and Duties If you are considering running for public office, you may first want to ensure that you are qualified to hold the office you seek and are familiar with the duties of the office. You may view and print candidate requirements and office responsibilities/duties from www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/Colorado/.
Specific Offices All candidates for office must be citizens of the United States.
Any Public Office Colorado Revised Statutes Title 1, Article 4, Part 501 County Assessor Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30, Article 10, Part 8 County Clerk & Recorder Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30, Article 10, Part 4 Colorado Revised Statutes Title 1, Article 4, Part 205 County Commissioner Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30, Article 10, Part 3 County Coroner Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30, Article 10, Part 6 County Sheriff Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30, Article 10, Part 5 County Surveyor Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30, Article 10, Part 9 County Treasurer Colorado Revised Statutes Title 30, Article 10, Part 7 Constitution of Colorado Article XIV, Section 10 Other County Offices Info Colorado Revised Statutes Title 1, Article 4, Part 206
All candidates for office must be citizens of the United States. Each of the offices listed below serve a four-year term.
Office Age Residency Educational Requirement Assessor 18+ Registered elector and resident of the county None Clerk and 18+ Registered elector and resident of the county None Recorder Commissioner 18+ Registered elector and resident of the county None in the Commissioner district for which they are running for at least 1 year prior to the election *Coroner 18+ Registered elector and resident of the county None *Sheriff 18+ Registered elector and resident of the county High School diploma, equivalent or greater Surveyor 18+ Registered elector and resident of the county Must be a professional land surveyor Treasurer 18+ Registered elector and resident of the county None
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*A complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency is required. A receipt for the fingerprinting must be submitted at the ti me of filing written acceptance or candidate affidavit. County Candidate Responsibilities and Liabilities
Candidate Definition COLORADO CONSTITUTION ARTICLE XXVIII (Amendment 27) Section 2 (2): “Candidate" means any person who seeks nomination or election to any state or local public office that is to be voted on in this state at any primary election, general election, school district election, special district election, or municipal election. "Candidate" also includes a judge or justice of any court of record who seeks to be retained in office pursuant to the provisions of section 25 of article VI. A person is a candidate for election if the person has publicly announced an intention to seek election to public office or retention of a judicial office and thereafter has received a contribution or made expenditure in support of the candidacy. A person remains a candidate for purposes of this Article so long as the candidate maintains a registered candidate committee. A person who maintains a candidate committee after an election cycle, but who has not publicly announced an intention to seek election to public office in the next or any subsequent election cycle, is a candidate for purposes of this article.
Candidate Affidavit You must file a notarized candidate affidavit with the appropriate officer within 10 days of becoming a Candidate, as defined above. On the candidate affidavit, you certify that you are familiar with Colorado campaign finance rules and laws. Please ensure that you are familiar with these rules and laws prior to submitting your candidate affidavit. You may download Colorado’s campaign finance rules, laws and become familiar with the online campaign finance disclosure TRACER system by accessing the Colorado Secretary of State website (www.sos.state.co.us). Helpful information will be found in:
• Colorado Constitution, Article XXVIII (Amendment 27) • Title 1, Article 45, Colorado Revised Statutes (Fair Campaign Practices Act) • Colorado Secretary of State’s Rules Concerning Campaign and Political Finance • TRACER – Online Filing System • Colorado Secretary of State’s Election Calendar
Campaign and Political Finance Effective January 1, 2010, all campaign finance disclosure reports and committee registrations are handled through the online campaign finance disclosure TRACER system on the Secretary of State’s website: www.sos.state.co.us.
You may contact the Secretary of State Campaign Finance Support team by email at [email protected] or by telephone at 303-894‐2200, extension 6383.
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Where to File Candidate Affidavits and Committee Information All county candidates, candidate committees, issue committees, political committees, independent expenditure committees, and small donor committees file with the Secretary of State. Forms are available through the Secretary of State’s website (www.sos.state.co.us) under Campaign Finance. www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/CampaignFinance/home.html
Timeliness All filings must be submitted within the time allotted by Colorado Law. Failure to file reports on time will result in $50 per day penalties. Please see the Secretary of State’s website (www.sos.state.co.us) for current year election and campaign finance filing calendars. www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/CampaignFinance/filingCalendar.html
Petition Requirements The following table lists the requirements for petition circulators. It also includes a summary of who can sign a petition and how many signatures are needed. These are general summaries only. For specific questions, please refer to Colorado statute.
Circulator Requirements Petition Signers and Signatures Major Party • Resident of the State • Only eligible electors from political • Citizen of the U.S. subdivision may sign. • At least 18 years old • Must be affiliated with the party • Registered to vote named in the petition for at least 29 • Affiliated with the political party days. designated on the petition • Signatures must equal at least 20% of the votes cast in the previous primary for that office. If there was no primary, 20% of the votes cast at the most recent general election for that office. Minor Party • Resident of the State • Only eligible electors from political • Citizen of the U.S. subdivision may sign. • At least 18 years old • There are no party requirements. • Registered to vote • Signatures must equal the lesser of • Affiliated with the political party 750 signatures or 20% of the votes designated on the petition cast for all candidates in the most recent general election. Unaffiliated • Resident of the State • Only eligible electors from political • Citizen of the U.S. subdivision may sign. • At least 18 years old • There are no party requirements. • Signatures must equal the lesser of 750 signatures or 20% of the votes cast for all candidates in the most recent general election.
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School District Candidates Please contact your School District’s Designated Election Official.
Douglas County School District The following is information pertaining specifically to the Douglas County School District.
Board of Education Website https://www.dcsdk12.org/board-of-education Phone 303-387-0258 Address 620 Wilcox St., Castle Rock, CO 80104 Email [email protected] Special District Candidates Please contact your Special District’s Designated Election Official.
For more information regarding special districts you may also contact the Colorado Department of Local Affairs
Colorado Department of Local Affairs Website https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dola/special-districts-0 Phone 303-864‐7720 Address 1313 Sherman St., #521, Denver 80203 Email [email protected] Municipal Candidates Municipal candidates should contact their municipal clerk’s office.
Municipality Phone Number Address City Zip Aurora 303-739-7094 15151 E. Alameda Pkwy. Aurora 80012 Castle Pines 303-705-0226 360 Village Square Lane, #B Castle Pines 80108 Castle Rock 303-660-1394 100 N. Wilcox St. Castle Rock 80104 Larkspur 303-681-2324 8720 Spruce Mountain Rd. Larkspur 80118 Littleton 303-795-3780 2255 W. Berry Ave. Littleton 80120 Lone Tree 303-708-1818 9220 Kimmer Dr. Lone Tree 80124 Parker 303-841-0353 20120 E. Mainstreet Parker 80138
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Candidate Withdrawals If you wish to withdraw your candidacy, the correct procedure depends upon your status on the ballot.
If you have already been designated or nominated to the ballot by party assembly or by petition and wish to withdraw your candidacy, you may submit a signed and notarized Statement of Withdrawal Form to the appropriate designated election official.
If the form is not filed in time for your name to be taken off the ballot, the election will proceed, and any votes cast for you will be deemed invalid and will not be counted.
If you are a candidate but have not yet been designated or nominated to the ballot and wish to withdraw your candidacy, you may submit a signed letter of withdrawal to the appropriate designated election official. The Designated election official for county elected offices is the Douglas County Clerk and Recorder.
If you are running for municipal, school board or special district office, please submit your withdrawal to the designated election official in that jurisdiction.
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