STATE OF FLORIDA FLORIDA ELECTIONS COMMISSION
In Re: Green Party of Florida Case No.: FEC 12-414 ------~'
NOTICE OF HEARING ON APPEAL OF AUTOMATIC FINE
TO: Kelley S. Roark, Esquire Kelley Roark, P.A. · 2915 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 300 Mianii, Flo.rida 33137
Division of Elections 500 South BronoughStreet .RA GrayBililding, Room.316 Tallahassee, Florida 32399~0250
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on May 14, 2013,at8: 30 a.m. orthereaftei as the parties can be heard, the Florida Elections Commission will bringon to be heard Respondent's appeal of the fine imposed by the filing officer for Respondent failing to file timely a campaign treasurer's rep01t. The Commission shal! meet at: Senate Office Building, 404 S(luth Monroe Street, Room Sc401, Tallahassee, F:Io.rida 32399-6526. . . Respondent and staff shall have the opportunity to brieflY present their case to the Commission Failure. to appear in accordance withthis notice will constitute a waiver of your right to a hearing, and the Commission will decide this case on the record before it Convenience of location is not a basis for continuing or postponing the scheduled hearing. See reverse side for additional instructions. If you require an accommodation due to a disability, contact Donna Ann Malphurs at (850) 922-4539 or by mail af 107 West Gaines Street, The Collins Building, Suite 224, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, at least 5 days before the hearing. PLEASE GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY. Dated on April 16, 2013
Amy McKeever Toman Executive Director
Hea038 (2/09) Please be advised that other cases have been scheduled for the same time. Therefore, your case may not be called exactly at the time set forth on this notice. At the automatic fine heating, the Flolida Elections Commission will decide whether Respondent's catnpaign treasurers rep01t was timely filed or whether there were unusual circumstances that excuse his failure to timely file his report Rule 2B-L0055, Florida Administrative Code, defines unusual circumstances as "uncommon, rare or sudden events over which the actO! has no control and which directly result in the failure to act in accordance with the filing requirements Circumstances which allow for time in which to take those steps necessary to assure compliance with the filing requirement shall be deemed not to constitute unusual circumstances .. " The hearing will be conducted pursuant to Section 106 07(8)(c), Florida Statutes, if Respondent is a candidate, a political committee, or an electioneering communications organization; Section 106.04(8)(c), Florida Statutes, if Respondent is a committee of continuous existence; or Section 10629(3)( c), Florida Statutes, if Respondent is a political party; and Commission Rules 2B- 1 005, 1 0052, & 1 0055, Florida Administrative Code The Commission will electronically record the meeting Although the Commission's recording is considered the official record of the healing, the Respondent may provide, at his own expense, a certified court 1 eporter to also record the heating Before making a decision, the Commission will review the written documents submitted by Respondent and staff at least ten days before the hearing and the information presented at the hearing .. Rule 2B-1.005, Florida Administrative Code, provides that unless good cause is shown, the Commission will not consider any written document unless it has been filed with the Commission Clerk at least ten days before the healing .. When the case is called, the Chair will read a brief statement and may ask the Respondent and his attorney, if one is present, to state their natnes for the record. Respondent will then have time to present his case to the Commission Witnesses may be called to testify under oath on Respondent's behalf. If Respondent calls witnesses, the staff attorney may cross-examine those witnesses after Respondent's questioning is finished .. After Respondent's presentation, staff will have the satne amount of time to present its case. If the staff attorney calls witnesses, Respondent may cross-examine those witnesses after staff's questioning is finished At any time during the presentations the Commissioners may ask questions of Respondent, his attorney, the witnesses, and staff After the presentations are concluded, the Commissioners will discuss the case and decide whether Respondent's repmt was timely filed or whether there were unusual circumstances that excuse his failure to file timely his report The Commission will make a decision by a majority vote of those members present and voting. After the Commission meeting, the Commission will send Respondent a written order reflecting the Commission's decision. If the Commission upholds the fine, Respondent will have 30 days to pay the fine. If you have any questions about the procedures for the hearing, please contact Donna Ann Malphurs at 107 West Gaines Street Collins Building, Suite 224 Tallahassee, FL 32399- 1050, phone number: (850) 922-4539.
Hea038 (2/09) FLORIDA ELECTIONS COMMISSION CASE REPORT Case Number: FEC-12-414
NAME: GREEN PARTY OF FLORIDA
CANDIDATE [ ] STATE [ X ] DATE APPEAL RECEIVED: 11/26/12 PC [ ] DISTRICT [ ] DATE HEARD BY FEC: N/A CCE [ ] COUNTY [ ] POLITICAL PARTY [ X ] CITY [ ] DATE HEARING REQUEST RECEIVED: 11/26/12 ECO [ ]
DATE REPORT DUE: 11/2/12 (2012 G4) DATE OF ELECTRONIC RECEIPT: 11/3/12
DATE FILING OFFICER RECEIVED REPORT: 11/3/12
NUMBER OF DAYS LATE: 1 AMOUNT OF FINE: $10,000.00
FINE BASED ON: (X) NUMBER OF DAYS ( ) 25% OF RECEIPTS ( ) 25% OF EXPENDITURES
TOTAL RECEIPTS FOR REPORTING PERIOD: $872.72
TOTAL EXPENDITURES FOR REPORTING PERIOD: $163.00
DATE FIRST NOTIFICATION WAS RECEIVED: 11/5/12
SUMMARY: The Green Party of Florida is a political party executive committee (PPX) registered with the State of Florida. The PPX’s chair is Jennifer Sullivan and its treasurer is Kurt Gratzol. The PPX is appealing the fine claiming that unusual circumstances caused the 2012 G4 Report to be untimely filed. According to PPX’s treasurer, the primary cause for the late filing was due to difficulty logging into the EFS system. He stated that he has had problems logging into the system in the past1.
In a 2/18/13 Chairperson Statement letter, Ms. Sullivan stated, “Because of this being the most intensely busy time, I either did not receive the reminder email or missed it in the unbelievable amounts of emails that I was getting. So the consequences of this was that I was not able to remind Kurt about the filing and did not realize this until I saw the “late notice.”
• The PPX has been electronically filing treasurer reports for the past 16 years. • The 2012 G4 Report covers the time period from 10/13/12 through 11/1/12. • The PPX reported receiving 3 contributions, while making 5 expenditures during this reporting period. • The PPX reported receiving its last contribution for this reporting period on 10/15/12; the last expenditure was reported on 10/31/12. • The 2012 G4 Queued-Transactions Report shows that the report was created on 9/5/12 at approximately 10:58 a.m., and reviewed several times before being filed on 11/3/12 at approximately 3:36 p.m. The last review of the report was on 11/1/12 at approximately 4:26 p.m.
1 Records from the Division state that Mr. Gratzol had an issue in locating the EFS website properly. FEC ACTION: FINE DUE: $ ______DATE : ______TIMELY FILED: YES ______NO ______UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES: YES ______NO ______WAIVER: PARTIAL ______FULL ______FINE INCORRECTLY CALCULATED: YES ______NO ______UC REASON: ______INITIALS: ______Aut048 (2/09) PRIOR CASES: The Green Party of Florida has not appeared before the Commission; however, the party has had to pay the Division for untimely filing their reports on several occasions in the past. According to Division records, The Green Party of Florida was also fined $89.37 for filing their 2001 Q3 Report 8 days late; however, there is no record that this fine was ever paid.
FEC ACTION: FINE DUE: $ ______DATE : ______TIMELY FILED: YES ______NO ______UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES: YES ______NO ______WAIVER: PARTIAL ______FULL ______FINE INCORRECTLY CALCULATED: YES ______NO ______UC REASON: ______INITIALS: ______Aut048 (2/09) I I,
FLORIDA ELECTIONS COMMISSION PHONE LOG Case No.: FEC 12-414
Respondent: Green Party of Florida Complainant: DOE
1 Date and time: Decembe1 19,2012@ 5:30pm Name: Kelly Romke-Attomey Phone#: Voice Message Summary: I had a voice message advising me that Kelly Romke 1s Respondent's attorney Ms .. Romke requests that I retum her call # (305) 469-4460 Memo to File? No Entered by: CKO
2 Date and time: December 20, 2012@ 2:00pm Name: Kelly Rourke-Attorney Phone#: Voice Message Summary: I had another vo1ce message asking that I 1etmn her call to discuss Respondent's investigation. Memo to File? No Entered by: CKO
3. Date and time: December 20, 2012 @2:25pm Name: Kelly Rourke-Attomey Phone#: (305) 469-4460 Summary: I had telephone contact to retum Ms Romke's calL I explained that I would need a notice of appearance on file before I could confirm/deny/discuss any information Ms .. Rourke advised me that she would email a notice of appearance. I gave her my email address Ms .. Romke also requests an extension to retum information till January 20, 2013 Memo to File? No Entered by: CKO
4 Date and time: December 21, 2012@ 4:00pm Name: Kelly Rourke-Attomey Phone#: (305) 469-4460 Summary: I had telephone contact advising me that she was in the process of sending notice of appearance and wanted to verify email add! ess Memo to File? No Entered by: CKO
5 Date and time: January 22,2013@ 7:30am Name: Kelly Rourke-Attomey Phone#: Voice Message Summary: I had voice message requesting another extension to February 15, 2013.. Ms Rourke stated that she had also emailed me this request Memo to File? No
lnvOOl (I0/07) Entered by: CKO
6.. Date and time: January 22, 2013 @9:50am Name: Kelly Rourke-Attomey Phone #: (305) 469-4460 Summary: I had telephone contact inquiring about the possibility of another extension Ms Rourke explained that she had spoken with FEC staff on Ftiday, January 18, 2013 at approximately 5:00 pm, and been informed that the case would not be heard until the May meeting I explained that the only reason the case wouldn't be heard on this upcoming February meeting was because she required extra time to submit her appeal in this matter I told her that I would document her request in the file .. Memo to File? No Entered by: CKO
7 Date and time: February 14,2013@ 10:15 am Name: Kelly Rourke-Attomey Phone#: Voice Message Summary: I had voice message requesting another extension until March 1, 2013. Memo to File? No Entered by: CKO
INVOOI (12101) 2 Green Party of Florida
PO BOX 712, INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FL 33785-0712 • wwwgpf?//:/rlJ f:tt1 ? ·~ ~. ~. ,.(\ N~;v~m®r.U. ~0.12
2012-2013 Bomd of Trus!ees ll'l~r~ iEleSlti~.n ~mm.i®k))). HlY W CO-Chair t>~.M ~iJ:/Ma®m;. Steve ShOwen f~ ~ ~ li.eJ(tjlr ~ ,a !9.1JJl.al N9~® ~>f Appe.a:J r~~dm_g tb& $Ul,OO!l Treasurer Otto Kurt Gratzol ~ ~esl upP» :t:b..e G:r= f~ .9fifl0t~ !~) That l~% ib.9M Ae'h>y m.~ lli:k¢Jy .d.id A0t mtemre ·w;it,b ~ pU.~lit p~e .9f f~ ~ mt pr~l!'-cJWJ). J$),P~.I't w¢ll ®.ea Ten Key Values o E'c.ologl'cctl Wis·dOm o Socialjustice o Grassraots Democracy., DecentraiizatJ"on o Community-based Economics o Gender r• '·~ T>, _, .-~. ,., , ... 1'". -'-""•- n T -'"''-~- J•n >7.,•>"."-- ( (6) The size of the fine, $10,000, seems large compared to the $872 .. 72 conttibutions and $163 .00 expenditures for the period The Green Party of Florida hereby requests a hearing before the Florida Election Commission to present their grounds for appeal. In summary, the Green Party of Florida acted in good faith; our treasurer expetienced unusual technical computer problems; there was an unusually short time petiod for submission; and fmally, the undetlying purpose of a high fme for the last report was not undemrined by the Green Party of Fl01ida's delay in filing. cc: Kiisti Reid Bronson, Chief~ Bureau of Elections Records SWORN AFFIDAVII The State ofF!otida The County of Hernando BEFORE ME, the undersigrred Notaty, ~£I\."= ~ O.tl ,'~ · , on this @, I ~t" day of November, 2012, personally appeared~NNIFER SULLIVA~own to me to be a credible person and oflawful age, who being by me first sworn, on her oath, deposes and says the above contents of this letter of Notice of Appeal are t est o edge. State of Florida County of Hernando Sworn to (or affumed) and subscribed before me this ~ 1 s.t· day ofNovember, 20!2, by Jennifer Sullivan _._, !'en Key Values • E'cological Wisdom o Social justice o Grassroots Democracy .. Decentralization o Community-based Economics o Gender Equity o Respect for Di'lersit;y o Future Focus • Sustainability • Personal and Global ResponsibililJ! STATEMENT OF JENNIFER SULLIVAN CHAIRPERSON OF IHE GREEN PARTY OF FLORIDA I am Jennifer Sullivan, the chahperson of the Green Party of Florida, and I am submitting this statement in support of the Green Party's appeal in FEC Case Number FEC 12-414: Campaign Treasurer's Report due II- 2- 12 .. A presidential election is, clearly, the busiest oftimes for a state chairperson. As the chair of record for this state, I was inundated with e mails, phone calls on both of my phones and messages fiom other social media I was the liaison for communications from the media, the Stein-Honkola presidential campaign's various divisions (state outreach, HQ, and Campus Greens}., the national party, the state party and other progressive entities besides the four counties that I oversee ( Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando}. There ar·e Green activists from all over the state and new people wanting to connect with Greens that were contacting me, based on the information that they get on our state website .. Jill Stein and Cheii Honkola , themselves, were in contact with me during this period .. We also had Karen Mmian's campaign for Florida House District# 12 and three independent candidates that earned our endorsements to keep in contact with, as welL Because of this being the most intensely busy time, I either did not receive he reminder e mail or missed it in the unbelievable amounts of emails that I was getting at that time .. So the consequences of this was that I was not able to remind Kurt Gratzol about the filing and I did not realize this until I saw the "late notice". Late is something that, normally, I am not My personal credit rating is over 800 and I pay off the credit cards that I use in full each month to avoid interest fees .. If helpful and requested, I could supply these personal documents. I have paid off my home in fulL So judicious am I about wanting to ever have to pay penalties, fees or interest charges thatjust seeing the "Late" on a notice from the state very much upset me, even before I knew the exorbitant fee that we were being penalized .. Neither Kurt Gratzol, nor I, have ever been involved in the fmancial reports to the state before a presidential election, as we ar·e new to our· posts .. When we realized that we were late, we filed as fast as we could.. As we ar·e a political party that does not take or solicit corporate or special interest PAC funds, the amount of money that we take in is small and not as crucial to us as personal contact with voters .. Even so, we certainly want to do everything that is required of us as a state party .. Page one of two No one in our state patzy is paid As volunteers, we do our best to comply.. I do this volunteer service because I very much believe that our patzy is an important patt of the state's democracy and that we speak to the concerns of many voters in this state. Even people who end up not voting for us, as they feel that we do not have a chance to win, appreciate that we at·e there representing their real views .. During this election, I also had an extra workload at my job that resulted in longer days .. I ru:n a mail cattier for USPS .. The election mail volume was heavy this yeat·, since we at·e considered a swing state. I ask you to consider the burden on smaller patties that this fee will incur .. It is an ru:nount equal to what we have taken in during fours yeats, based on our average .. Page two of two ( FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE Ken Detzner Secretary of State DIVISION OF ELECTIONS November 5, 2012 Ms Jennifer SuJlivan, Chairperson Green Party off lorida Post Oflice Box 712 Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785-0712 Dear Ms SuJlivan: The campaign treasurer's report that was due November 2, 2012, was not filed until November 3, 20 12. Accordingly, you are fined in the amount of$! 0,000.00 .. The fine must be paid to the Division of Elections within 20 days of receipt ofthis notice unless appealed to the Florida Elections Commission If you wish to appeal the fine, you must submit a notice of appeal to the Commission within 20 days of the date of the receipt of this notice (See Rules 2B-1.005, 2B-L0052 and 2B-J 0055, Florida Administrative Code) The Florida Elections Commission's address is 107 West Gaines Street, Suite 224, Tallahassee, Florida 32399·· 0100 Please send a copy ofyom notice of appeal to the Bureau of Election Records at the address listed below lfyou have any questions, please contact us at (850) 245-6240. Sincerely, ~.,A~~_;~ Kristi Reid Bronson, Chief Bureau of Election Records cc: Kurt Gratzol, Treasurer 417 12th Avenue North Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785-3785 TheRA Gray Building .. Room 316 • 500 South Bronough Street • Tallahassee FL 32399-0250 • (850) 245-6240 FAX: (850\ 245-6260 • WWW Address: http:/lwww .. dos .. state flus • E-Mail. DivE/ections(a)dos .state(!. us l. .----·-- ·------···-----·-·---·-···-- FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE, DIVISI ON OF ELECTIONS -- CAMPAIGN TREASURER'SREPORT SUMMARY______(1) Green Party of Florida (2) ------91 92 Candidate, Committe or Party Name -···- ---· I D.. Number (3) --Post ()ffice Box 712 ·--··----- Indian Rocks Beac h FL 33785-0712 Address (num!:>er and street) City---- State Zip Code D Check box if address has changed since last report (4) Check appropriate box(es): D Candidate (office sought): D Political Committee 0 Check If PC ha s DISBANDED 0 Committee of Continuous Existance 0 Check If CCE has DISBANDED ~ Party Executive Committee ·-· -·· ----(5) REPORT IDENTIFIERS Cover Period: From 08/10/2012 "To 11/01/2012 Report Type: G4 ~Original 0 Amendment 0 Special Election Report 1-- ... ,.. ,_ ...... -...... -.---- - (6) CONTRIBUTIONS THIS REPORT (7) EXPENDITURES THIS REPORT Cash & Checks $872 72 Monetary Expendit ures $163 00 Loans $0 00 rransfers to Office Account $0 .. 00 Total Monetary $872 72 Total Moneta ry $163 .. 00 ln .. Kind $000 (8) Other Distributio- ns ..... -· ___,,_,1..,______, ____ -·------~~--..·--- Certification It is a first degree misdemeanor for any person to falsify a public~ecord (ss 839 13, F.S) 1---...... _...... _, ~·---..... ___:_ .--· __ ___ -..... ~-~-.....-·-···------I certify that I have examined this report and it is I certify that I have examined this report and it is true, correct and complete true, correct and co mplete -¥·-··¥·~~~~·-·-¥·-~·--·-·-·-··-··¥--···¥· .. -··-·- -··-·---·~·---- ·------.. ----- . ·-- Name of 0 Treasurer 0 Deputy Treasurer Name of Deandidate 0 Chaiman (PC/PTY Only X...... ___ .. ______X------·-·-.. -·---·------.. -·----.. ·----·-·------·------Signature Signature ·----· .. -----·----·- ·------· ·------·-.. -·------.. ------·---·- Prepared on: 1/17/13 8:39:33AM Reviewed On: 11/1/12 4:26pm --~---~~------·------···----·------·----·-----~~----·-·---"-·---- ( ( ID: 9192 CAMPAIGN TREASURER'S REPORT -ITEMIZED CONTRIBUTIONS ______...!:age 1-~~ Name: Green Party of Florida Report 2012 G4 Pertod: 08/10/2012 to 11/01/2012 ·------·--··------,-.,,.R"'e"c""o""rd"s'"'in Filed Report""" ·--~-.. -·. -·--···--·Fuii'Neme --~ Amount Seq #·- (Last, suffix, First, Middle Contributor Occupation Date Street Address & City, State. Zip Type In-Kind DtJSf;riptioo · ~----··-----·-~----!Amend SULLIVAN, JENNIFER ----""-"""'""•···-···-·-f--.:.;_-+_;;,_;__;__;_.:.;_;______J~;_;__,$;:,9::;8c:0:::0:1 -·---- 9450 LORENDALE CIRCLE MAIL CARRIER 0813012012 SPRING HILL, FL. 34608 CHE ---··"-···--··--·---·-- ""GiBBONs, DAN _____,_ ... _, ..... ----z----- +·- .... ----"""""""-""""-·-·""·-···----·-·----· $25.. 00 4452 BACHMAN PATH I RETIRED __ 08/3012012 THE VILUAGES, FL 32162 1-"CAS ·- ·---- 1--s···-• MIAMI DADE GREEN PARTY ·---·-··------""-·····------.. ------··--$749 72 ----·-/ 2301 NE 6TH AVE P LOCAL PARTY 10/15/2012 MIAMI FL33137 - CHe·------~------·--·····------··""·"·------. ------'------.. ·------ ·---=--~------" Incomplete Roeord Reviewed On: 11/1/12 4:26pm Prepared on: 1/17/13 8:39:35AM ------( ID: 9192 CAMPAIGN TREASURER'S REPORT ···ITEMIZED EXPENDITURES Page 1 of 1 Name: Green Party of Florida Report: 2012 G4 Period: 08/10/2012 to 11/01/2012 *>1o Records in Filed Report "* ------·---·-··-·-··-·-Full Name Seq# (Last. Suffix, First, Middle -==-r~ype p"'~~---_·-_·_--_·---~----~---_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-~_-__-_-_·_-·+: __ •·-~----··..,Am;;;;;.Y;-"";::;-;;,ni Date Street Address & City, State, Zip - 1 UNITED STATES POSTMASTER MON RENT POST OFFICE BOX FOR PARTY $29.00 ------2044TH AVE 0811'7/2012 INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FL 33785 BUSINESS ----··- ···--1----·------l------;;,;~ -· STEIN JILL ·- $9800 CAMPAING CONTRIBVTION TO Jll.L STIEN ·- 2 --·- PO BOX 260217 MON 08130/2012 MADISON, WI 53726-0217 3 ··--· --···--"-----··---··--··---···--··-·-·---·-·1--··--·-·-,:o= FIRST STATE BANK SERVJCE CHARGE . $11 98 ---···- 1204 SIMONTON STREET MON 08131/2012 KEY WEST, FL 33040 1---r--· ---- -·- ···------··---·-----··--·-·----·-·-··---~------·-·,.,- FIRST STATE BANK MON SERVJCE CHARGE $12 01 -·· 1204 SIMONTON STREET 09130/2012 KEY WEST, FL 33040 -··s , ----·-·······-·------·---· ···---r----·-·-··------·------______FIRST STATE SANK $1201 MON SERVICE CHARGE 1204 SIMONTON STREET 1013112012 KEY WEST, FL 33040 ------.. ·-··--·-·------·------·-·-···--·····----··-----·-.:_..-.. ----·-·-- -····----- '' Incomplete Record ---- Reviewed On: 1111/12 4:26pm ·····---- Prepared on: 1/17113 8:39:37AM ·------·------·--- -·------~~- 1117/2013 Fiied Camaign Treasurer;s Report Page 1 Green Party of Florida Elect ID: 20121106-GEN From: 8/lOnou Amd: N Wvr:N File Original Report Submitted: 11/3/2012 3:36:49 P CONTRIBUTIONS Seq Dmtrihutor Occupation Errors Date NanM Address Type In kind Description Amd Amount SULLIVAN 9450 LORENDALE CIRCLE l MAIL CARRIER 0 $98.00 8130/2012 JENNIFER SPRINGHILL FL 34608 CHE 2 GIBBONS 4452.BACHMAN PATH RETIRED 0 $25.00 813012012 DAN Tiffi VILLIAGES FL 32162 CAS 3 MIAMI DADE GREEN PARTY 2301 NE6THAVE. p LOCAL PARTY 0 $749.72 ' j 10115/2012 MIAMI FL 33137 .CHE EXPENDITURES Seq Offrce Errors Date Nome Address Type PUTpOStt Amd Amount UNITED STATES POSTMASTER 2044TilAVE MON 0 $29.00 8/1712012 INDIAN ROCKS FL 33785 RENT POST OFFICE BOX FOR PARTY BUSINESS 2 STEIN PO BOX260217 MON 0 $98.00 8/30/2012 JILL MADISON WI 537260217 CAMPAING CONTRIBUTION TO JILL STIEN 3 FIRST STATE BANK 1204 SIMONTON STREET MON 0 $11.98 813112012 KEY WEST FL 33040 SERVICE CHARGE 4 FIRST STATE BANK 1204 SIMONTON STREET MON 0 $12.01 9130/2012 KEY WEST FL 33040 SERVICE CHARGE s FIRSTSTATEBANK 1204 SIMONTON STREET MON 0 $12.01 .._/ 1013112012 KEY WEST FL 33040 SERVICE CHARGE 1/17/2013 Filed Camaign Treasurer's Report Page 2 Green Party of Florida Elect !D: 20121106-GEN From: 8/10/2012 Amd: N Wvr: N Filed: FIL 11/3/20!2 3:36:49 P 9192- PTY Report: 2012 G4 (103) To: 11/1/2012 Cmplt: COM Rev1ewea: AUD ll/112012 4:26:24 P \..... __ \ ___ ~ ( ( 1/17/2013 Page 1 Queued Items for 2012~G4 Account: 9192 Green Party of Florida Rpt Seq: 103 ___ProcessDescrlption __,______Status ,_.. ______,_ Submitter Created Las/Update Create Pending Report . Processing Complete 9192 9/5/2012 10:58:48 AM 9/5/2012 10:58:48 AM Review Pending Report Processing Complete 9192 9/5/2012 11:00:43 AM 9/5/2012 I! :00:43 AM Review Pending Repoit Processing Complete 9192 9118/2012 5:06:03 PM 9/18/2012 5:06:03 PM Recalc Pending Report Total Processing Complete 9192 9/18/2012 5:45:44 PM 9/18/2012 5:45:44 PM Review Pending Report Processing Complete 9192 9/18/2012 5:4 7:14PM 9/18/2012 5:47:14 PM Reca]c Pending Report I otal Processing Complete 9192 10/712012 7:53:58 PM 1017/2012 7:53:58 PM Review Pending Report Processing Complete 9192 10/3!/2012 3:18:26 PM 10/3112012 3:18:26 PM Review Pending Report Processing Complete 9192 10/3112012 3:27:50 PM 10/31/2012 3:27:50 PM Recak Pending Repmt Total Processing Complete 9192 11/112012 4:25:58 PM 11/1/2012 4:25:59 PM Review Pending Report Processing Complete 9192 11/1/2012 4:26:24 PM 11/1/2012 4:26:24 PM File Pending Report Processing Complete 9192 1!/3/2012 3:36:49 PM 1113/2012 3:36:49 PM / i r I, ~aoom search; directory; contact us 1411 1subscribe 1tour 1help Florida Department of State - Division of Elections Florida Election System Reports Candidate/Committee Lookup Party Name: Green Party of Florida -~-----~ Name: green party of flori< Account: 9192 Fine Amount Amount Appealed Election: Date Due Type Date Filed Status ~:i: Assessed Fined Paid 1/10/2013 04 1/10/2013 ~~~--· $10,000 00 $0.00 Acct: 9192 11/2/2012 G4 11/3/2012 APP $10,000 00 8/10/2012 F3 8/10/2012 Type: Party 4/10/2012 01 4/10/2012 1/10/2012 04 1/8/2012 1> §'l~.u:h I I. 8\\§~t,J 10/11/2011 03 10/9/2011 7/11/2011 02 7/10/2011 4/11/2011 01 4/8/2011 1/10/2011 04 1/9/2011 10/29/2010 G4 11/2/2010 CLO 4 $108.78 $108.78 $108 78 8/20/2010 F3 8/21/2010 CLO 1 $161.74 $161 74 $161.74 4/12/2010 01 4/8/2010 1/11/2010 04 1/10/2010 10/13/2009 03 10/9/2009 7/10/2009 02 7/10/2009 4/10/2009 01 4/8/2009 1/12/2009 04 1/12/2009 10/31/2008 G4 10/31/2008 8/22/2008 F3 8/22/2008 4/10/2008 01 4/10/2008 1/10/2008 04 1/10/2008 10/10/2007 03 10/8/2007 7/10/2007 02 7/10/2007 4/10/2007 01 4/8/2007 1/10/2007 04 1/9/2007 11/3/2006 G4 11/3/2006 9/1/2006 F3 9/10/2006 CLO 9 $7.11 $7 11 $7 11 7/10/2006 02 7/10/2006 4/10/2006 01 4/5/2006 1/10/2006 04 1/9/2006 10/11/2005 03 10/10/2005 7/11/2005 02 7/11/2005 4/11/2005 01 4/10/2005 1/10/2005 04 1/10/2005 10/29/2004 G4 10/29/2004 8/27/2004 F3 8/27/2004 7/12/2004 02 7/12/2004 4/12/2004 01 4/12/2004 1/12/2004 04 1/12/2004 10/10/2003 03 10/9/2003 7/10/2003 02 7/10/2003 4/10/2003 01 4/21/2003 CLO 11 $297 40 $297 .40 $297.40 1/10/2003 04 1/10/2003 11/1/2002 G4 9/22/2002 9/6/2002 F3 9/6/2002 7/10/2002 02 7/10/2002 / ,,.-·· ( ( 4/10/2002 01 4/10/2002 1/10/2002 04 1/8/2002 10/10/2001 03 10/18/2001 FEC 8 $89 .. 37 $8937 $0.00 7/10/2001 02 7/9/2001 4/10/2001 01 4/10/2001 1/10/2001 04 1/9/2001 11/3/2000 G3 11/3/2000 9/29/2000 83 9/29/2000 9/1/2000 F3 8/28/2000 7/10/2000 02 71712000 4/10/2000 01 4/6/2000 1/10/2000 04 1/6/2000 10/12/1999 03 1017/1999 7/12/1999 02 7/9/1999 4/12/1999 01 4/9/1999 1/11/1999 04 1/4/1999 10/30/1998 G3 10/29/1998 9/25/1998 83 9/24/1998 8/28/1998 F3 8/27/1998 7/10/1998 02 7/6/1998 4/10/1998 01 4/4/1998 1/12/1998 04 1/6/1998 10/10/1997 03 10/7/1997 7/10/1997 02 7/10/1997 4/10/1997 01 4/3/1997 1/10/1997 04 1/2/1997 11/1/1996 G3 10/31/1996 10/18/1996 G2 10/15/1996 9/27/1996 83 9/26/1996 9/13/1996 82 9/13/1996 8/30/1996 F3 8/24/1996 8/16/1996 F2 8/12/1996 8/2/1996 F1 7/29/1996 7/10/1996 02 7/2/1996 4/10/1996 01 4/1/1996 .~·- ( FLORIDA Dcl'ARTMENT OF STATE Jim Smith St'Crt'tary ol St.;Jt~.: DIVISION OF ELECTIONS Room 1801, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 32399·0250 (904) 488··7690 March 9, 1992 Mr. Allen Joseph Ll f\ 606 West Call Street ~ Tallahassee, Florida 32313 Dear Mr .. Joseph: This office is in receipt of your letter dated Mach 6, 1992, regarding your organization filing as a minor political party in Florida .. The information which you have provided us pursuant to Section 97 .. 021(15), Florida Statutes, appears to comply with the statutes.. Therefore, we are adding your group to our list of minor parties and it will appear as The Green Party of Florida, Inc .. A copy of the Florida Election Code and reporting forms are enclosed for your information and use. We respectfully refer you to Section 106 .. 29, Florida Statutes, reports by political parties; assessment on contributions, which states in part: .... Such reports shall contain the same information as do reports required of candidates by s .. 106 .. 07 and shall be filed on the lOth day following the end of each calendar quarter, except that, during the period from the last day for candidate qualifying until the general election, such reports shall be filed on the Friday immediately preceding the first primary election, the second primary election, and the general election. Each state executive committee shall file the original and one copy of its reports with the Division of Elections ...... Mr. Allen Joseph March 9, 1992 Page Two Therefore, your first report must be filed in this office on or before April 10, 1992. Please let us know if this office may be of further assistance. Sincerely, /j. -f-· p- .. u ~ (j!'-7/ -- Dorothy W. J//yce Division Director DWJ/EB/pr Enclosure cc: Supervisors of Elections ··~----~~~--~---~------~--~--~--~~~ -~~~~-~-~~--~~- MINOR POLITICAL PARTIES Date of Registratio~ June 9, 1987 Libertarian Party of Florida Patricia Thorpe Post Office Box 1034 Treasur·er Winter Park Florida 32790-1034 Charles Manhart Chairman March 9, 1992 The Green Party of Florida, Inc. Allen Joseph FSU Box 60049 Trustee Tallahassee Florida 32313 September 4, 1991 The Populist Party of Florida Joe Colson Post Office Box 12085 Treasurer· West. Palm Beach Florida .33403 Don Black Chai r·man Compiled by Department of State Division of Elections March 9, 1992 I I \, ' FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE Jim Smith Secl'ctary of State March 6, 1992 Allen Joseph 606 W. Call Street Tallahassee, F'L 32313 C~'i) )N·)'?S? Dear Mr. Joseph The Articles o:f Incorpor·at.ion :for GREEN PARTY OF FLORIDA, INC., were :filed on March G, 1992 and assigned document number N4'772G. Your check :for $70.00 cover·ing the various :fees has been recei.ved. A corpor·ati.on annual report. wil.l be due this o:f:fice between January 1 and July 1 o:f neKt year.. A F'ede:r·al Employer Ident.ification Please be aware if the corporat.e address changes, it. is the reeponsibili ty of t.he cor·porat.ion t.o noti:fy t.his office. Should you have any questions regarding corporations, please contact us at the address given below. MARTHA BRIM New Filings Section Division o:f Corporations Division of Corporations • P.O. Box 6327 • Tallahassee, Florida 32314 CR2E04Z ( ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION OF GREEN PARTY...Q£ FLORIDA. INC. A FLORIDA CORPORATIQN Article 1. Name. The name of the corporation shall be: Green Party of Florida, Inc (also known as Florida Green Party, Inc) Article 2. Pri11ciple Place of Business and M;l.i].ing Address. The principle place of business and the mailing address of this corporation shall be: Green Party of Florida, Inc c/o Allen Joseph FSU Box 60049 Tallahassee, FL '32313 Article 3. Puroose. The purpose of the Green Party of Florida, Inc. is as follows: (a) To foster the creation and development of a Green Party in each county of Florida and to support those already existing .. (b) To facilitate communications and learning about electoral politics and office-holding among all the Green Parties in the State of Florida (c) To work in concert with other groups which strive to create an independent politics that is based on ecological wisdom, gtassroots democracy, personal and global responsibility, non violence, decentralization, community based economics, post-patriarchal values, respect for diversity, social justice and future focus/sustainability (d) To promote Green values within the existing political process .. (e) The Green Party of Florida, Inc .. is organized under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to serve as a separate segregated fund tor political contributions in keeping with current IRS and FEC regulations as specified in their current Working Guidelines. No part of the net earnings of the Green Party of Florida, Inc .. shall inure to the benefit of or be distributable to its trustees, officers, other private individuals or organizations organized and operated for a profit (except that the Green Party of Florida, Inc. shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes hereinabove stated) .. Article 4. Manner of Election of Trustees. The manner in which the trustees are to be elected or appointed shall be as set forth in the Bylaws of the Green Party of Florida, Inc ,. I ' Article 5. Limitation of Comorate Powers. The corp01ate powers authorized under section 617 .. 0302, Florida Statutes (1991), shall not be limited in these Articles of Incorporation.. Article 6. Initial Registered Agent. The name and street address of the initial registered agent is: Allen Joseph c/o Simpler Solar Systems 3118 W .. lharpe St I allahassee, FL 32303 Article '7. Incornorator. The name and address of the incmporator for these Articles of Incorporation is: Allen Joseph FSU Box 60049 Tallahassee, FL 32313 Article 8. Initial Board of_Trustees. The initial Board of Tmstees shall have three (3) members whose names and addresses are: Address FSU Box 60049 Tallahassee, FL 3231:3 Patty Sanphy T/-E~>vW. 903 S Greenwood Ave. B2LAJO I Clearwater, FL 34616 Bob Brister 120 17 AvenueS. St Petersburg, FL 33701 The undersigned incorporator has executed these Articles of Incorporation this __ _ day of 11(, , 19.21.. -2- c I ' BYLAWS OF THE GREEN PARTY OF FLORIDA. INC. A FLORIDA CORPORATION Preamble. The Green Party of Florida, Inc. charts a new course.. Being Green means shifting our perception of how we relate to one another- how we relate to human beings, Earth's plants and animals and Mother Earth herself. We are evolving a state of consciousness in which we recognize all aspects of life and components of the earth are an interconnected web We seek to think globally and act locally .. Article l. Name of Society. The name of the society shall be the Green Party of Florida, Inc (also known as the Florida Green Party, Inc.).. Article 2~ Purposes of Soc~, The specific objectives and purposes of the Green Party of Florida, Inc shall be: (a) To work in concert with other groups which strive to create ecological wisdom, grassroots democracy, personal and global responsibility, non·violence, decentralization, community based economics, post-patriarchal values, respect for diversity, social justice and future focus/sustainability (b) To fostei the creation and development of a Green Party in each county 01 locale of Florida and to support those already existing, in cooperation with existing area locals recognized by the Greens (c) To facilitate communications and learning about electmal politics and office .. holding among all the Green Parties in the State of Florida, (d) To wot k in concert with other groups which sttive to create ail independent politics that is based on ecological wisdom, gt assroots democracy, personal and global responsibility, non violence, decenttalization, community based economics, post-patriarchal values, respect for diversity, social justice and future focus/sustainability .. (e) To promote Green values within the existing political process. (f) To network with the Green Party USA The fulfillment of this pmpose shall help promote new forms of decentralized political and economic structures based on community grassroots democracy. ( ' ~Q!l_L Membership .. Membership of the Green Party of Florida, Inc .. shall be composed of members of the Florida Greens, Inc. or as determined by the Board of Trustees of the Green Party of Florida, Inc Section.b Annual.Meeting. The general membership shall meet at least once each year Article 4. Board of Trustees. Section 1, Membership. Board of Trustee membership is provided for as follows: (a) The Board of Trustees of the Green Party of Florida, Inc shall be selected flom the members of the Coordinating Council of the Florida Greens, Inc. (b) The Board of Trustees shall be comprised of not more than thirteen (13) nor less than three (3) members {c) Board of Trustee members must be at least eighteen (18) years of age, {d) Board of Trustee membership is established by a process of self' nomination and application to the Coordinating Council of the Florida Greens, Inc. who will appoint members to the Board of Trustees. (e) Board of Trustee membership can be ended through: {!) declaration of intent by member, (2) non-renewal of membership, (3) Coordinating Council decision Section 2. Duties. The Board of Trustees of the Green Party of Florida, Inc., shall be responsible for keeping the Green Party of Florida, Inc .. in compliance with all legal requirements of the State of Florida Section 3. Annual Meeting. The Board of Trustees of the Green Party of Florida, Inc .. shall meet at least once each year and on an ill! ]1Q£ basis as necessary, The annual meeting will include, but is not limited to, any actions necessary to comply with the Articles of Incorporation Article 5. S::ornorate Off~ Section..L. Officers. Officers required by law shall be members of the Board of Trustees and shall be designated by the Board of Trustees.. The Board of Trusteed shall choose a Scrivener, and it may if it so determines, choose a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman. , The Board may also choose a Treasurer and one or more Assistant Treasurer -2- -~--~----~------_---~--_-- ======- ~ c I Section 2. Election of Qfficers. Officers shall be chosen by the Board of' Trustees .. Section 3. Officer Qualifications. Officers shall be chosen fmm members of the Board of Trustees. Any number of offices may be held by the same person .. Section 4. Term of Office, Each Officer shall hold office for one year with the term ending upon the election of his successor at the annual meeting of the Board of I rustees or until his earlier resignation or removaL Section 5. Resignation of Officers. Any officer may resign at any time upon written notice to the Board of Trustees Section 6. Removal of Qff~ The Board of Trustees may remove any officer with or without cause at any time, but such removal shall be without prejudice to the contractual rights of such officer, if any, with the Green Party of Florida, Inc . ~ection 7. Vacancies, Any vacancy occurring in any office by death, resignation, removal or otherwise may be filled for the unexpired ponion of the term by the Board ofT rustees at any regular or special meeting, Section 8. Powers and Duties .. Qf Office[lL, The officers shall have such powers and duties in the management of the Corporation as may be prescribed by the Board of Trustees and, to the extent not so provided, as generally pertain to their respective offices, subject to the control of the Board of Trustees. The Scrivener, among other duties as prescribed by the Board oflmstees, shall be responsible for keeping an updated membership list, taking minutes at annual meetings of the Board of Trustees and the General Membership, and for filing any reports requited by law. Article 6. Decision Making. Section I. General Memhersh ip. Decisions of the General Membership shall be made by consensus seeking.. If consensus cannot be reached within the time allocated, a vote may be called A 75% majority is required to call for a vote. A 75% majority is required to confirm decisions brought to a vote .. A member shall be eligible to vote or block consensus in a meeting only if the member has been a member in good standing for 2 months prior to the meeting Sectjon 2. BQard of Trustees. Decisions of the Board of Trustees shall be made by consensus Article 7. Accountability. All Green Party of Florida, Inc members shall adhere to the ten key values Members not adhering to the ten key values may be challenged following standards of due process at the appropriate level of the state sttucture (local, regional or state) by a duly-selected committee of that body. If they are -3- found to be participating in activities or behaving in a manner which is contrary to any of the ten key values, their actions may be publicly disavowed Green Party of Florida, Inc committees shall be provided for as follows: (a) Committees shall be established/suspended by decision of the Board of Trustees. (b) Committees shall be chaired by active members (c) Committees shall be constituted in ways (consistent with Green Values) that facilitate carrying out the tasks at hand Article 9. Amendments~ These by-laws may be altered or repealed, and new by-laws made, by the Board of Trustees, but the general membership may make additional by .. faws and may alter and repeal any by-laws whether adopted by them or otherwise. -4- RICK SCOTT KENDETZNER Governor Secretary of State June 18,2012 M1.. Kurt Gratzol, Treasurer Green Party of Florida (9192) 417 12th Avenue North Indian Rocks Beach, Florida 33785 Dear Mr Gratzol: Your appointment as treasw·er for the Green Party of Florida was filed in this office on June 7, 20 12. Enclosed is a security envelope containing your confidential PIN number to access the Division of Election's electronic filing system (EFS) All of the Division's publications and forms are available on the Division of Elections' web site at http://election.dos.state.fl.us. It is your responsibility to read, understand, and follow the requir·ements of Florida's election laws. Therefore, please print a copy of the following documents: Chapters 103, 104 and 106, Flor·ida Statutes, 2012 Calendar of Reporting Dates, and Rule 1S-2.017, Florida Administrative Code. If you have questions conceming the electronic filing system you may call the EFS Help Desk at (850) 245-6280 §incerely, .....--~ ~~~-t~... ~~ "~- Ktisti Reid Bronson, Chief Bureau of Election Records KRB/mcc Enclosure pc: Ms. Jennifer Sullivan, Chairperson Division of Elections R.A. Gray Bldg., Rm. 316 • 500 S B1·onough St. • Tallahassee, Flodda 32399-0250 )k Telephone: (850) 245-6240 • Facsimile: (850) 245-6260 elections.myflodda.. com )k Commemorating 500 years of Flor'ida histmy www.fla500.com VIVA flORIUA500. 0vA flORIUA 500 \ \. RICK SCOTT KENDETZNER Governor Secretary of State June 18,2012 Ms Jennifer Sullivan, Chairperson Green Party of F lor:ida (9192) 9450 Lorendale Circle Spring Hill, Florida 34608 Dear Ms Sullivan: Yom appointment as chahperson for the Green Party of Florida was filed in this office on June 7, 2012 .. Enclosed is secmity envelope containing your confidential password and pin number to access the Division of Election's electronic filing system (EFS) for updating information You will need to advise the treasurer and. any deputy tr·easurers ofthe new ill!llSWord in or·derJoLthem to have access tQ..the EFS. All of the Division's publications and forms are available on the Division of Elections' web site at http://election. dos .state.fl .us. It is yoUI responsibility to read, understand, and follow the requirements of Florida's election laws. Ther·efore, please print a copy of the following documents: Chapter· 103, 104 and 106, Florida Statutes, 2012 Calendar· of' Reporting Dates, and Rule 18-2.017, Florida Administrative Code.. If you have questions concerning the electronic filing system you may call the EFS Help Desk at (850) 245-6280 Sincerely, ~ ~-~~~-13--· Kristi Reid Bronson, Chief Bureau of Election Records KRB/mcc Enclosures Division of Elections R.A .. G1ay Bldg.. , Rm. 316 • 500 S B•·onough St. • Tallahassee, Flolida 32399-0250 Telephone: (850) 245-6240 • Facsimile: (850) 245-6260 elections.myflorida.com ~ Commemorating 500 years of Flodda histo•y www .. fla500.com ~ VIVA flORIDA500 .. VIVA HORIDHOO. .,-:--,..'7 ,,.. Green Party of Florida 11 PO BOX 1316, KEY WEST, FL 33041-1316 • ~~pfl.org ' "' CD JUN ~4 PH /2: 0 I June I, 20IOI . i:.-t Ec noNs Division of Elections stbWNA~iY 0 Room 316, R A Gray Building F S1ATE: 500 South Bronough Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Dear Sir/Madam: 2012-2013 At the General Membership Meeting of the Green Party ofF lorida on May 2 7, 20 12, Board of Trustees the following officers were elected: Co-Chair Jennifer Sullivan Co-Chairs: Jennifer Sullivan (main contact) Steve Showen 1 9450 Lorendale Circle 2301 NE 6 " Avenue Co-Chair Spring Hill, FL 34608 Miami .. FL 33137 Steve Showen 352-683-3151 305 .. 712-2738 Treasurer greencat9@j uno.com [email protected] Kurt Gratzol Secretary: Bonnie Redding, Secretary Secretary 1516 Wagner Circle Bonnie Redding lake Clarke Shores, Fl 33406 561-762-8191 bonnj~ reddir)[email protected]'\ Board Members: Treasurer: Kurt Gratzol Cathy Gilbert 417 12'" Avenue North Shawna Doran James Jones Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785 Michael Canney 727-946-4405 Gabe lgnetti huf!(algratzol.com Oliver Kofoid Josh Pritchett Please note that the official name of the party is Green Party ofF lorida (not .I he Green Henry Lawrence Party of Florida, ]ll~) per the recertification filing accepted by the Florida Department of State on November 18,2011. Contacts: The contact information for the Green Party of Florida is as follows: Green Party of Florida Michael Canney 386418-3791 PO Box 1316 alachuagreen@gmail com Key West. FL 33041-1316 561-762-8191 Jennifer Sullivan [email protected] 352 .. 683-3151 www.gptl.org [email protected] Daniel Hicks Please contact me if you require further information 510-682-7010 V:!X truly yours, (--~ [email protected] . 2 " (\(\ ( . ..) .-=::> ""~"-'-- '· ~'"\. Bonnie Redding, Secretary '-\ Green Party of Florida The· Ten Key Values " lC·ologial Wisdom .,. SodJI ju.stkt· .,. (/ras.~roots Dtmoa.u')'· + Dt'cf!ntmlizatron ., Comlmmity··Wst•d t'cvnomks ., G'enda £qwty .,. Rt·spt•c·t lOr Divu,<:ity ... Futurr.> F(lmS .. )l1Sttlin.J/JI1ity ... Pt·rsonal and Glob.1l Rtspom;ibility --~·---~-·------·-·------~------.-·~·--·-----·------.~-~------·--··------·-~·-~-·-·----~· ===== HISTORY NOTES Green Party of Florida - 9192 UniqueiD Date Recorded Last Edited Date Orginally Recorded By 31461 11/21/2012 8:59:00 AM MCChellman 11/20/12, Chair Sullivan called and we had the same discussion I had with two other representatives from the party related to appeal proCedures 31449 11/19/2012 2:41 :00 PM mcchellman Received call from Joshua Prichert, 352~544-1115, a representative of the party. He asked the same questions as the Treasurer did earlier today·· see the preceding note I answered his questions in the same way as r described in the notes related to my earlier conversation with the treasurer ------·- 31448 11/19/201212:44:00 PM mcchellman Treasurer called to discuss the 2012 G4 $10,000 fine and the "path forward." We discussed the appeal process generally. I emphasized the n·eed to make a timely appeal with the FEC document the reason why the report was late as best he could I told him to copy DOE with the appeal letter l gave him the number to the FEC as well 31337 11/13/201211:54:00AM taholdeen 2012 G4 Fine: Rey'd call from chairperson (Jennifer Sullivan), Obviously very upset over this $10,000 fine. I advised her to follow the instructions on the fine letter to appeal it with the Florida E::lections Commission. and gave her our fax number so she could fax us a copy of the letter of appeal 30836 10/15/2012 3:37:00 PM mcchellnian Candidate cont 30414 9/13/20121:39:00 PM mych~llman 1:45 PM Left detailed message with Treasurer Gratzol re my e-mail to him and Ms Sullivan re the candidate pronunciation request Reminded him of deadline and need for a call back from him confirmir'!g receipt of the e-mail · 30407 9/13/201210:21:00 AM mcchellman C~lled chair 9/13 9:15am, re~ived call back from her at 9:20 am She stated she was in Chicago and therefor could not access he~ e-mail to read my 9/12/12 am e-mail related to minor party pronunciation guide/Form 105, and my need to receive their's back by Monday, 9/17. She requested I re-send my e-mail to [email protected], attn. Bonnie Redding and Kurt Qratzol I did this at 9:25am 9/13/12 and ma(.{e the chair fully away of the nature of the e-mail and task and the 9/17/12 deadline ------···-·------·--·-· .. -···--·- ·-- 30340 9/5/2012 10:52:00 AM MCChellman Called the treasurer and solved his PW issue. He was not going to the website properly I believe was the issue, nothing to do with the PW ------·--··· ...... , ----·---·······"·-··"···----·-.. ------30246 8/28/201210:34:00AM MCChellman Chair Cell Phone: 352-410-4484 .. ,. -····---·-----···---- .. -_. ... ------···--·'"·····-··-·-···-··.. ·-···---.. ·-··---- 30242 8/28/2012 8:56:00 AM MCChollman C.alled Treasurer Gratzo! re 8/24/12 Redding later that, among other things, requested that the Treasurer's e-mail address be changed I left a detailed message advising him that that needs to be updated by him in the EFS system and where to find instructions about how that is accomplished ...... ______, __ .. , ...•.....•.... ------·------··-·----''··--·-·-·-···--· ----- 29166 6/5/201211:02:00 AM MCChellman re 6/01/12 Offi.cer Changes -left detailed message for Bonnie Redding at 561-762-8191 request a re--submittal of the letter listing only one chair {assumed to be .Jennifer Sullivan based on "main contact'' reference. Advised that the name has already been changed as of today ------···· Page 1 of2 1/17/2013 ------·------HISTORY NOTES Green Party of Florida -· 9192 UnlqueiD Date Recorded Last Edited Date Orglnally Recorded By 26717 10/13/2011 9:50:00 AM jmcolfins invalid email addtesses called again Oct 13 and left another message (see previous note) ------·-·----·---· 26711 10/13/2011 8:43:00 AM jmcollins invalid email addresses eniail sent to this committee at [email protected] and [email protected] was returned as undeliverable. The website http:}/WNW. floridagreens org is ''temporarily-disabled" so that explains why [email protected] was not delivered I called chair Michael Canney Oct. 7 at 561 762 8191 and left a message that he needs to correct these email addresses and to call our help desk at 850 245 6280 if he needs help --·------...... ____ ...... -----·-·--····-·-·-·-·------18154 7/1/2010 2:48:00 PM mhernandez RE: New Officers 6/22/10@ 12:06 pm -I spoke with Bonnie Redding, Secretary (561-762-8191) I informei:J her that the notification dated 6116/10 regarding the elected officers for the Green Party of Flprida needs to be clarified. The notification indicated the erection of two Co-Chain?, b~t for the Division purpose the party must .select one ch.airperson Furthermore, the new telephone number for the organization (850-4'741495) needs to be corrected. Ms. Redding agreed to f~x a corrected nOtification which will indicate the name of the chairperson and a corrected telephone number for the Green Party ot Florida --- .. ------·------.. -·-.. ·-·.. -···---.. --.- Page 2 of 2 1/17/2013 !:!ome Campaign Documents Search About !,he Division Forms are available in Adobes Acrobat PDF format for viewing or printing at your site Accessing documents in PDF for the Voters format requires use of Adobes Acrobat Reader, which may be installed free of charge ~andidates & Committees ~ccount Num Qualifying ccount Name Information Candidates/Races ~ccount Type I all Campaign Finance lform Dc·s.::: I Search for Filed !Election ld I all Campaign lc>r::~:> .Se.s:: Documents I lisubmiij [Ciead Forms & Reports I Name Type Received Description Select Committees/Parties Green Party of Florida PTY 02/25/13 Party Annual Audit PDF Qpinions/Rules/Laws Green Party of Florida PTY 02/06/13 Micellaneous PDF Directives Green Party of Florida PTY 11/21/12 Fine Appeal Letter PDF Constitutional Green Party of Florida PTY 11/05/12 Fine Letter PDF .8,mendments/ Green Party of Florida PTY 09/14/12 Micellaneous PDF Referendum Green Party of Florida PTY 09/13/12 Micellaneous PDF Forms & Green Party of Florida PTY 08/30/12 Party Candindates/Eiectors PDF f.ublications reen Party of Florida PTY 08/29/12 Pin/Password Reset Request PDF Hearings, Public Green Party of Florida PTY 08/28/12 Micellaneous PDF Meetings & .YY_orkshops Green Party of Florida PTY 08/27/12 Change of Address I Officers PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 08/24/12 Party Candindates/Eiectors PDF §overnment Links Green Party of Florida PTY 07/24/12 Change of Address I Officers PDF Contact 1!,s Green Party of Florida PTY 06/28/12 Micellaneous PDF Site M.ap Green Party of Florida PTY 06/20/12 Response to Officer Change PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 06/20/12 esponse to Officer Change PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 06/07/12 Micellaneous PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 06/04/12 hange of Address I Officers PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 05/07/12 Micellaneous PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 05/01/12 Party Annual Audit PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 05/01/12 Party Annual Audit PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 04/05/12 Party Annual Audit PDF reen Party of Florida PTY 11/18/11 Party Rules/Bylaws/Charter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 11/18/11 Micellaneous PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 11/17111 Micellaneous PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 11/15/11 Party Rules/Bylaws/Charter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 10/24/11 Fail to File Letter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 06/07/11 Response to Officer Change PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 06/06/11 Change of Address I Officers PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 05/20/11 Micellaneous PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 11/19/10 Response to Fine Payment PDF reen Party of Florida PTY 11/18/10 ine Payment PDF reen Party of Florida PTY 11/08/10 Fine Letter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 11/01/10 Fail to File Letter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 10/07/10 Response to Fine Payment PDF reen Party of Florida PTY 09/24/10 Fine Letter PDF -·------~---~----~------~------~------~~------~ ------customer ~!. Green Party of Florida PTY 09/10/10 Fine Payment PDF S Satisfaction ) Green Party of Florida PTY 08/24/10 Fine Letter PDF · urvey ..... ! Green Party of Florida PTY 07/01/10 Micellaneous PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 06/21/10 Micellaneous PDF , .GetAf.lf.lU"~£AO[R" • Green Party of Florida PTY 06/01/10 Micellaneous PDF Many files on the Division of Green Party of Florida PTY 04/05/10 Party Annual Audit PDF Erections website are Adobe pdf files and you will need the free Green Party of Florida PTY 04/08/09 Party Annual Audit PDF Adobe Reader in order to view them Green Party of Florida PTY 03/06/09 Change of Address I Officers PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 11/13/08 Funds Distribution Letter PDF preen Party of Florida PTY 11/13/08 Funds Distribution Letter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 08/25/08 Party Candindates/Eiectors PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 08/11/08 phange of Address I Officers PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 07/25/08 Response to Officer Change PDF fGreen Party of Florida PTY 07/21/08 Funds Distribution Letter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 07/16/08 Fail to File Letter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 06/01/07 Change of Address I Officers PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 04104107 Fail to File Letter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 10/08/06 Party Annual Audit PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 07/10/06 Micellaneous PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 07/05/06 Change of Address I Officers PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 06/03/04 Party Rules/Bylaws/Charter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 03/28/01 Party Annual Audit PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 05/10/00 Party Rules/Bylaws/Charter PDF Green Party of Florida PTY 03/09/92 cknowledgment Letter PDF . Kelley Roark P.A. 2915 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 300 Miami, FL 33137 (305)469-4460 kelleysroark@gmail com a rpforid'a (j'rojessionaljl.nociati'on esta6fisfie£ in 1996 February 15, 2013 Florida Elections Commission r- -. 107 W Gaines Street, Suite 224 c.:;-> Collins Building ' J Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050 · ....-. 1 RE: Case No. FEC 12-414; Campaign Treasurer's Report Due 11-2-12~ ) Dear Election Commission: Enclosed is the Green Party of Florida's Supplemental Response to the Commission's letter determination of November 5, 2012, which fined the Green Party of Florida in the amount of $10,000 for late filing of the Campaign Treasurer's Report due on November 2, 2012, pursuant to F .. S The decision was timely appealed via correspondence dated November 21, 2012, which appeal was acknowledged in your office's correspondence dated December 12, 2012. The enclosed is submitted to augment and clarify the Green Party of Florida's orignal submission .. We thank you for your kind consideration, and look forward to presenting the Green Party's position in person before the Commission at its May session .. Sincerely, ~cd~ Kelley Roark encl. ( BEFORE THE STATE OF FLORIDA FLORIDA ELECTIONS COMMISSION IN RE: GREEN PARTY OF FLORIDA Case No .. FEC 12-414 ______/ SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSE OF GREEN PARTY SUMMARY The Green Party has been fined by the Division of Elections for the filing of its campaign report 15 1/2 hours after the filing deadline, on November 3, 2012, rather than November 2, 2012 The Green Party of Florida ("Green Party") filed its appeal timely on or about November 21, 2012, pursuant to Florida Administrative Code 2B-1 .. 005(4}. As grounds for its appeal, the Green Party presents two arguments: First, and most direct, is the Green Party's claim of Unusual Circumstances, as defined in FAC -1.0055(2}. Provision (e) provides that late filing can be excused in circumstances in which exists "Computer or equipment failure caused by events that could not have been anticipated and that made timely filing of the report impossible .. " 1 c The Green Party's uncontested representation is that its treasurer, Kurt Gratzol had difficulty logging onto the website on the filing date, and was ultimately successful15 1/2 hours later in filing the report. As described more fully below, the Green Party officers are generally compliant with applicable regulations and laws, and made a good faith attempt to comply in this case, and it would appear that FAC 10055(2)(e) is precisely created to address this sort of de minimis noncompliance, caused not by willfulness but by some sort of technical, computer failing. Second, the Green Pmty presents to the Commission the argument that the provision which levies the fine, F.S. 106 .. 29(3)(b), which is applied to minor political parties, is inconsistent with the parallel provision F.S. 106 .. 07(8)(b), which levies fines for political candidates and committees, creating a harsher result for a minority party such as the Green Party, which has the effect of prejudicing its capacity to present its political views, with an overall chilling effect on the presentation of alternate political views in Florida. The application of a $10,000 fine to a minor political party with receipts totaling $872.72 and expenditures of 2 $163.00 represents a substantial financial burden that cannot be justified by the benefits to the State's interest in the efficient operation of elections. Since the treatment of the violation is unequal under the statutory scheme, it presents a violation of Equal Protection under law, pursuant to the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In conclusion, the Green Party requests that the fine of $10,ooo which was levied for the Green Party's delayed campaign report filing either be waived, due to the unusual circumstances that produced the delay, or be reduced to the lesser of $500 or 25% of receipts or expenditures, (which were $872.72 and $163.00 respectively) consistent with the statutory scheme for candidates and committees under F.S .. 106.07. This request is made in light of the chilling effect on political speech caused by the financial hardship of the $1o,ooo fine, which will effectively cause the Green Party to close its doors and silence its voice as a minor political party in Florida 3 APPLICABLE LEGISLATION Under the provisions of Section 106.29, Florida Statutes, a political party (such as the Green Party of Florida) is subject to a fine for failure to timely file a campaign finance report on the dates set forth in the Florida Statutes .. The amount of the fine to be assessed is set forth in Section 106 .. 29(3)(b), Florida Statutes, and is based upon a set formula .. That statute reads in relevant part: 106.29 (3)(b) Upon determining that a report is late, the filing officer shall immediately notify the chair of the executive committee or the leader of the affiliated party committee as defined in s .. 103.092 as to the failure to file a report by the designated due date and that a fine is being assessed for each late day. The fine shall be $1,000 for a state executive committee, $1,000 for an affiliated party committee, and $50 for a county executive committee, per day for each late day, not to exceed 25 percent of the total receipts or expenditures, whichever is greater, for the period covered by the late report. However, if an executive committee .QI an affiliated party committee fuili :tQ file .a report illl :the. Friday immediately preceding :th.e. special election .QI general election, :th.e. fine s.lliill ~ $10.000 Pfi .d.ax for s:.ru;h .d.ax .a .iliUf executive committee i.s.latf. $10.000 Pfi .da.y for s:.ru;h .da.y an affiliated party committee is. la:t.e,. and $500 Pfi .da.y for s:.ru;h .da.y a county executive committee is. latf. (emphasis added) Similarly, under the provisions of Section 106.07(8), Florida Statutes, a political candidate or committee is subject to a fine for failure to timely 4 file a campaign finance report on the dates set forth in Section 106 .. 07(1), Florida Statutes.. The amount of the fine to be assessed is set forth in Section 106 .. 07(8)(b), Florida Statutes, and is based upon a similar but not identical formula .. That statute reads in relevant part, with the contrasting proVIsiOn highlighted: 106 .. 07(8)(b) Upon determining that a report is late, the filing officer shall immediately notify the candidate or chair of the political committee as to the failure to file a report by the designated due date and that a fine is being assessed for each late day. The fine shall be $so per day for the first 3 days late and, thereafter, $500 per day for each late day, not to exceed 25 percent of the total receipts or expenditures, whichever is greater, for the period covered by the late report. However. for~ reports immediately preceding .e.affi special primazy election. special election. primazy election, .and general election. ~ fine shall ~ $500 ~~for ~ ~ · ~ !lQ1 :tQ exceed 25. percent Qf ~ 1Q.till receipts .QI expenditures, whichever is. gi~ater, for ~ period covered b: ~ ~ report. (emphasis added) FAC 2B-0055((2)(e), outlining "Unusual Circumstances" justifying a fine abatement, states in relevant part: (2) The following events shall constitute unusual circumstances so long as the events clearly interfered with filing the report: (e) Computer or equipment failure caused by events that could not have been anticipated and that made timely filing of the report impossible .. 5 ARGUMENT 1. THE GREEN PARTY IN THE MAIN IS COMPLIANT WITH DEADLINES, AND ITS TREASURER HAS CLAIMED DIFFICULTY LOGGING ON TO THE WEBSITE ON THE FILING DEADLINE, THUS PRESENTING UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES JUSTIFYING AN ABATEMENT UNDER FAC 2B.oos5(2)(e). The Green Party of Florida has a longstanding history of compliance with the reporting requirements of the Florida Election Commission, dating back to its registration in March of 1992 With few exceptions, it has filed promptly the required documentation to maintain its minor political party status.. This has been accomplished notwithstanding that the Green Party has a small membership, and its officers are entirely comprised of volunteers who take on their responsibilities to lead the party without compensation, in addition to their full time work responsibilities. Both the Co-Chair and Treasurer of the Green Party are new to their positions this term, and both are fiscally responsible officers who have made a concerted effort to comply with state requirements. (See 6 c ( Statement of Co-Chair Jennifer Sullivan, attached to this filing.) Ms .. Sullivan describes that while handling a heavier than usual work load as a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier due to Florida's position as a "swing state" in the weeks leading to the election, she was coordinating work for the two national candidates for President and Vice President as well as a campaign for Florida House District #12, involving media, outreach, inter-division communications, involving heavy email and telephone correspondence. Kurt Gratzol similarly is employed full time, while fulfilling his responsibilities as Treasurer. Ms. Sullivan expressed her distress at receiving any late notice from the State of Florida, even before becoming aware of the fine, because she is a person who conscientiously pays all her credit cards timely each month, with a credit score of over 8oo, who lives in a house on which the mortgage has been satisfied She is personally averse to paying penalties and late fees of any kind, and by disposition makes it a priority to preserve the few funds available to the Green Party to promote its candidates. This character description of Ms .. Sullivan, the Green Party 7 c Co-Chair, is communicated to support the Green Party's contention that its failure to file timely, in fact filing 15 1/2 hours late, was not willful in the least, but was in fact due to the unusual circumstances of computer failure, in the context of their competing responsibilities as volunteer officers of a small, minority political party .. For the above reasons, the Green Party asks that the Unusual Circumstances exception be applied to the applicable fine, and that it be waived, due to the Treasurer's difficulty in logging on and the de minimis delay of 15 1/2 hours in filing, within the context of its status as a minority party in Florida .. II. UNDER THE SUPREME COURT'S ANDERSON TEST, AS APPLIED BY THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT IN FULANI, THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR A STATUTORY SCHEME WHICH IS UNEQUAL IN APPLICATION AND UNNECESSARILY BURDENSOME TO A MINORITY POLITICAL PARTY. It is well known to those who are exposed to the Supreme Court rulings relating to the regulation of electoral politics, that there has been a long-standing concern on the part of the Court that the regulation of 8 elections not have a "chilling effect" on the ability of those classes of candidates with a minority viewpoint to have their positions heard. Within the context of ballot access, the Court, as well as the Courts of Appeal, have spoken frequently and stridently on the importance of political opportunity .. As the Court stated in Clements: 'Our ballot access cases ...... focus on the degree to which the challenged restrictions operate as a mechanism to exclude certain classes of candidates from the electoral process.. The inquiry is whether the challenged restriction unfairly or unnecessarily burdens 'the availability of political opportunity.' " Clements v. Fashing, 457 U.S.. 957, 964 [102 S.Ct. 2836, 2844, 73 L.Ed.2d 508] (1982) (plurality opinion), quoting Lubin v. Panish, supra, 415 U.S. at 716 [94 S.Ct. 1315, 1320, 39 LEd 2d 702 (1974)]. The Eleventh Circuit has addressed fully the question of election legislation and the potential financial hardship for small, minority parties availing themselves of the political process, making it clear that just because a party is small and has little economic "clout," this in no way marginalizes the importance of its voice .. Citing the Supreme Court liberally in its opinion in Fulani v .. Krivanek, 973 F .. 2d 1539 (nth Cir .. 1992), the Eleventh Circuit stated: It is constitutionally impermissible for a state to measure a party's level 9 ( ' - of support by the state of its finances .. See Clements, 457 U.S. at 964, 102 S .. Ct. at 2844 ...... even if it were permissible to measure support in such a way, a party's ability to pay a verification fee is not rationally related to whether that party has a modicum of support. "Economic status lli nQ1 a measure ill a ptospective candidate's Florida as a political party will be permanently silenced.. It is our belief that this is not the intended result for electoral legislation, which in fact is in place to encourage and facilitate fair and open elections.. The levying of a fine that will in effect silence completely a political voice in Florida is antithetical to the overall mission of the Florida electoral legislation .. In the area of electoral legislation, we are fortunate to have the guidance of the Eleventh Circuit in Fulani v. Krivanek, which presented facts and issues that closely parallel those presently before the Commission.. In 10 Fulani, The New Alliance Party had been levied a signature verification fee, that under the structure of the statute, could be waived for individual candidates, but could not be waived for political parties, no matter how smalL The Plaintiff argued that because of the size of the fees levied ($5,631.20) their payment would seriously inhibit the candidate's ability to promote her platform in the campaign process, and represented a violation of its First Amendment rights and right to Equal Protection under law. The Eleventh Circuit ultimately ruled that the Supreme Court's "Anderson Test" was appropriate to determine whether the legislation was overly burdensome, and concluded that under that test it was, and the fine was abated. The Fulani case facts very closely parallel this instance, because the fee that was levied was one that applied to all political parties regardless of size, but the law had a provision for relief from the fees for individual candidates. Similarly, the Green Party faces a fine that is very steep for all political parties, whether minor or major, and has a sharply reduced and graduated parallel provision for fines against individual candidates Similarly to the circumstances in Fulani, the application of this fine to 11 ======----_~------,--- 1 \ ~· the Green Party of Florida will create a substantial financial hardship, and inhibit its ability to communicate its message. Thus the same political and legal issues apply in both cases. In that case, the parallel provision permitted a candidate to file an oath, in lieu of payment of the charges, but had no similar provision for minor parties.. The Eleventh Circuit first addressed what standard of review should be applied to this type of election law review, and concluded that the "Anderson Test" had not yet been applied to cases involving equal protection claims in ballot access cases.. However, ultimately, the Eleventh Circuit applied the Anderson test because its own prior rulings on equal protection challenges in ballot access cases made this the appropriate test within the Eleventh Circuit. The Eleventh Circuit Court held in Fulani the following, which conclusion is equally applicable to the Green Party here, as is demonstrated by the application of the Anderson test below: Even under the less rigorous Anderson test, we conclude that the fee-waiver provision of section 99 .. 097(4) violates appellants' right to equal protection .. Once a plaintiff has identified the interference with the exercise of her First Amendment rights, the burden is on the state to "put 12 I ' forward" the "precise interests ... [that are] justifications for the burden imposed by its rule." Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S .. 780 at 789, 103 S.Ct. at 1570 Cf. Geary v. Renne, 911 F.2d 280, 283 (9th Cir .. 1990) (describing burden of coming forward under strict-scrutiny analysis}. Here, the state has failed to assert an interest to which the discriminatory classification contained in the fee-waiver provision is necessary, or even especially relevant. I d. at 28 .. L The Magnitude of the Injury to the Green Party is Substantial. Under the Anderson test, first the court "must first consider the character and magnitude of the asserted injury to the rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments that the plaintiff seeks to vindicate." Anderson v Celebrezze, 460 U.S. at 789, 103 S.Ct. at 1570. In that case, as in this one, "The injury suffered by appellants was not so severe as to "operate to fi·eeze the status quo" by completely preventing minor-party access to the ballot. See Jenness, 403 U.S. at 438, 91 S.Ct. at 1974. Fulani was able to qualify by paying the $5,631.20 fee .. Appellants, however, were forced to bear an unequal burden in order to gain access to the ballot" Id. at 31. What this means is that other candidates were able to gain access to the ballot by means of a waiver of the fee, making it unequal for Ms. Fulani to 13 gain the same access, since for her the payment of the fee was required .. In the same way, here the Green Party must pay the burdensome $10,000 fine, to continue to have access to the ballot, while other candidates will be charged either $500 or 25% of receipts or expenditures for the identical infraction. Thus the Green Party of Florida, a minority political party, is bearing an unequal burden, just as Ms. Fulani's New Alliance Party bore an unequal burden This case specifically addressed the question of fines and fees on minority parties, and draws upon the Anderson analysis to make clear the public policy issue that must be addressed: A burden that falls unequally on new or small political parties or on independent candidates impinges, by its very nature, on associational choices protected by the First Amendment. It discriminates against those candidates and--of particular importance--against those voters whose political preferences lie outside the existing political parties.. Anderson v .. Celebrezze, 460 U.S .. at 793-94, 103 S.. Ct. at 1572, quoted in Fulani at 32 The above quote from the Supreme Court could not make it more clear 14 that any legislation that creates an unequal burden on small political parties infringes on First Amendment rights, and cannot stand., Further, the court asserted that "because the interests of minor parties and independent candidates are not well represented in state legislatures, the risk that the First Amendment rights of those groups will be ignored in legislative decisionmaking may warrant more careful judicial scrutiny." Id. at 793 n .. 16, 103 S.. Ct, at 1573 n. 16 .. This simply means that the courts must take extra care to protect minority political viewpoints in its interpretation of the laws .. In this instance, there is a valid reason for the levying of the fine .. However, the question must become whether that reason is justified in light of the burden created.. Again citing to Anderson, the Fulani court stated, "Our ballot access cases ..... focus on the degree to which the challenged restrictions operate as a mechanism to exclude certain classes of candidates from the electoral process. The inquiry is whether the challenged restriction unfairly or unnecessarily burdens the 'availability of political opportunity .. '" I d. (quoting Clements v .. Fashing, 457 U.S. 957, 964, 102 S .Ct. 2836, 2844, 73 L.Ed 2d 508 (1982) (plurality opinion) (quoting Lubin, 415 U.S.. at 716, 94 S.. Ct. at 1320)}. The truth is that having such a large fine for minority parties, without 15 r ( any provision for relief for financial hardship, nor any provision for the fine to be calculated as a percentage of receipts (as is done for candidates), does create a mechanism to exclude candidates for those parties, when a violation occurs, where as a graduated fine or a percentage fine would provide a less restrictive means to accomplish the same goal of encouraging timeliness of essential filings .. As in Fulani, it is clear that the first element of the Anderson test is met, in demonstrating the severity and magnitude of the injury. 2. The State's Interests Cannot Justify the Unequal Burden. After a determination is made of the injury suffered by application of the law in question, the court under Anderson must "identify and evaluate the precise interests put forward by the State as justifications for the burden imposed by its rule," determining "the legitimacy and strength of each of those interests .. " Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. at 789, 103 S.Ct. at 1570 In Fulani, the State of Florida asserted its interest in regulating the electoral process, just as it undoubtedly asserts in this case. The problem 16 in Fulani that also exists in this case is that, while in a general sense it is important to regulate elections, this does not justify the discriminatory classification that was at issue in that case. Minor political parties were charged in one way, while candidates were charged in another.. The identical question can be raised here: Is there justification for having a graduated scale for fines of candidates, based upon a percentage of their receipts, whereas a minor political party must pay a flat fee of $10,000 per day, regardless of the size of its receipts (which were less $872 for the reporting period with only $163 in expenditures)? 3· Under Anderson, the Burden is Not Necessary to Protect the State's Interests. Lastly, the court in applying the Anderson test to equal protection challenges to election laws must consider how necessary the applicable burden is to the protection of the state's interest In Fulani, the Eleventh Circuit concluded that it was unnecessary in promoting the state's interests to have an unequal availability of a fee waiver provision for candidates versus minor parties.. The court held: Finally, we "must consider the extent to which th[e state's] interests make it necessary to burden the plaintiffs rights .. " Anderson v. Celebrezze, 460 17 !'"~ I r,_ - '---- U.S. at 789, 103 S .. Ct. at 1570 We are not persuaded that the unequal availability of the fee-waiver provision is at all necessary to advance the boilerplate interests put forward by the state .. I d. at 54 CONCLUSION Simply put, we have select legislation within Chapter 106 of the Florida Statutes which permits a minor political party, inadvertently perhaps, to be legislated and fined out of existence, due to the application of F.S .. 106.29, whereas a more manageable provision exists in F..S.. 106.07 which adjusts fines according to the size of budget of the candidate or party involved. The Eleventh Circuit has ruled very clearly in the past in Fulani v. Krivanek, applying the Supreme Court's Anderson test to Equal Protection challenges of election laws, that the legislation must be justified by looking first at the burden on the party affected, second at the state's interest used to justify the rule, and finally at the necessity of the rule to promote the state's interest. Under the Anderson test, in Fulani v. Krivanek, the Eleventh Circuit invalidated another Florida election law that provided unequal treatment for election candidates and parties .. The same rationale should be applied here, in affording the Green Party, 18 as a minority party with a very small budget, the same accommodation that is offered candidates and committees under F.S.. 106.07, in permitting any fines for late filing of reports to be adjusted to no more than 25% of the amount of the receipts or expenditures .. Respectfully submitted this 15th day of February, 2013 Kelley Roark P .A 2915 Biscayne Blvd, Suite 300 Miami, FL 33138 (305) 469-4460 B~KelleyS. Roark, Esq. Florida Bar No. 925810 19 ( STATEMENT OF JENNIFER SULLIVAN, CO-CHAlR OF THE GREEN PARTY OF FLORlDA 1 I am Jennifer Sullivan, the President ofthe Green Pruty of Florida, and I am submitting this statement in SJlppmtoJthe OreenParty's appqal in FEC Case No .. 12-414 2 A presidential election is, clearly, the busiest of times for a state chair As the chair of record in this state, I was inundated with emai!s, pb()ne calls on both ofmy phones and messages from other social media I was the liaison for cornmunications ii·orn media, the Stein-Honkola. crunpaigri's various divis.ions (State Outreach, HQ and Campus Greens), the na!iqnal party, the state party and other progressive entities besides the four counties that I directly oversee (Hillsbotough, Pinellas, J>asco and Hernando) 3 There are Green activists f!qm all over the state and new people wanting to connect with Gre.ens that w.ere. contacting, rile based on information thafthcy get on om state website. Jill Stein and Cheri Honkola, themselves, also were in contact with me during this pt:niod. We had Karen Morian's campaign for fL House District if 12 and three independent candidates that earned our endorsements to keep in contact with, as wei! 4 Because ofthis being the most intensely busy time, I either did uoueccivc the reminder email or missed it in the unbelievable amounts of emails that! was getting. So the consequence of this was that T was not able to remind Kmt about the filing and did not Jealizc this until l saw the "late notice". 5 Late is something that, normally, I am not. My personal credit rating is over 800 and 1 pay offthc credit cmds that I use each month to avoid an interest fee If helpJtd and requested, I could supply these personal documents So judicious aml about not wanting to ever have to pay penalties, fees or interest chmges that just seeing "Late" on a notice. from the state very much upset me, even before I knew the exorbitant fee to whkh we weie being penalized. 6 Neither Kmt Gratzol nor I have ever been involved in the fitJanciilJ reports to the state before a presidential election, as we ttrc new in our posts When we· realized that we were. late, we filed as fast as ;ve could As we are a political party that does not t 7 No one in our state pmty is paid and as volunteers, we do our best to comply I do this volunteer service because I vet} much believe that otu pany is an impmtant part of this state's democracy and that we speak to the concerns of many voters in this state Even people who end of not voting l(n l'", as they feel that we do not have a chance to win, appreciate that we ate there representing their teal views. 8. During this election, I also had an e,~tra workload at my job that resulted in longer days. [am a mail carrier f(H USPS. Th~ elt,ction mail volume was heavy this yem, since we are considered a swing state 9 I ask you to considet the burden on smaller parties that this fee will incur It is an amount equal to Page 1 I' what we have taken in four years, based .on our average. Signed this-·· day ofFebruary, 201:3 Jennifer Sullivan Page2 ( DM Februazy 15, 2013 I. Florida Elections Commission 107 W Gaines Street, Suite 224 Z0/3 FEB 2: :c, , , Collins Building 1 31 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050 RE: Case No. FEC 12-414; Campaign Treasurer's Report Due 11-2-12 Dear Election Commission: Enclosed is the Green Party of Florida's Supplemental Response to the Commission's letter determination of November 5, 2012, which fined the Green Party of Florida in the amount of $10,000 for late filing of the Campaign Treasurer's Report due on November 2, 2012, pursuant to F.S .. The decision was timely appealed via correspondence dated November 21, 2012, which appeal was acknowledged in your office's correspondence dated December 12, 2012. The enclosed is submitted to augment and clarify the Green Party of Florida's original submission. We thank you for your kind consideration, and look forward to presenting the Green Party's position in person before the Commission at its May session. Sincerely, Kelley Roark encl. 0 R__·~ ~( s, h~ C(jf'd ( ( ' STATEMENT OF JENNIFER SULLIVAN CHAIRPERSON OF THE GREEN PARTY OF FLORIDA I am Jennifer Sullivan, the chairperson of the Green Parzy of Florida, and I am submitting this statement in support of the Green Parzy's appeal in FEC Case Number FEC 12-414: Campaign Treasurer's Report due 11-2- 12 .. A presidential election is, clearly, the busiest oftimes for a state chairperson.. As the chair of record for this state, I was inundated with e mails, phone calls on both of my phones and messages from other social media. I was the liaison for communications from the media, the Stein-Honkola presidential campaign's various divisions (state outreach, HQ, and Campus Greens).., the national party, the state parzy and other progr·essive entities besides the four counties that I oversee ( Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando).. There are Green activists from all over the state and new people wanting to connect with Gr·eens that were contacting me, based on the information that they get on our state website .. Jill Stein and Cheri Honkola , themselves, were in contact with me during this period .. We also had Karen Morian's campaign for Florida House District# 12 and three independent candidates that earned our endorsements to keep in contact with, as welL Because of this being the most intensely busy time, I either did not receive he reminder e mail or missed it in the unbelievable amounts of emails that I was. getting at that time .. So the consequences of this was that I was not able to remind Kurt Gratzol about the filing and I did not realize this until I saw the "late notice". Late is something that, normally, I am not. My personal credit rating is over 800 and I pay off the credit cards that I use in full each month to avoid interest fees. If helpful and requested, I could supply these personal documents. I have paid off my home in fulL So judicious am I about wanting to ever have to pay penalties, fees or interest charges that just seeing the "Late" on a notice from the state very much upset me, even before I knew the exorbitant fee that we were being penalized. Neither Kurt Gratzol, nor I, have ever been involved in the fmancial reports to the state before a presidential election, as we ar·e new to our posts .. When we realized that we were late, we filed as fast as we could. As we ar·e a political parzy that does not take or solicit corporate or special interest PAC funds, the amount of money that we take in is small and not as crucial to us as personal contact with voters .. Even so, we certainly want to do everything that is required of us as a state parzy .. Page one of two ( No one in ow· state party is paid.. As volunteers, we do ow· best to comply. I do this volunteer service because I very much believe that ow party is an imp01tant part of the state's democracy and that we speak to the concerns of many voters in this state .. Even people who end up not voting for us, as they feel that we do not have a chance to win, appreciate that we ax·e there representing their real views .. Dwing this election, I also had an extra workload at my job that resulted in longer days .. I axn a mail carrier for USPS .. The election mail volwne was heavy this year, since we axe considered a swing state .. I ask you to consider the bwden on smaller parties that this fee will incw .. It is an amount equal to what we have taken in dwing fows years, based on ow average. Page two of two l.' BEEORE THE S!I'ATH OF FLORIDA FLORIDA.ELECI'IOJ:-fSCOMMlSSlbN IN RE: GREEN PaF:rYQFFLORIDA GaseNo. FEC 12c414 / SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSE 01~ G.REI<:N PARTY of .its campaign report is ij 2012, pursuant to Florida Administrative Code 2B-Lo05(4). As grouncls fot its ll.:PP~~l, th~ dr¢en P;tct:y pte.~ent~> two atgli.ineil.tl>: First, and .most direet, is the Green Parcy's claim 'of Unusual CircumS,tal1<::e~;,as defined in FAC -Looss(2). Provision (e) provides that late filingcan he excused in circutnstaJ:l<:¢Si1l which ex:ists '~Cdni:Pu:tet qr ¢qu~pment failute ¢a:U:sedby events that could not have been anticipated and that made timely filiqgofthe report impossible." ( The Green Party's uncontested representation is that ~ts treasuret)lZurt Gratzolh~d d#nculJ:yl(>~ging on:t9 the w~~it~ontb<:!filh)g date, an:(i_wa:s ultimately successful15 t/2 hours laterin filing the report, As descEibed more; ffi1l.Y 'belql;v, the. tS-t.een P!:trLX officers .are gep.erally com:pllant with applicitble :regulati<)ns and laws\. and made a ~ood faith a:ttei:r:rpt to .comply in this ca:sei a:nd it would appear that F:AC 1:0055(2)(~) is J>reds.¢Iy cr¢at¢'cl t<> addh~s:s iliis :Sort of lie tn.inhnis 11-t>n®.iiipliailC:e; caused nofbywi11fulness hut by some sort of technical, computer failing. Second, the Green Party presents to the Commission the a~menf that th¢ prcr\Tis.ion whiCh levies the fine, F;$. to6,.:29(3J(b), which 1s a:pplrttc1 tp minor politkal pa1nes? is inconsistent \Vith the :parallel pio¥ision F:S. to6.. o:z($)(b), whic.\1Jevies .fines for pdliticalcan(i.ida:te$ and co:rrnnlt!:ees, ¢:·eating a harsher result for 11 minority pa:tty stlch as the Green Paity, which has the effect .Qf pr~judi:dug it'S capad:ty t0 present its political 'Vlews, · With an overall .chilling effect qn the presentation of alternate political views in Florida The application of a $1o,ooo fine to a minor political party with receipts totaling $872 72 and expenditu.xes of ( $163;00 repi'¢$- ·elections. $1n.~e fh~· ttel!.tment ol the vjplatjon is 11n.equq.l ~er tbe s.t.atutoiy scheme, it presents a :violation ofEqual Protection under law, purs1Iantt9 the F'irstND,endwentand the\F()Urteen'lll Am.endment to the U.S .. Constitution. In eonc~h1sion, the Green. Party reque5tstbat tbe fine. of·$to,:e>oo which was levied for the Green Partys delayed campaign report filing either be Waived, due tb the ).lfttlsUl!.l ¢irGP.mStances that pr()d1JCed the delay, {Jr pe reduced to the lesser of $500 or2.5% :ofreceipts or expenditures, {which were $8.72.72 and $163;0() respec~iyely) consistent "\<\lith th.e statutory sch~:rne for:candidates and com:rnittees under F.S. 106.. o7'. This request is m:ade in light of the chilli:ng effect gn political speech c;aused by the fina1icial.haJ:dship ofthe. $lo,ooo fine, which will effectively caw>e the Green Party to close its deors and silence its voice as a minor pefitical p;:trty in Florida. 3 ( ( APll'LlCA:BLE LEGISLATION VM~1· t)le ;provisiqn.s pfSecti()!ll06;29, Floiil!la Statutes, apo:l.IDeal part)1 (suih as the Green Party Qf Florida) is subject to a fine forfai.lmc. to thnel:Y file a ~paign finance rePOrt bn the dates set.forth in the Flo1ida l.()B,.2gfs).(o), FloridaStatutes, a:mlis based: upon a setfonnula. 'thatstafute·r-eads:ln:releM'an:tpart~ 10~ ,29 .(3)(b) Upon d:ete)jll.ipln:g that a repqrt ~s lat¢; the filing officer shall, i.mtnediatelY notifY the ~h~ir of the ~e#'Ut!:Ve committee m: the leil.det of the affiliated party committee ~s defiliedin: s tcyg.og2 a'S to th:e failure to :file a report by the designated due date and that a fine is being ao;sessed .for ~a.ph late d:ay; :Ph:e:fine shall pe $~,ooo for. a state execufiv:e comm.itt~e, $:;r,.(}Q() .for a.n affili:ated: party: committee, atrd $59 fqr a county e~ecuti've committee, pet dayfo~: ~ach .lll.te day, nottq ¢X'.¢¢¢\:'L25 percent ofthe total receipts .or expenditures, whicheveds greate~, fb:rthe period eo:vered by the late report. llowever. .jf ru1 exeeutive committee m: .an affiliated· nru:w committe@ .fails m. file .a r•eport ·.QR the Friday ilnmediatelt preceding :t.h& speci~l ~lection .m: •.g®:erlli elecpbn, ~ fine shalllili $.1Q,Q.®. ~r: :da¥ fur~ d;ti: a state executive tbTtimittee 1§ ~ $10;ooo ·WI: ~ fur ·~ru:h day .an affiliated .:ootti: ·~· iS.~ and .~ ·~. .da¥ · fur flli:h ~ .a county executive. committee ·)fu late. (emphasis added) · · · · · Similarly, under the provisions .of Section.w6,o7(8), Floi:ida Statutes, a political candidate or committee is subject to a fine for failure to timely 4 ( FloLida Statutes,. The amount of the fine to be assessed is set i'Oith in mJtidentical ftnmula That statute ~~eads. in .relevant patt, with th_e contrastiU,g proyision highlighted:. w6.oi(8~(b) trpon determining. that .:a repor't is late, the 'filing officer shall immediately not:lf,y. the.fandidate~or chair <>f thepo1i'tleal committee as. t9 t.he. fajlu:xe .~o fi)e a 1:¢pott1Jy:the. g¢$1gti<\t.e~ d~e, :gate a:nd: that. a· :fi;J:le j$ 'Qe.ln:g ·as~¢:ssed f~J.r e~J;ch late d.a;Y" Thef:(ne shall oe $so P'ei: d:::ty tor the :fitst .s days late an~ thereafter, $s.oo per day for ea¢h late aa:y, .not to exceed 2s percent .or fue total· receipts or expenditm:es, whicth.evel' is greater, for the perioq covered byihe late r.eport .. However, furtlliNeport:s itp:medilttels! .:n~~ng each Sj;le6ia1 prlmru;y election. spech!J electiOn; ptimary 'illec®n. ..ruid general election, fM. .~ §fuill ~ ;$$QQ.~ illJi :fur .e.Mh .lak ·~ .1J.Qt ·ta exceed gs: .·~~ Qf the ·:M&: receipts .Qr expenditures, whichever is gr~ater, :fur .~ period eovereq ~.. ~ latf report; (~mphasis added) Fi\C 2R-:Oo55CC2)(e), outlinin~ ''Unustial .Cih:t1m$tances" )ustif5iin~ a firre abatement, states in relevant part: (~) Th'e foliowing events shall constitute i:ID.J.lsual circl.rms:ttrJ.Ces soiong as, the eV:eJ:itS b1ea:dy interfered With frlingthe.r.epo.rt: {e) Computer or equipment failure caused by events that could not have been antiCipated and thai made timely ti1ing ofthe report impossible .. 5 x. THE GREEN PAltTYlN THE lV.IAH 2:6•0055(2)(~)...... ·. the repol±ing requirements of'the Florida Ele.ction Commission, dating ba\:ilv/to fts cregistr::{tjtl1) P.:I M.ariih of 1:992, With ~ew exceptions> it h@ '(n¢d Proni:ptl¥ the req)lir:<:ld docnmentafi<:)n to maintain 11$ misor political party status. This has been accomplished notWithstanding that the G~een Partr has a small membership, and lt$ officers ate en:tir:el,y cQ!.Uplised 0f v;01un:teers who take on their responsibilities to lead the party witl10nt compensation, in addi):ion to tb:eir full time work responsibilitie!:;. Both the Co.•Ghair and Treast:tter of the Green Party are new to their positions this term, .aJ::I.d both are fiscally respOI1S,ible officers who have made a concerted. .effort to comply with state requirements.. (See 6 ======--=--=--=~·------~-~--~-~--=====---~-----=------1 ( Ms, Snlliv &tate" in the we.eks leading t() the elecpor1, she. was ~oox:(.\i:g;a.gng :workror the two. national candidates for President andVice.Pil:eSid®tas well as a cam.paigl't re')r Flortda H.o1.1se. DMrict #12, involving media, outreach, ihtel'·di\l'ision co.mm11nications, :in¥olYing heavy ¢mail an,d .teleph:on¢. corre~.>pondence; :Kurt: Gratzol similarly is employed full time; while fil.lfilling h~s r esponsib11ities a{r'l'rea.surer. Ms Sn1li.van ex})tessed her distress at recei:ving MY lati;! notice :ti'om the State of f'lor:ida, eve.n before becomiqg aware of the fine, becimse she is a person. wlJ:o cop.scientiol)csly pays all her ctedit cards timely each month; 'o/ith a credit score of ove1 8:0:o, who lives in a house on w.hicl:i the mortgage.has been .satisfied. She is personally averse to paying penalties and late fees of any kin(}, and by disposition makes it .a pr:iority to preserve the few funds available to the Green Party to promote its candidates. This chatactet description of M:s Sullivan, the Green J'a.rty 7 Co-C.,'hair; is ¢omm{lnicated to supppl:f the (}teen Party'$ copte.11ti011 tllcat it:S ftt.ili.u:e, to. ftie timely-1 in !act 'l.ilin~ I$1/2ih(;)J!WS: lat~1 was. twt willful in the least, but was ih fact due to the unusual circumstances of.computer fallute, in the context: of their competing t<:!spohs~bilitie$ as volunteer officersofa small, minoritypolitical party.. For the above reasons, the Green Party asks that the Unusual Circumsfanees exception be ~pp1i~d t~ the a,ppligil:;l(l fin~, and that itpe W:aJyed, d:Qe to the I'te'a$ur'et's d:iffi~ulty i1;1 Iogwng ~n .and. the de mhii:tilis delay of 15 1/2 hours in filing; :within the context of i'ts status. as a miMti't:y party in .Florida. u, .UNDER . . . THE. . . . .SlJPREME ...... COURT's. .. '.•...... ANDERSON... , ' . ' " TEST'' ' ' AS' APPLIED. ". ', '•' ' ' BY. THE ELEVENTH. ,, ' ·•-OIRCUIT... " -- IN' FULANI' . ' . ' THERE' . I.S NO JUSTIFICATION FOR A .STATU'I:'ORY SCHEME WHICH IS UNEQUAL IN APPJ.JlCA.TION .A.ND .lJNNECESSAlU.LY BURi:IENSOl\IIE T(J A.l\11NOR1TY POLITICAL PARTY. It is well known to those whq ar¢ · expo~ed to the SP,preme Court rulings relating to the tegu1ation of electoral. politic~, that there has been a long·.·Standing concern on t:l:te part of the Court that the re~Wlation of 8 ~lectiqns ll;q:t h:~ve: ~ ''chll14ig ~ffe¢t'' on Jt:he aJ?ili;J;Y of t~ose dasses of candidates with a minority vi~oi11t to Iia~e their· positions heard. With,in the <:ontext c~'f"ballot ~cc~:S$, the G~t1rt, a:s well as the Courts of Appeal, have spoken frequently and stridently on the impo~.tance o£ political opportunity. ,As the Cou'f\)stat:ed in Clements: 'bur ballot access eases ,,, 'focus on the degree to which the .challenged :r~l1tt1~ti(j.p,s qperfjte as 4 :rpecll:anJ,sm to ~elude certain classes ·of gaul:liil'ates rrc>tn tli.e :e:l~ct.otar 11ro:qe:s:s. 'th~ f.n:q:uiw is w~e:tfiet the challel')ged re&hidiori :Unfa'itly oi i:!111:lecessiilily l.iut'qens 'the availabili:t;y of prilitkaJ o~portunfty: " Cl~ments ·tt. Rashirig, 45[ u..s. 95'7,. 964 [1;o2 S:Ct. z8a6, 2844, 73 L.Ed.zd 5D8] (J.98z) (plurality opinion), quo.ting LubiJ!l), Pan,l'sh; S'tlpra, 41;5 u.S. at 716 [94 S:~~'· 1315; 1320, 39 L..Ed.zd 702(1.974) ],. The Eleventh .Circuit has addressed ·ftilly the guestion of electioil legislation~and the potential financial hardship for small, minority parties ava,i~ill'g themsel'Ve$ of the pAljtical · proce$~, mal9M. it clear that just beeause a party is small and has little economic "clout," this. in no way marginalizes the. iinp():rtance of it$ voice. Citing the Supreme Cou.rt libetally in its opinion inFularri v. Krivanek, 973 F .. 2d 1539 (nth Cir .. 1992), the Eleventh Ci:r:cuit stated: It is constitutionally impermissible for a state to measure a party's level 9 Qffsupportpytrre;'state of its finane¢$., See Cl?!n;t~tzt$~451 If.$, at9~4, xq2 S~Ct. it 2'844· .. ,.. e)teti if if>'llet:e perfuissible to)neaslire support in sucb a. way, a partyis ability to pay a verification fee is llot rationallyrelateCI. to whether that party has amodicum of suppmt ".Bcnnomic statusis.p.Qta measure .Qf .a ptbspective candidawrs <:rualificatiGns J;Qhold electjve offige, · ' In the area of electoral legislation, we are fortu.nate to ]lave the guidance of the Eleventh Circuit in Fulani v.. Krivanek, which presented facts and issues that closely paxall¢1 those presently before the Commission.. In 10 ( I' Pul{J:Jii, 'I'll~ N~w AJIHl.ll~~ Party liad ~een }9'v1~tl a signamre \terlfkation fe~, that under the structure ofthesta:tute, could be waived f~r individual Gandidates; but could nm be waived for p.oliticaJ parties, :t).Oirta:tter how small The Plaintiff argued that because of the s1ze of the fees levied ($5,631.2o) their payment would seriously irt'hibitthe candidate's al>ilit.Y to. promote her platform in the campaign p1ocess, and represented a ')1,\iol;a:tion. of its First ..Un®!ltrr~nt rights all,(! ·(ight .to Ji;qt;tal Prote<:ti<:>n ·under law. The Eleventh Circuit ultimately ruled. tnat the, Supieme Coutfs ~~derson T~st" was appropriate to determine whether the legis.Jati.on was overly bUrdensome, and conclmil.ed that under that test it Wa$> a.nd the )in,e was abated. Th.e Fula.nf ~ase facts v~ closely pa;tiallel this il)stance, pecause t:Pe fee that was levied was one that applied to all political parties regardless of size, put the law had a provision for relief from the: fees for .individual candidates. Similarly, the Green Par~ faces a .fine that is very steep for all political parties, whether minor orm~jor, and has a shatply reduced and .graduated parallel proVision for fines against individual candidates. Similarly to the circumstances in Fulani, the application of this fine to 11 and inhibit its ability to communicate its message Thtts the slu'ne .PX3litiG In that case, the pamllel provision permitted a candidate .t<> file an oath, ip.li~u ·ot Pl:\yillel1t of the charges, but had no similar provision for minor parties. The Eleventh .Cir.cuit fi:l'st addr~ssed w}1at sta.~dald of te'triew shouid pe applied to tbis type ofelection lawrevlew; and conclude.d that the ''Andctson. Test'' had 1:16t y:et been appli¢d tq case:s invo1Ving .eqg:al proteetien claims in ballot access eases. Howevel·, ultinm:tely, the Eleyenth Oir.c~dt applied the Art.d.?T'$On test hecau,se its own prior rulings on equal protection challenges in ballot access cases made this ilie ~ppropri~te test within the .Eleventh Circuit. The Eleventh Circuit C:ourt held in Fulani the following, which cpnclusiol1 is equally applicable. to the Green Party .here, as is demonsttated by the a:ppiicatiurt of :the Anderson. test below: £yen under the less rigorous Anderson test, we conclude that the fee.:.waiver provision of section 99 .. 097(4) violates appellants' right to equal protection .. Once .a plaintiff has identified the interference. with the exet:cise of her FirstAmendment rights, the burden is on the state to "put 12 ~otwa'rd,'' t.\:1¢ "pre¢i§e iil,tel'e~t$ '" [thitt ;Ite] jus,t:WGatiqn~>fpr tb.~ t>wden imposed by its rule:" 4nder$o1i .!J, Ceiebrez~e, 4110lM3, ·7$6 ({t 789; l()3 S~Ct.. at 1S'70 ef: Geary v. Renne, 911 '£,2d 2'8o, 28$ (9th Crr.1~9o) {d.es.ciipjng burgen of coming femard under strict"scrutiny anal\}!srs),. Here, tb.e state h~Ha;iled tp <:wsert an l.f):ter~st to whjc}l the .dl.~q,rimin~iocy classification coirt3:1ned ih tlte ft!e-waiver pi'oVision jl> necessary, or eve!), especially relevant. Id. at 28 .. cbaracte.r and magnitude of the assertedin,juxy to the rights :Pl'0tet.'teii hY tfte Fi:rst '<,ind, Four\:¢,enth Amend,lrients thgt t:he pla~r)tiff seeks to vindicate." Andepson v Celebrezze, 460 U.S.. at 7897 103 RCt. at 1570 ~n tha.t ca$.e~ M in this one; "'the .injury suffered by appellants was not so severe as to i•ope1ate to. f1:eeze tb.e status quo" bY completely preventing minor-Pa.r:tY access to the ballot. See Jenness, 408 U.S. at 438, 91S.C't .. at 1974 Fulani was a'bie to qualify by paying the $s,631.20 fee. App¢11apts, however, were forced to. bear an unequal burden in order to gain access tot}l.eba!J.ot .. "ld.. at 31 V\7hat this means is that other candidates were able to e;ain access to the ballot by mean_s of a waiver ofthe fee, maldng it unequal for Ms. Fulani to 13 ·------·-- g?.t'trtl!~ s~me access, sinee for h~r the payment ofihe fee was rect'!Iirea. In the same way, here 'the Green Party must paY, the burdensome $;W;Q .candidates will be eha~.ged either $soo or 25% of receipts. or ¢X;pe:rt.d1mres for the identical .irtfraction. Thus the Green Party of Flbrida1 a minority political party, is hearing an unequal burden1 just as lY,[s •. Ft!l~nf.s·:N~wA:lliauce Pan,y bOre.'an :tu1eguaJ hur(len-, This ca~:>e s.pecifica}lyaddressedthequestioil c)ffihesa:M fees on fuirionty parties, and draws upon theAnf]erson analysis. to makeelear the public polit;y i.ssuethatmust ot:.a:d:dlessed: A burden that faUs unequally on. new or small poHtical parties or on independent candidates impin:ge$;, by its very n!ltllr¢; on assoGJ:atiol}al choices protected by the .First Amendment. It discriminates against those candidates and--of particular ilnp:ortarice·-ag!linst those voters whose politi;oal preferences lie outside the existing politie}l.l parties. Ander~on v. Celebrezze, 460 U ..S. at 793-94, 103 S.Ct. at 1572, quoted in F1;1lan.i at 32. The above quote from the Supteme Court could not make it more clear 14 that any I~~Ps1ation thal creal<:;$ an un~q~til buti}ep on $Xli~11 political paJ::tf~fi ip"frfl,lgc;:s op. First Amendment tights, .and cannot stand.. Further, the court asserted that "because .the intereSts of minor parties and indepeJ,1d~ut candidates are.not well represented in s'tate.legislatures, the risk that the First Amendment ti~htS of those gtdU}>'S will ):)e ighoted in l¢grslative de~isionma.king may warrant more careful judicial scrutiny.. " )'d. ato/9311, .. 16,,. 103 S,Qt at l$73 n, 16. This$ili1p1y means that the courts must take e.:&tra car.e to protect minority political vieyvppj.r,lts l.n itS h'lterpt.et:;ttiqp qf tlle~aws. tn this instance, there. is a valid :teason tor the .levyiug df the fine, However; the question must become whether that reason is justified.in Hght of the butden treated, Again citing tO A.nd~rSoN., 'the F11i.cmi court stated, ''Our b~llot access cases . focus on the degree to whlch the cha1len,ged restrictions .operate il.$ !). )ll~cn!J.tl~$:1'11 to exClude cert;1in classes of candidates from the electoral pxo¢es~. The inqi,iiry is v.yl,le't;her the challenged restriction. unfairly 01 unnecessarily hutdens the 'aYaihibility ofp(}litical opportunity;' '' Id. (quoting Clements v. Fashing, 457 ms. 957, 964, 1Q2 $.H... 2836, 2844, 73 LEil.zd 508 (1982) {pluraliey 'Opinion) (quoting Lubin, 415US. at 716, 94 SC't.. at 1320)), The ttutl:t is that having such a large fine fqr minority parties, l!Vithout 15 ( ~ny l?I\O:Vision for f¢lleff~n fin:a.ncialljar eandidates), does cyeate a mechlinism "l:o ex:clude can!lidates for those parties, wlxen a violation occurs; where as a graduated fine or a percentage. n:t}e would. proVide a less restrictive means to accomplish the same goal ofencouragin,gtimeliness of essential .filings . .AsJ:h .F'ulani, it is clear tliatth..e' first elemen:tofthe. Anderson test is met, ih demonstrating the severi:cy.and magnitt~de of the.inji:u-y. 2. The State~s 1nterests CannotJustify the. Unequal Burden. After a c:let#miP.at1on is ma,de {!if the il:\iUf¥suffered by application of the law in question, tbe cou1t tirilier Andersorz must ''iiie11tify and evaluate the. precise interests put .forward by the State as justificatiuns fbr the burden imposed by its rule,'' determining "the legiti~nacy 1;\nd strength qf each .of those interests .. " Andersorz v. Celebrezze, 460 U.S. at 789, 103 S~Qt,.at 1570. In Jtillani., the State of Flori:da asserted its. interest in regulating the. electoral process, just as it undoubtedly asserts inthis case The problem ·16 ( ·~· Fulanz tl).at .also e~s.1:Sh11:his. qas~ is that, w}Ail~in a gen.eral sense it is .important to re&ulate elections, tliis does not ,iustizy the dis¢,rir;nihatocy clAssification that was at issue in that case.. Minor political parties were charged in one way, while candidates. were chax.ge.d in anothe~·. The .i<;lentica:! question can be ·l'aised here: Is there justification for haviqg a graau.at~d scale foifiries Of .candidates, bas:ed, t:Ip.dn a I,)Eir!Ce:rttage ofth:eh recei'£)t81 whereas a minor political party must pay a flat fee of .$lo,ooo p.et' da:Y, re~ardle:ss ofthe size of its tei:leij?t$ ~wJ:iiCh were less $'872 f()rjhe reporting period With·only$163 in expenditures)? a. lJ)1der Anq¢rson, the Burden.· is .Not Necessa:ey to Protect theS~:t:e"s Interests. Lastly, the court in applying the Anderson test to eqllal J)totect:ion .cha1l~nges to election laws .m:nst .consider how necessary the applicable b]ltderi is to the pr:otection of the state's i'htetest. I il F)llani, tlle Elt=:ven~h E:ircuit concluded that it was unnecessary in pr01noting the ~tate's iht~'l:ests to have an unequal availability of a fee waiver provision tor candidates versus minor parties.. The court held: Finally, we "must consider the extent to which th[e state's] interests make it hecessazy to burden the plaip:tiff's rights." A71.derson v. Cclebrezze, 460 17 u.s .. at :78ft; 103 SOt at l.fjq'.Q,. We :are. riOL]el'.St(~dgd t}tat the· tJ.fiequ\ll availability of the fee~waiveiJ>:rovision is at all necessar:y to adYcani::e llie J~p1ler,plate intex:ests•ptltfox~nl'Py the state. I d. at 54· · CONCLUSION Simply put, we h~ve select legislation within Chapter 106 .ofthe Florida StatUtes ~hjch pet:ttiitsa minot polltical'party,.inalft'llertenthr>:Perhap$, to 'be legislated and fined out of existencei .due to The >applicatio.n of F.$ .. 1.09 .;29, Whl;)teas e:t more ma!lageable proyl$i0n exists in F$.; 106 07 which a(ljusts fines. accordiJ'\g to the size of budget 0f candidate -·· the. or party- involVed,. The Eleven:th. Qh;G'llit bas ruiedvery eleaily in the pastinFuZwzi v Krivanek, applying the Supreme CQui.t's Anderson test to E ,iu$tif.ie~ b;y.l 'State's interest used to justify the. rule, and finally at the necessity of the ti:ll¢ to p,romote tlie .s,taWll interel)t Undet·the.A.nderson test inFulaniv.. Kriuanek, the Eleventh Circuit invalidated. another Florida eleetipn la~ that provided unequal treatment for e1e{!tion candidates and parties .. The same rationale should be applied here, in affording the Gree}:l Parzy, 18 ~:ts 'a mi'Po.ri:I\Y. patl:y with a y¢ryr small b.U.dJ~fl.t, the ~;I:tn:e ace.oromo~:;tti~.!l that is offered candidates and committees under RS. i(16 Q7~ in pepnitting any fin~s for la~e filib$ of repo;rts to be ad,justed t0 no n1Ql1e ~han 25% of the.·an1ount ofthe receipts o:r exJ>enditures. Respe~tfully submitted this 15th day ot Februacy, 2913. Kelley Roarklf.:A.. 29'15 EiscayneBl»:d, Suite.s-oo Miami, EL.$313$ (30.$) 469~4400 B ./ • KelleYS~ Rp~rk, Esq,. Flot~d:a)3at No. 925810 19 L I am J emlifer:~Sullivau,the President ofthe Gteen J?arw oi Flori&, and I am .submhtihg this statement in S!Jpportofth~ G!c:en P<)rty's appeai inl'EC Case No. 12-414. 2. A presidential election is, c!cady, the busiest of:timcsfox a state chair As .the .chair of record in .this state, .I wlis i!l1:1ndat¢d '\Vith ~Qiails, ·phgne calls .. tl:te ~h!tc par~y{l:!ldothct . progressive entities besides the foru counties that I directly oversee (Iiillsboro.trgh; Pinellas, Pasco and t~etntiJ:ldo) 3.. Tlie.re art:.. Green activists from all Oyer th~st;lte and new p<;:op)e.wanting to qQ.nnept whJi. (1reens that· ·were cohta:ctin~mebased.on iilfht'inatioh· tEa(theyg 4 Because ol'this beingthc most intcnr>ely busy time, I either did nou.eceive the reminder e mail Ol )llissed)tjn. !he !Jtibeli~'f 5.. .Lat~.cis SOJnethiqg that; nonnally1t am not .. Mypersonal credit tatiilg is over 800 and lpay oi:fthe ereditcarMtl1at Ids¢ cachmgnth to avoid ~n intcres( fee JfhelpfW apr.l reqqc,sted,) coul!l ~upp~y th~se petsonai documents. SojudiCious•am f.l!bout not wanting to·ever have to pay penaities, fees or' intei·est 6han~~.s that i1-1st seeing "X,!lte" on a twtice fr<>,m the state :verymuc;h .upsct me, eycn bcrord knew the . exorbitant fiie to which we were being penalized. 6 .Neither Kutt Gtatztrl not: I ltave ever )Jeen)irvolyed tnthe finane)ial r¢il~lts tp the state 'before il pr\lsid.e.ntiaJ elee 7. No @e inOUJ state party is paid ajjda~ V()jt)nte¢rs,w,e d() q'Qi l:?e!)tJo COl!Jply I d\> thisyql@teet service because! ve1y much ·believe that our: party is an important part ohh'is state's democracy a:nd that we Sj)eak to t]le coricerris> 8 Durin& this election, I also had an ~X:tra wor~load at my job that res'ldted in longet.dl\yS.I am a mail panier tott!.SPS. The election mail. volume. was heavy thi.s year., sin~ewe are,considered a swing state. 9 .. l ask youJ!) cons.idcr th<:: burden.on smaller pmties that thi,s.fee will incur ..Itis an arnount equal to Page 1 I ' wh<~hve h;we t Signeiithis ___ d~y <>fFebma~, 2013 .JenrilferSuflivan Page2 ( ( Green Party of Florida .~: cr:/l.t;,.) · ... ,_, PO BOX 712, INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, FL 33785-0712 • wwwgpt/.~ f.IOV b 2 l\lt>¥$>~:2'-:Waz - " · -,.. _ 4 hV· sc ''>, ,, Nbll@OfAPPE4L 2012·2013 Board of Trustees ll"l9f.m~»C®>~ MrJWm~~§Jtl!eZ.U Co-Chair .Jennifer Sullivan T~.H- n.n9 ....oJoo C<>-Chair ~~Ji/~ Steve Showen Treasurer !{>~ ~~ ~~.a~Ntl~~Jf.~~~$J«<,AOO Otto Kurt Gratzol -~~~~!P-~Jff1lwi.Oa_..mjtl!i>.a~~§ ~Jt.. W-e hlwe ~.a wpy ~Jf tim w~~ :from.~ ~1..4 Secretary ~~», .8-~JIJf~O»~Jtd§ (;)J:6cf, W~ W.CN& f@,l\\0~ ~ Bonnie Redding ~\s~·.w,nrdy~~IJlW~-f~~~J\t;i»~O»IJfl. November 3, 2012 wben it was 4ue on N~tvem..ber 2, 2012. However, de§pite all Ill§ best effurts, 0111 treas111er eould oot meet tbe mldni$ht de!ld!IM for va!W Board Members: reaS!tiiS as expla!Jiell below. Cathy Gilbert Shawna Doran 0111 sro!llld§ for appeal are: James Jones Michael Canney Om~.~~l,~m~~tl!i>~.hy~~ Or.ver Kofoid m Josh Pritchett ~Jt.. Henry Lawrence ~ 'J'be ~ ~ fo1 Jla.t& ~ w~ ~~ 1..~ o~ ~ e.f§.4oM.WS'.tlJm; w~. iMr, ~l bas lbA4 p.r..o:\1lew ~ ii1l, m~ Contacts: p.$1. Hi§ ~ ~~ ~~ DWI§~fl. ~Jf ~OilS, B.- ~Jf ®~n. ~~. ~Y Jb.we ~ ~Jf lim w»V~»S w'J1:1b M:r. G>~l Michael Canney w~ lim ~~m ~ ~ M:r. ~l ~4 tJ..<;>j ~ ~ 386-418-3791 ;m. [email protected] .B~ ~Jf il:Jl.®Jii.on ~~ ~Jfl. ~<;>,v~r 2.. :Ke tit~ w §Ulvot: ~ ,wb'lmt ~ Jennifer Sullivan 352-683-·3151 ~~ k ii§ ~ tl!i> a~pp~~ tt1W ~ ttmw ~ ~- ~ $>-"\4 [email protected] IJ1 ~ Ao~»qeilt m:~.4 ~WJ!l-~.1\t~ w~ ~J:Iy §:bt>J\t, ~JMtlar. Daniel HickS 510-682-7010 (4') ~p.®.all bmdtom,~J»r~JW.eJ w.!i.l4 aot ~ ~wp..o.t\t~ WJ:.1i:l [email protected] :U,6p.. fJI.ooNtlv~r~.:WJ2,wJmjhw.as$Dm1.§%b.<:>Jm~~~- "' l'bat 1§% b.ow ~Y fJ).f)§t ~.tr ~ tm ~J"Sl wit.b ~ vwm p~ IJf ~ ~ lla$l p~leeli.o» wp..<:>J\t w~.IJ ~4 IJf ~ ~OJJ. 1M p®jjs,~y. Ten Key Values • E'cological W;sdom • Soda! justice • Grassmots Democracy • DecentraliZation • Community·based &:anomies • Gender 1r• "•~- U"•. __ ,,.r .. ro.•. _____,,L_ rc •• ___ ·f"o. "'---••' "'''·'••- "'' •--•.,.""'""-- •..••••···-- ( ( (6) The size of the fine, $10,000, seems large compared to the $872.72 contributions and $163..00 expenditures for the period. The Green Party of Florida hereby requests a hearing before the Florida Election Commission to present their grounds for appeal. In summary, the Green Party of Florida acted in good faith; our treasurer experienced unusual technical computer problems; there was an unusually short time period for submission; and finally, the underlying purpose of a high fme for the last report was not undermined by the Green Party of Florida's delay in filing cc: Kristi Reid Bronson, Chief~ Bureau of Elections Records SWORN AFFIDA VII The State of Florida The County of Hernando BEFORE ME, the undersigned Notary, ~ q I l "= ~ 0 .t l ,' o~ , on this ~I :>t"day of November, 2012, personally appeared~NNIFER SULLIVAN, own to me to be a credible person and oflawful age, who being by me first sworn, on her ath, deposes and says the above contents of this letter of Notice of Appeal are t est o edge.. State of Florida County ofHernando Sworn to (or affirmed) and subscribed before me this --+L s.t· day ofNovember, 2012, by Jermifer Sullivan -- ·r en Key Values • E'cological Wisdom • Social justice • Grassroots Democracy • Decentralization • Community·ba.sed EConomics • Gender Equity • Respect for Diversity • Future Focus • Sustainability • Personal and Global Responsibility ( ( I ( FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE Ken Detzner· Secretary of State DIVISION OF EI..ECTTONS November 5, 20 I 2 Ms. Jennifer Sullivan, Chairperson Green Party ofF lorida Post Office Box 712 Indian Rocks Beach, FL 3.3785 .. 0712 Dear Ms Sullivan: The campaign treasuteJ's report that was due November 2, 2012. was not filed until November 3, 2012 Accordingly, you are fined in the amount of$10,000.00 The fine must be paid to the Division of Elections within 20 days of receipt of this notice unless appeale~ to the folmida Elections Commission lfyou wish to appeal the fine, you must submit a notice of appea I to the Commission within 20 days ofthe date of the receipt of this notice .. (See Rules 28-1 .005, 2B-I 0052 and 2B-I 0055, Florida Administrative Code) fhe Florida Elections Commission's address is 107 West Gaines Stt cet, Suite 224, Tallahassee, Florida 32399- 0100 Please send a copy ofyour notice of appeal to the Bmeau of Election Records at the address listed below If you have any questions, please contact us at (850) 245-6240 Sincerely, ~~;{~~ Kristi Reid Bronson. Chief Bureau of Election Records /' cc: Kurt Gratzol, heasurerV 417 12th Avenue North Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785-3785 The R A Gray Building-Room 316 • 500 South Bronough Street • r allahassee FL 32399 .. 0250 • (850) 245-6240 FAX: (850) 245-6260 • WWW Address: http:!iwww .. dos state fl "' • E-Mail DivE/ectians(a)das statefl u• 1/14/12 Campaign Finance Activity- Division of Elections- Florida Department of State ( ( Florida Department of State Division of Elections Green Party of Florida ------ Campaign Finance Activity Note: The information presented below was obtained from the Committee:s/Candidate's Campaign Treasurer's Report filed with the Division of Elections. About the Campaign Finance Data Base If all contributions for a reporting period are less than 1 dollar Then they may not be displayed. Contributions Filing Period Monetary Loans lnKind Expend Other Transfers 0 01/01/1996-03131/1996 135 00 0.00 0.00 54.55 0 00 000 0 04/01/1996-06/3011996 250 00 0 00 0.00 392 60 0.00 0 00 0 07/01/1996-07/26/1996 21700 0 00 0.00 225 20 0 00 0.00 07/27/1996-08/09/1996 122.28 0 00 0 00 106 12 0 00 0 00 08/1 0/1996 - 08/29/1996 43.95 0 00 0 00 20.00 0.00 0 00 08/30/1996 - 09/06/1996 75.00 0 00 0 00 50 00 0 00 0 00 0 09/07/1996-09/2611996 140.00 0.00 0 00 114 00 0.00 0 00 0 09/27/1996-10/11/1996 153.00 0.00 0 00 0 00 0 00 0.00 10/12/1996- 10/31/1996 84.00 0.00 0.00 85.10 0 00 0.00 0 11/01/1996-12/31/1996 282.00 0 00 0 00 117.26 0 00 0 00 0 01/01/1997- 03/31/1997 260 .. 00 0 00 0 00 48702 000 0 00 0 04/01/1997-06/30/1997 638.00 0.00 0 00 396.70 0 00 0 00 0 07/01/1997-09/30/1997 513.00 0.00 0.00 884 05 0 00 0 00 0 10/01/1997-12/31/1997 1 ,020. 00 0.00 0 00 502 95 0.00 0 00 0 01/01/1998- 03/31/1998 485.00 0 00 0 00 940 05 0.00 0 00 \.~) .. 04/01/1998-06/30/1998 1,019.58 0.00 0 00 605 20 0 00 0 00 (E)07/01/1998- 08/27/1998 81.00 0 00 0.00 306.68 0 00 0.00 0 08/28/1998-09/24/1998 60 00 0 00 0.00 217 50 0.00 0 00 0 09/25/1998 - 10/29/1998 304.00 0 00 0 00 30 37 0 00 0 00 0 10/30/1998- 12/31/1998 214.00 0.00 0.00 259 69 0.00 0.00 0 01/01/1999-03/31/1999 230.00 0 00 0 00 164 60 0 00 0 00 0 04/01/1999-06/30/1999 325 00 0 00 0 00 210.27 0 00 0 00 0 07/01/1999-09/30/1999 127 00 0 00 0 00 122.40 0.00 0 00 0 10/01/1999- 12/31/1999 10 00 0 00 000 88 28 0 00 0 00 01/01/2000- 03/31/2000 1,680.00 0.00 0.00 339 26 0 00 0 00 ~re-ctTon-dos--:-srare~ftus-rcgt=btn-JTreset:exe~------~-----~------f>!Y2c-2-(j--1/3::;~-1!<-- 1/14/12 Campaign Finance Activity- Division of Elections- Florida Department of State ~ ,I /" 10/31/2008- 12/31/2008 ( . 148:. 0 00 0 00 \ 31( 0 00 0 00 \ 01/01/2009- 03/31/2009 200.00 0 00 0 00 639.83 0 00 0 00 04/01/2009 - 06/30/2009 450.00 0.00 0 00 159 .. 81 0 00 0 00 07/01/2009- 09/30/2009 70 00 0 00 000 674.98 0 00 0 00 10/01/2009- 12/31/2009 0 00 0 00 0 00 3448 0 00 0 00 01/01/2010- 03/31/2010 0 00 0 00 0 00 244 86 0 00 0.00 04/01/2010-08/19/2010 25.00 0 00 0 00 646 96 0 00 0 00 08/20/2010- 10/28/2010 150.00 0 00 0 00 435 10 0.00 0.00 10/29/2010- 12/31/2010 0 00 0 00 0 00 145.24 0.00 0 00 01/01/2011-03/31/2011 0 00 0 00 0 00 90 49 0 00 ooo 04/01/2011 - 06/30/2011 0 00 0 00 0 00 3543 o.oo 0 00 07/01/2011 - 09/30/2011 38.60 0 00 7849 91 03 0 00 0.00 10/01/2011 - 12/31/2011 372 89 0 00 0 00 36 23 0 00 0 00 01/01/2012- 03/31/2012 0 00 0 00 0 00 671.84 0 00 0 00 04/01/2012-08/09/2012 2,123 00 0 00 0 00 2,264 02 0 00 0 00 08/10/2012- 11/01/2012 872.72 0 00 0 00 163 00 0 00 0 00 All Dates (Totals) 47,031 18 0 00 8,575 35 45,080 31 138 40 0 00 Note: (E) indicates that report was filed electronically X Indicates that detail has not been released W Indicates that a waiver was filed and L Indicates that a loan report was filed Select Detail Type Select Sort Order Select Output Type --···· ·········--- co~~~<::\sc~~Cii~iJi ___ _:_. Co~s}iiav !2!13~~~en --~J Ouerv the Campaign Finance Data rase [Department of State] [Division of Election_§] [Candidates and Races] [Campaign Finance Information] lection .dos .state f1 .us.t-cg~bin/IreSel exe _ ( ( ' Florida Department of State Room 316 R.A. Gray Building 500 South Bronough Street Tallahassee, Fl 32399..0250 (850)245-6200 Division of Elections Committee Tracking System Green Party of Florida Type: Party Executive Committee Status: Active Address: Post Office Box 712 Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785 Email: [email protected] Website: www.gpfl.org Chairperson: .Jennifer Sullivan Treasurer: Kurt Gratzol 417 12th Avenue North Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785 Registered Agent: None Purpose: Affiliates: Campaign Finance Activity Campaign Documents / 08/23/2012 15:15 727-c -7123 TERESA HUNTE~ . __ , ·-· .. _ -~· - ...• PAGE 01/01 JL· c~ ~~~ -~-d.H-. ~-r/. .~~· ~r-~. ~ _.$ .~ .~~· Green Party of Florida DE· J1£CttJ PO BOX 712 INDIAN ROCKS BEACH FL 33785-0712 • www.gpfl org Pt.,. i''£ .· lito . It liT OF ST 2012 AUG 27 AH!t:, G!VJSfnN OF . . • TAL AIIASELE_criOI. August 24, 2012 SEE., Fl 2012-2013 Division of Elections Board of Trustees Room 316, RA Gray Building Co-Chair 500 South Bronaugh Street Jennifer Sullivan Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250 Co· Chair Re: Notification of Changes to Mailing Address and Treasurer's Email Address Steve Showen Treasurer Dear Sir/Madam: Kurt Gratzol This letter serves as notification of the following changes to the mailing address for the Secretary Green Party of Florida, as well as the Treasurer's email address .. Bonnie Redding The official mailing address for the Green Party of Florida has been changed to: Board Members: Green Party of Florida PO. Box 712 Cathy Gilbert Shawna Doran Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33 785-0712 James Jones Michael Canney The Treasurer's email address has been changed to: [email protected]. Gabe lgnetti Oliver Kofoid Please contact us if you require further information Josh Pritchett Henry Lawrence Contacts: Michael Canney Bonnie Redding 386-418-3791 Secretary alachuagreen@gmai! com Jennifer Sullivan 352-683-3151 [email protected] Daniel Hicks 510-682--7010 [email protected] The Ten Key Values ., £(:ologktJI Wisdom ., So"al }ustict' ., C'r.Jssroots Demoaacy.,. Ot•(·entmliution ., ('ommunity··ha~·d Ec:onomic's ., Gt·ndt•r Equity~ Re·s~a for Diversity~ FutUI'(' Fows • Suslilinahility ~ Pt·rscnilland G'loh.JI Rr:·sponsibility / 1, Florida De partment of State Division o f Elections Green Party of Florida Campaig n Finance Activity Note: The information presented below was obtain ed from the Committee's/Candidate's Campaign Treasurer's Report filed with the Division of Elections About the CamQaign Finance Data Base. If all contributions for a reporting period are less than 1 dollar Then they may not be displayed. I Contrib utions I Filing Period!I Monetary II Loa ns II lnKind I'I Expend ~~ Transfers 1e 11o1to111995- o3t31t199611 135 ooll o ooJj 00011 54 5511 00011 o ooJ 1e 1104/01/1996-06/30/199611 250 ooll o ooJI 0 0011 392 6011 00011 o ool ~~07/01/1996- 07/26/199611 211 oojl 0 0011 o oojj 225 2011 0 0011 oool 1\EJ Jlo7/27/1996- 08/09/199611 122 2811 0 0011 0 0011 106 1211 o ooiJ o ool [Q)Io8t1 o/1996 -08/29/199611 43 9511 o oo11 o oo11 20 oo11 ooo11 o ool 1'iEl 1108/30/1996 -09/06/199611 75 oo11F== 0 0011 0 0011 50 0011 0 0011 ooo1 1() 1Jo9/07/1996- 09/26/199611 140 ooll 0 0011 o ooJI 114 oo11 ooo11 o ool 1o Jlo9t27t1996- 10/11/199611 153 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 0 0011 o oo11 o ool 1eJ 1110/12/1996- 10/31/199611 84 ooll 0 0011 0 0011 851011 0 0011 oooJ 1e 1111/01/1996-12/31/199611 282 ooJI o oo11 o oo11 1172611 ooo11 o ool 1c.: Jlo1t01/1997- 03/31/199711 260 ooll o oo11 o oo11 487 0211 ooo11 o ool 1e llo4to1t1997 -o6t3ot199711 638 ooll 0 0011 o ooJI 3967011 0 0011 o ooJ 1e llo7t01t1997- o9t30t199711 513 ooll 0 0011 0 0011 884 0511 oooJI oool 1e 111 oto1t1997 - 12131/199711 1.o2o oo11 0 0011 o oo11 502 9511 ooo11 oool 1e llo1t01/1998- 03/31/199811 485 oo11 0 0011 0 0011 940 05/J 0 0011 o ooJ 10 llo4to1t1998 -o6t3ot199811 1,019 5811 0 0011 o ooiJ 605 2011 0 0011 o ool rfl (E)Q7/01/1998 -~ 81 0011 0 0011 306 6811 0 001 u 08/27/1998- .. 0 0011 00011 1e llo8t28/1998 - o9t24/199811 6o oo11 0 0011 0 0011 217 5011 0 0011 o ooJ 1ello9t25/1998- 1o/29/199811 304 ooll 0 0011 0 0011 30 3711 0 0011 o ool 1e 1110/30/1998- 12/31/199811 214 ooll 0 0011 0 0011 259 6911 0 0011 o ooJ 1 (; 1101/01/1999-03/31/199911 230 ooll 0 0011 00011 164 6011 00011 o ooJ 1o 1104/01/1999- 06/30/199911 325 ooll 0 0011 0 0011 210 2711 00011 o ool ro II II II II .~. / I 1 e Jlo7/o1/1999- o9/30/199911 1270011 o oo11 o oo11 122 4011 ooo11 0.00 I 1e 1110/01/1999- 12/31/199911 10 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 882811 o oo11 0.00 I 1o 1101/01/2ooo- o3/31/2oooll 1,680 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 3392611 o oo11 0.00 I 1c:: llo4/o1/2ooo- o6/30/2oooll 525 oo11 o oo11 ooo11 118 3911 o oo11 0.00 I 1e llo7/01/2ooo- o8/31/2oooll 190 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 280 6211 o ooJI 0.00 I 1c 1109/01/2ooo- o9/28/2oooll 110 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 392 1611 o oo11 0.00 I 1e 1110/14/2ooo- 11/02/2oooJI o ooJI o ooJI o oo11 116 3011 o ooJI 0.00 I 1e 111110312ooo -12/31/2oooll o oo11 o oo11 o oo11 140 8011 o oo11 0 00 I 1e llo1/01/2oo1 -o313112oo111 29o ooll o oo11 o oo11 o oo11 138 4011 0 00 I 1e 11o4/o112oo1 -o6/30/2oo111 215 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 283 2511 o oo11 0.00 I 1e llo7/o112oo1 -o9/3o12oo111 20 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 357 4711 o oo11 0 00 I 1e 111o/o112oo1 -1213112oo111 921 2511 o oo11 o oo11 440 0211 o oo11 0.00 I 1e 1101/01/2002- 03/31/200211 285 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 197 9011 ooo11 0 00 I 1e 1104/o 112002 -06/30/200211 4,914 7011 o oo11 o oo11 798.7711 o oo11 0 00 I lollo7/o1/2oo2- o9/o5/2oo211 272 5011 o oo11 65 5711 2,330 0311 o oo11 0 00 I 1e llo9/01/2oo2- 10i31/2oo211 26 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 o oo11 o oo11 0 00 I 1,,~:; 1111/01/2002- 12/31/200211 1,679 5611 o oo11 63 oo11 187 9011 o oo11 0 00 I lc::llo1/01/2003- 03/31/200311 1,189 6011 o oo11 o oo11 225 9011 o oo11 0 00 I lollo41o112oo3- o6/3o/2oo311 2534111 o oo11 o oo11 2,182 6111 o ooJI 0 00 I 1~' 1107/01/2003- 09/30/200311 759 6211 o oo11 1,428 3311 7412211 o oo11 000 I 1c,, 1110101/2oo3- 12/31/200311 1,056 2711 o ooll 1,256 7111 358 3311 o oo11 0 00 I lello11o1/2oo4- o3/31/2oo411 2,684 8011 o oo11 1,514 9011 2,965 2911 o oo11 000 I 1e llo4/01/2oo4- o6i30i2oo411 4,414 9011 o oo11 3,015 5911 4,636 9811 o oo11 0 00 I 1::~ 1107/01/2004- 08/26/200411 43 1011 o oo11 o oo11 187111 o oo11 0 00 I 1'(; 1108/27/2004- 10/28/200411 372 oo11 ooo11 o oo11 992 5711 o oo11 0 00 I 1c) 1110/29/2004- 12/31/200411 613 7311 o oo11 136 7611 246 9611 ooo11 0.00 I 1e llo11o1/2oo5. o313112oo511 462 8911 o oo11 o oo11 250 0911 o oo11 0.00 I 1 c 1104/01/2005- 06/30/200511 499 oojj o oojj 1,016 oojj 2967011 o oojj 0 001 1 c 1107/01/2005. 09/30/200511 555 80/1 o oo11 o oo11 2,082 3211 ooo11 1e ll1oio112oo5- 12/31/200511 331 5011 o oo11 o oo11 16 0111 o oo11 o ool 115 llo1/o112oo6- o3/31/2oo611 237 5011 o oo11 o oo11 150 6111 o oo11 o ool 1e llo4/01/2oo6- o6/30/2oo611 6132111 o oo11 o oo11 2,118 4811 o oo11 o oo1 1e llo7/01/2oo6- o8/31/2oo611 0 0011 0 0011 0 0011 284511 oooll 0001 1u llo9/01/2006- 11/02/200611 ooo11 o ooll 0 0011 26.7111 00011 o ool n111/03/2006 -12/31/2006 11 100 ooll 0 0011 o ooJj 299 o81J oooJj o ooj ------( ~I II II II II II II I 1e llo1Jo112oo7- o313112oo711 0 0011 o oo11 o oo11 97 1511 o oo11 oool 1e llo4Jo1J2oo7- o6/30J2oo711 1.439 5011 o oo11 o oo11 1,4139311 o oo11 o ool 1e 110.7/01/2007- 09/30/200711 283 5011 o oo11 o oo11 844511 o oo11 oool 1c 1110/01/2007- 12/31/200711 1,825 6611 o oo11 o oo11 497 6411 o oo11 oool 1c 1101/01/2008- 03/31/200811 1,9594611 o oo11 o oo11 143 2311 o oo11 oool 1e llo4/01/2oo8- o8i21/2oo811 4,9672211 oooiJ o ooiJ 5,707 8711 o ooiJ oool 1c 1108/22/2008 -1o/30/200811 o oo11 ooo11 o oo11 770 3311 o oo11 oool 1e I110/31/2oo8- 1213112oo811 148 4811 o oo11 o ooiJ 319311 o ooll oool 1e llo1Jo112oo9- o3/31/2oo911 200 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 639 8311 o oo11 oool 1 c 1104/01/2009 -06/30/200911 450 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 159 8111 ooo11 oool 1 c 1107/01/2009- 09/30/200911 10 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 674 9811 ooo11 oool lc 111 o1o1 12oo9 - 12/31 12oo9ll o oo11 ooo11 o oo11 34 4811 ooo11 ooo1 1e 11o1Jo1J2o1o- o3/31/2o1oll o oo11 o oo11 o ooll 244 8611 00011 oool 1o 1104/01/2010- o8/19/201oll 25 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 646 9611 ooo11 oool 1e 1Jo8/20/201 o -1o/28/201 oJJ 150 ooll o ooiJ o oo11 435 1011 ooo11 oool 1e 1110/29/2o1o- 1213112o1oll o oo11 o oo11 o oo11 1452411 ooo11 oool 1e 1Jo1Jo112o11 -o3/31/201111 o oo11 o oo11 o oo11 904911 ooo11 oool 1·:::: 1104/01/2011 -06/30/201111 o oo11 o oo11 o oo11 354311 oooll ooo1 1c 1107/01/2011 -09/30/201111 386011 o oo11 784911 91 0311 o oo11 o ool 1c 1110/01/2011- 12/31/201111 372 8911 o ooiJ o oo11 36 2311 o oo11 oool 1c 11o1/0112o12- 03/31/201211 o oo11 o oo11 o oo11 6718411 o oo11 oool 1e llo4Jo112o12- o8J091201211 2,123 oo11 o oo11 o oo11 2,264 0211 o oo11 o ool 1@ llo8/1012o12- 111011201211 872 7211 o oo11 o oo11 163 oo11 ooo11 oool 1 :':) 1111102/2o12- 12/31/201211 516 4011 o oo11 o oo11 24 0211 o oo11 ooo1 @JI All Dates (Totals) II 47,547 5811 oooiJ 8,575 3511 45,104 3311 138 4011 oool Note: (E) indicates that report was filed electronically X Indicates that detail has not been released W Indicates that a waiver was filed and L Indicates that a loan report was filed Select Detail Type Select Sort Order Select Output Type Contributions Date(Ascending) Display On Screen ,- 1 I' Querv the Campaign Finance Data Base [Department of State] [Division of Elections] [Candidates and Races] [Campaign Finance Information] 1/17/2013 Filed Reports for Elec ID: 20121106-GEN Page 1 Account: 9192 - PTY Green Party of Florida Chairperson: Sullivan, Jennifer Appt: 6/7/12 ---·---·---· Report: 2011 Q1 (9 7) From: 1/1/2011 Amd: N Filed: FIL 4/812011 3:54:17 PM Due: 4/11/2011 To: 3131/2011 Cmplt: COM Reviewed: AUD 4/812011 3:53:38 PM Submitted Treasurer Appointed ------·----···------·-·-·-··--·- Withdrew Entry Method File Method Chair PIN 4/8/2011 Oliver Kofoid 7/11/2003 6/6/2012 Web Data Entry Web Filed 4/S/2011 Report: 2011 Q2 (98) From: 4/1/2011 Amd: N Filed: FIL 711012011 2:49:57 P Due: 7/11/2011 To: 6130/2011 Cmplt: COM Reviewed: AUD 7110/20112:49:06 P _s_ub::'_i_tt_e~---!!.':U:~~~------· __ Appointed .;.;W'.::it:::h:::d':.:'e:.::w_ _::E:::.:ntry Method -·-----=~'-=il==e-=U.::e::.:t:.:h.:.;od:::_ ___cc::.:'h:.:m:::"1..cP:.:1N:.: 7/10/2011 Oliver Kofoid 7/1112003 6/6/2012 Web Data Entry Web Filed 7110/2011 Report: 2011 Q3 (99) From: 7/112011 Amd: N Filed: FIL 10/.912011 2:31:20 P Due: 10/11/2011 I o: 9/30/2011 Cmplt: COM Reviewed: AUD 10/9!20ll 2:36:15 P Submitted Treasurer Appointed Withdrew Entry }Wethod File Method Chair PIN ·loi9i2oil· .. --oii;~~~<~£~;d:·--·--·--· ·------·-· 111 1120o3 ---6/6/2012 Web Data Entry Web Filed· 10/9/201 I ______,______., ______Report: 2011 Q4 (100) From: 10/1/2011 Amd: N Filed: FIL 1/812012 9:45:23 PM Due: 1/1 0/2012 To: 12/31/201 Cmplt: COM Reviewed: AUD 1/8/2012 9:44:33 PM Submitted Treasurer -·----·--··----··--·------·- A~"R"''P::O:.:in;:t:::ed:::_...::W...::i::lh:.:d::.re::.:w.:_-=E:.:n::try<-::.M.:::e:.::th"'o:..:d:..._ File Method Chair PIN 1/8/2012 Oliver Kofoid 7/11/2003 6/6/2012 Web Data Entry Web Filed 1/812012 ·-~--~------'--'""-R•~ .. --·--·-- Report: 2012 Q1 (101) From: 111/2012 Amd: N Filed: FIL 4/10/2012 6:11:40 P Due: 4/10/2012 I o: 3/31/2012 Cmplt: COM Reviewed: AUD 4/1012012 6:10:33 P Submitted Tre':_~~------Appointed Withdrew Entry Method File Method Chair PIN 4/10/2012 Oliver Kofoid 7/11/2003 6/6/2012 Web Data Entry Web Filed 4/10/2012 ------~--·-··------~ Report: 2012 F3 (102) From: 4/1/2012 Amd: N Filed: FIL 8/1012012 3:51:35 r Due: 8/10/2012 I o: 8/9/2012 Cmph: COM Reviewed: AUD 8/9/2012 10:18:52 P Withdrew Entry Method-· __ .:;F_:_il:;:e.:M.::::::::et:::h:::_od~--..:C:::'h.::a::::ir~P:_:1N::.:_ WebDataEntry WebFiled 8/10/2012 Report: 2012 G4 (103) From: 8/10/2012 Amd: N Filed: FIL 11/312012 3:36:49 P Due: 11/2/2012 To: 111112012 Cmplt: COM Reviewed: AUD 11i112012 4:26:24 P Submitted l'reasuret Appointed Withdrew ...;E:;:n:::t::,ry!..:M.o:;~e:::th::.:o:::d:__ __:F:.:':::'le::.:M=e:::th:;:o;:d:__ __:::Ch:::a:::i:..r~P:::'lNc:__ ll/3/20 12 Kmt Gratzol 617/2012 Web Data Entry Web Filed I 1/3/2012 ------·------·--·---·-·------·--·--·-·------·--- Report: 2012 Q4 (104) From: ll/2/2012 Amd: N Filed: FIL 111012013 11:53:38 A Due: 1/10/2013 To: 12/31/201 Cmplt: COM Reviewed: AUD 1110/201311:49:42A Submitted Treasurer· Appointed .::W...::it:::h::::d::.:re:w:.:__E=nt::ryL.:.:M.:::e:::thcco::d:____;F:_I::'le::.:M.=e:::.:thq_ ~------~ --~------~ ----- ~--~~ I ( Campaign Finance . Report Stfuunary ' Page 1 of 1 13'" Fited Report Summary " ..... -... ------, ~~- Filings Transactions Print Queue Campaign Account Sign Out Help - , __ ·- .. ..J ...... --··-·-.. ----.. ·---· ..... _._ COntributions Amount Expenditures Amount nd -Checks: 872.72. Monetary: I 163.00. I _...... _;_ ··-· -· Loans: 0.00 Transfers to Off Acct: o.oo ...... I --- I Tot.al Monetary: I 8?Z.72 Total Monetary: I 163.00 _... ------...... _.. _ -··· In-Kind Con tributions: I 0.00 Other Distributions:_.. _ l o.oo ------...... --.. ·-·-··· """ ·---····-- ,, .. -.,..------·-~-····-·····-·:-·--·-·-··-- ~ -· Activity this report l!lJ Ong Report Submit Date: _1 (~l£0N?;.O~~) ...... , ...?:.:i By: 19192 _j ______...... ,... _. .. ___ ., ___ ,__ ,.., ______·--r---·-'-""""""-"''"" Contributlons Amount Expenditures Amount -...... ~------...... - ·--·--;=·=====::::;t Cash and Checks: an.nl_ Monetary: I 163.ooi ·--·--··---· .. -·-·--·-- ...... _ Loans: o.oo/ Transfers to Off Acct o.ool .... _ .. ______--i- ...... ,_,._ ..,_ ... _,..,.. ____ i ---·-·--·----Total Monetary: an.nl _.. Total Monetary: I 163.001 In· Kind ContributiorJS: o.ool other Distributions: I o.ool -----'-······-~···--·· .. ---··"""!'--······ """ """""""""""""""'""'"------·-----~ Florida Department of State, Division of Elections 2005 http:/I efsbatch/CF ReportSummmy .. aspx?ReportiD= 103 111712013 ', Florida Division of Elections - b!ectronic Filing System Page 1 of 1 ~ Treasurer Report Status ----·------lD: 9192 Name: Green Party of Florida Report: 2012 - G4 - 103 Print Date: 1/17/2013 8:39:43 AM Election: 2012 General Election Covers: 8/10/2012-11/1/2012 []Amended 0 Walvet Due: 11/2/2012 Filed: 11/3/2012 3:36:49 PM File Status: Filed Report Reviewed: 11/1/2012 Review Status: Reviewed Detail Complete: Complete Detail Records Number of Detail Records File Mett10d: Web Filed Contributions: 3 Entry Method: Weo Data Entry EXpenditures: 5 Fund Transfers: 0 Pending Queued Items: 0 Distributions: 0 ro Print Report: Right Click Mouse and Select. 'Print' ~---.--~ ... ·--··---·--·------·-·------~·-----_..._.,_. http://efsbatchiPrintReportSubmitted.aspx? AcctNum=9192&SeqN um= I 03 1/17/2013 ,- ( 1,_ Re: Supplemental information for appeal for Green Party Kelley Roark to: cedric .. oliver 01/22/2013 01:56PM Cc: alachuagreen, Bonnie Redding, Steve Showen, "greencat9@juno .. com" Show Details Cedric, I have spoken to the representatives ofthe Green Party, and they have expressed that they would prefer to work with the February 15 deadline we discussed .. They also express their appreciation for your accommodation We will contact you with our submission before close ofbusiness on Friday, February 15, 2013 Tharrk you again Regards, Kelley Roark On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 4:57PM, Kelley Roark I tried to call you Friday, but apparently called too late in the day, to confirm our deadline, since January 20, 2013 falls on a Sunday, and in addition, today, January 21, 2013, is a legal holiday First I wanted to confirm that I could submit our response tomorrow, January 22, since your office is closed today (Usually the courts will move deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday to the next available date, so I thought that might be the case here ) I could submit om response tomorrow However, when we first spoke, we both believed that this matter would be coming before the next meeting of the Commission.. In actual fact, I have been informed that it will be heard before the Commission at its May meeting Since the hearing date is still distant, I would like to request a fiuther extension to February 15, 2013, to assist me in working this pro bono effort into my work schedule, and at the same time giving the Green Party the best quality representation possible Please let me know your thoughts about a fmther extension, and if it is not convenient for you, I will work to deliver a response to you by close of business tomorrow, January 21, 2013. I tharrk you for your kind consideration of this request Warm regards, Kelley Roark --~~----~------"------~--~---~-~---~- -- ~- c Kelley S. Roark, Esq. KELLEY ROARK P.A. 2915 Biscay11e Blvd. Suite 300 Miami, FL 33137 (305)469-4460 kelleysroark({i10:mail.com ************************************* Notice of Confidentiality: I his e-mail communication and the attachment(s) hereto,, if any, arc intended solely f01 the infOnnation and usc of the addressec(s) identified above and may contain infOnn::ltion \~ hich is legally pri\ ileg:ed from disclosure and/or otherwise confidentiol [fa recipient of this e·mail communication is not an addressee (01' an authori:.:ed representative of an addressee)._ such recipient is hereby advised that any rc'.iew, disclosure reproduction rc.transmission 01 othe1 dissemination or usc of this e·mail c.ommunication {01' any intOrmation contained herein) is strictly prohibited If you arc not an addressee and haH: rccdved this e-mail communk:ation in error, please advise the sender of that circurmtance either by reply eM mail or b) telephone, immediately delete this e-mail communication from ::my computc1 and destroy all physical copies of same KelleyS Roark, Esq, KELLEY ROARK P.A 2915 Biscayne Blvd Suite 300 Miami, Fl 33137 (305)469-4460 [email protected] ************************************* Notice of Confidentiality: fhis c:.~nail communication and the attachment(s) hereto. it' any, arc intended solely t()r the infOrmation and use ot the addressee (s) identified above :md may contain information \\hich is legally privileged li·om disclosure and/m othervvise conlidential If a recipient of this r.Hnail ::ornmunicntion is not an addressee (or an authorized representative of an addressee), such recipient is hereby advised that any review, disclosure reproduction, n:··transmission or other dissemination or use of this t:·mail communication (or :my intbrmation contained herein) is strictly prohibiwd lf you are not an addressee and have received this cMmail communication in enoL please advise the sender of that e-ircumstance either by reply e-mail or by telephone .. imme ----~-~-~===--======Supplemental information for appeal for Green Party Kelley Roark to: cedJic .. oliver 01/2112013 04:57PM Show Details Dear Mr.. Oliver: I tried to call you Friday, but apparently called too late in the day, to confirm our deadline, since January 20,2013 falls on a Sunday, and in addition, today, January 21,2013, is a legal holiday First I wanted to confirm that I could submit our response tomorrow, January 22, since your office is closed today. (Usually the courts will move deadlines that fall on a weekend or holiday to the next available date, so I thought that might be the case here ) I could submit our response tomonow However, when we first spoke, we both believed that this matter would be coming before the next meeting of the Commission In actual fact, I have been informed that it will be heard before the Commission at its May meeting.. Since the hearing date is still distant, I would like to request a further extension to February 15, 2013, to assist me in working this pro bono effort into my work schedule, and at the same time giving the Green Party the best quality representation possible Please let me know your thoughts about a further extension, and if it is not convenient for you, I will work to deliver a response to you by close of business tomorrow, January 21,2013 I thank you for your kind consideration of this request Warm regards, Kelley Roark Kelley S Roark, Esq. KELLEY ROARK PA 2915 Biscayne Blvd Suite 300 Miami, H 33137 (305)469-4460 kellevsroark((/)gmail.com ************************************* Notice of Confidentiality: l"his e-mail '-Ommunication and the attachmcnt(s) ht:n:to. if any are intended solely tbr the infOrmation and use of the addressee (s) identified above and may contain infOrmation which is legally privileged from disclosure and/m othcm isc confidential If a recipient of this e··mail communication is not an addrtssee {or nn authorized representative;; ot an addressee)., such recipient is hereby ad" iscd that any re\ it:\\. disclosure .. rcpmduction .. rt:-hansmission 01 othct dissemination or usc of this e-mail (,ommunic:Hion (m any information contained ht.rcin) is strictly prohibited If you are not an addressee and ha"c rcceivt.'d this e-mail communication in cnot., please advise the sender ot that circumstance either by reply e-mail or by teh:phonc immtdi:~tcly delete this e-mail c.ommunication from any computc1· and destro) all physical copies of same ~ -----~------~------~~-- --~~------( Re: Case No .. FEC 12-414- Appeal of Late Filing Penalty- Green Party of Florida lcil Florida Elections Commission to: Kelley Roark 12/26/2012 08:38AM Sent by: Donna Malphurs Cc: Cedric Oliver Dear Ms. Roark, Thank you for your email We look foiWard to receiving your response no later than January 20, 2013 If you have any questions, please contact Investigator Cedric Oliver at extension 110. Sincerely, Donna Ann Malphurs Agency Clerk Kelley Roark Dear representatives of the Florida Elections Co 12/21/2012 04:23:36 PM ' Case No .. FEC 12-414 - Appeal of Late Filing Penalty - Green Party of Florida Kelley Roark to: fee, cedric oliver 12/21/2012 04:23PM From: Kelley Roark To: [email protected], cedric .. [email protected] Dear representatives ofthe Florida Elections Commission, Enclosed, as requested, is our firm's representation letter, indicating our appearance on behalf of the Green Party in the above referenced matter, together with a letter request for extension of time up to and including January 20, 2013, for the filing of all supplementary documents in support of our appeal I wish you all a happy holiday and a prosperous new year! Sincerely, Kelley Roark KelleyS Roark, Esq KELLEY ROARK P A 2915 Biscayne Blvd Suite 300 Miami, FL 33137 (305)469-4460 kelleysroark({llgmail.com ************************************* Notice ot Confidentiality: This e-mail communication :md the attachment(s) hen:to, it any, are imended solely fOr the inibnnation and use of the addressee(s) identified above and may contain infOrmation v,.hich is legally privileged trom disclosure and/or othen.,.ise confidential If a recipient of this e-ntail communication is not an addressee (OT an authorized representative of an addressee), such recipient is he;reby ad ... ised that any rc-..iew., disclosure. reproduction .. n..~·tmnsmission mother dissemination or usc of this e-mail communication (or any inf(mnation contained herein) is strictly prohibited If you are not an a .Kelley :Ro~rk P.A. 2915 Biscayne Blvd , Suite 300 Miami, FL 331 '37 (305)469~4460 [email protected]·COm Dec<;lmbet 21, 2012 Cedric Oliver Florida Elections Co.mn1issiou 107 W. Gaines Street, Suite 224 Collins Building Tallahassee, FL 32.l99-l 05.0 RE: Case No: FEC 12·414;. Campaign Troasurer's Reportl!lte 11-2-12 Dear Mr Olive1: This Jetter is wdtten, on behalf of the Green Patty of Florida, to request an exte1rsion of time fen the filing of any additional supporting documents ito the above referenced appeal We ate requesting an extension of time until January 20, 2013 for the filing ofsaid documents You had indicated by telephone .that you saw no problem with said extension, and that it needed to be formalized in a letter request from the und~rsigned, as.counsel to the Green Party. We thank you for your kind consideration of this formal request ----~~------~------·--·------~ ------~-~ -~---~~------~ Kelley Roark P.A. 2915 Biscayne Blvd, Suite300 Miami, fL J3137 (305)469-4460 kelleySromk@gmail ·Com ... ·------ December 21, 2012 Cedric OJive1 Flolida Elections Commission 10 7 W. Gaines Street, Suite 224 · Collins Build:ing Tallahas~e~, FL 12399 IOSO RE: Case No: FEC 12-414; Campaign Ireasurer'sReportDUe I l '2·12 Dem Mi Oliver: As requested in ot.n recent phone conversation, this letter is written to confirm that the undersigned has been retain()d to represent the Green Party of Florida in its appeal of the. $10,000 fine assessed fm late filing of the November 2, 2012 election report. We will be supplementing the original appeal filing with additional d<:>cumentaticm, and I"epresenting the Party in its communications with y!}ur o:[iices with respe.ct.to this appeal l"hank you for yom time and consideration in this matter . I' FLORIDA ELECTIONS COMMISSION 107 W. Gaines Street, Suite 224 Collins Building I allahassee, Flolida .32.399-1050 (850) 922-45.39 December 12,2012 Jennifer Sullivan, Chair Green Party of Florida 9450 Lorendale Circle Springhill, Florida 34608 RE: Case No.: FEC 12-414; Campaign Treasurer's Report due 11-2-12 Dear Ms Sullivarr: The Florida Elections Commission received yom letter appealing the fine assessed against you for failing to timely file yom campaign treasurer's report and requesting a hearing before the Commission The Commission will hem your case at its next meeting You will be notified at least 14 days in advarrce of the meeting of the day arrd time that the Commission will hear your case In reaching its decision, the Commission will consider the documents gathered by Commission staff and arry documents you submit for the Commission's consideration before the hearing Unless good cause is shown, the Commission will not consider at the heruing any written document unless it has been filed with the Commission Clerk at least ten days before the hearing Rules 2B-1005, 1 0052, arrd 1 0055, Florida Administrative Code, are the Commission's mles on the appeal of automatic fines.. The Commission Clerk is located at the address listed above The Commission will uphold the fine imposed by the filing officer unless you present credible evidence that the report was timely filed or credible evidence that unusual circumstarrces caused the report to be filed late. If you are a county, municipal, or special district carrdidate or committee arrd your report was received by the filing officer without a postmruk or with an illegible postmark more than five days after the due date or it was delivered to the filing officer by a mail delivery service other tharr the United States Postal Service, it will not be found timely filed unless you submit a copy of a proof of mailing or at a heruing before the Commission, presents the oral testimony of the person who timely mailed the report. The proof of mailing submitted shall reflect that it was obtained from the United States Postal Service or other mail delivery service at the time of mailing and shall reflect that the report was mailed before midnight on the due date A metered postage mark does not constitute a postmark or a proof of mailing. The testimony presented shall indicate that the report was mailed so that it ~ --~~-Aut003-(3/06)-~-----~--~~------~-~-~---~------would have received a postmmk or a legible postmmk on the report's due date but for the failure ofthe United States Postal Service to properly mmk the report If you cai!llot show that yow report was timely filed, the Commission may still grant you relief, but only if you show unusual circumstances .. Unusual circumstances is defined in Rule lD- 1.005(4), Florida Administrative Code, to mean "uncommon, rare, or sudden events over which the actor has no control and which directly result in the failure to act in accordance with the filing requirements." Unusual circumstances must occur within a time period that would clemly have prevented you from filing the report in a timely mai!ller. Unusual circumstances shall not include the failwe of the United States Postal Service or other mail delivery service to postmmk an envelope, legibly postmmk an envelope, or timely deliver mail Fwther, unusual circumstances shall not include the failure of the sender to affix sufficient postage to a report that is being mailed· Without credible evidence, the Commission will not find unusual circumstances The following circumstances may constitute unusual circumstances so long as credible evidence is presented that unusual circumstances caused the report to be filed late 1 Natural disaster or other emergency that prevented timely filing Evidence submitted must include copies of newspaper reports or other documents from an independent and reliable source that shows the nature, date, and location of the natw al disaster or emergency 2. Death of the candidate or campaign treasurer or an immediate family member of the candidate or campaign treasurer. Evidence submitted must include a copy of the death certificate, newspaper obituary, or funeral program, or notice 3 Serious illness, disability or non-elective surgery of the candidate or campaign treasurer Evidence submitted must include a physician's certification on professional letterhead stationery that includes the dates of the illness, disability, or swgery; a statement regmding the period of time that the patient was incapacitated; and a statement that surgery, if any, was not elective Copies of hospital records reflecting the dates of hospitalization may also show the period of incapacitation 4 Serious illness, disability, or non-elective surgery of the immediate family member of the candidate or campaign treasurer Evidence submitted must include evidence of the relationship of the candidate or treasurer to the family member, the location of the family member, and the reason the presence of the candidate or campaign treasurer was required Evidence submitted must also include a physician's certification on professional letterhead stationary that includes the dates of the illness, disability or surgery; a statement regmding the period of time that the patient was incapacitated; a statement that surgery, if any, was not elective; and a statement that the patient required the cme of a family member 5. Computer or equipment failure caused by events that could not have been anticipated and that made timely filing of the report impossible .. ---,Aut00~(6/07)------( Power outages or program failure does not constitute unusual circumstances unless it is established that reasonable precautions to assure the safety of the equipment or the ability of the program to perform as anticipated were taken before the events causing failure of the equipment or program .. Evidence must include a written statement made under oath in the presence of a notary or other person authorized to administer oaths indicating the cause and the duration of the power outage and the reasonable precautions taken to assure the safety of the equipment or the ability of the program to perform as anticipated. 6 The abrupt and unexpected loss of the campaign treasurer, over which you had no control. The loss of the campaign treasurer does not constitute unusual circumstances if the appealing party failed to monitor the campaign treasurer's performance before his or her departure or if the appealing party failed to assure prompt preparation of the report after the treasurer's departure Evidence must include a written statement made under oath in the presence of a notary or other person authorized to administer oaths explaining the departure of your treasurer and the steps taken to monitor the treasurer's performance before his or her departure You may, of course, send any additional evidence that you believe supports your position that your report was timely filed or that the reason you failed to timely file your report was due to unusual circumstances.. Rule 2B-1 005(3), Florida Administrative Code, provides that if you send additional documentary evidence, the Commission must receive it no later than 20 days from the date of this letter Remember that the Commission will not consider any written document unless it has been filed with the Commission Clerk at least ten days before the hearing, unless good cause is shown If the documentary evidence is timely received, it will be presented to the Commission when it considers your appeal ofthe assessed fine For additional information, please contact Cedric Oliver, the Investigator assigned to this case Sincerely, 9~~-'IU~ Donna Ann Malphurs Agency Clerk Enclosure: Rules 2B- 1 005, 1 0052, and 1 0055, Florida Administrative Code cc: Division of Elections, Filing Officer -----~--~-Aut00>-(6107}-·~--~··-·--·------2B-1 005 Appeal of Fines Imposed by Filing Officers .. (1) To appeal a fine imposed pursuant to Section 106 04(8) or 106..07(8), F S, the candidate, chairman of a political committee or treasuier of a committee of continuous existence shall file a notice of appeal The notice of appeal shall be filed with th~ Commission clerk, and a copy filed with the filing officer, Within 20 days of the appealing party's receipt of notice that a fine is being imposed I he notice of appeal shall contain: (a) The name, adchess and telephone number of the appealing party; (b) A copy of the notice of imposition of fine issued by the filing officer; and (c) A request for hearing if a personal appearance before the Commission is desired If no hearing request is made, the appeal shall be decided solely on the documents submitted by the appealing party and Commission staff (2) Failure to timely file a notice of appeal shall result in waiver of the right to appeal the fine and a final order upholding the fine shall be entered by the Chairman of the Commission without further notice (3) Upon receipt of a timely notice of appeal, the Commission staff shall notify the appealing party that the appeal has been accepted The appealing party shall have 20 (lays from acceptance of the appeal to submit any documents supporting the appeal (4) The Commission shall uphold the fine imposed by the filing officer unless the appealing party presents credible evidence that the report was timely filed or credible evidence that there were unusual or other circumstances beyond the control of the candidate or committee caused the report to be filed late Credible evidence is evidence that is from a credible source and is so natural, reasonable and probable as to make it easy to believe The Commission shall give greater weight to a written statement that is certified to have been made under oath in the presence of a notary or other person authorized by law to administer oaths (5) If a hearing has been requested, the Commission clerk shall notify the appealing party of the date and location of the hearing Convenience of location of the hearing shall not be a basis for continuing the hearing The Commission is not required to provide notice of its consideration of the appeal if the appealing party did not request a hearing (6) Unless good cause is shown, the Commission will not consider at the hearing any written document unless the party offering the document has filed it with the Commission clerk at least ten days before the hearing Rulemaking Authority Ch 97-13. Sec 52. Laws ofFlorida. Law Implemented 106 04(8) 106 07(8} FS History-New 9-14-86. Amended 10-/9-86 Formerly ID-1 005 Amended 1'11-99 4-24-05 I' 2B-L0052 Fine Imposed; Timely Filed Reports. (1) Campaign ueasurer's reports are required to be filed in the office of the filing officer by 5 p.m. on the due date A report is deemed timely filed if it is postmarked before midnight on the due date (2) If a report is received by the filing officer without a postmark or with an illegible posunruk within five days of the due date and it is delivered to the filing officer by the United States Postal Service, it shall be deemed timely filed (3) If a report is received by the filing officer without a posunark or with an illegible posunark more than five days after the due date or it is delivered to the filing officer by a mail delivery service other than the United States Postal Service, it shall not be deemed timely filed unless the appealing party submits a copy of a proof of mailing or at a hearing before the Commission, presents the oral testimony of the person who timely mailed the report The proof of mailing submitted shall reflect that it was obtained fiom the United States Postal Service or other mail delivery service at the time of mailing and shall reflect that the report was mailed before midnight on the due date Ihe testimony presented shall indicate that the report was mailed so that it would have received a posunruk or a legible postmark on the report's due date but for the failure of the United States Postal Service to properly mark the report. (4) A metered postage mark does not constitute a postmark or a proof of mailing Rulemaking Authority 106 26(1) FS, Ch 97-13, Sec 52, Laws of Florida Law Implemented 106 04(8) 106 07(8) FS History-New 1-1/-99 Amended 1-2-02, 4-24-05 ,. I ZB-10055 Late-filed Reports; Unusual Circumstances .. (!)Unusual circumstances mean uncommon, rare or sudden events over which the actor has no cont:tol and which directly result in the failure to act according to the filing requirements Unusual circumstances must occur within a time peiiod that would clearly prevent the person legally responsible for filing the report from doing so in a timely manner (a) Unusual circumstances shall not include the failure of the United States Postal Service or other mail delivery service to post:tnark an envelope, legibly post:tna:rk an envelope, or timely deliver mail (b) Unusual circumstances shall not include the failure of the sender to affix sufficient postage to a repmt that is being mailed (2) The following events shall constitute unusual circumstances so long as the events clea!ly interfered with filing the report (a) Natural disaster or other emergency that prevented timely filing. Evidence submitted shall include copies of newspaper reports or other documents from an independent and reliable source that documents the nature, date, and location of the natural disaster or emergency (b) Death of the candidate or campaign treasurer or an immediate family member of the candidate or ca:rnpaign t:teasurer Evidence submitted shall include a copy of the death certificate, newspaper obitmuy, or funeral program or notice (c) Serious illness, disability or non-elective surgery of the candidate or campaign t:teasurer Evidence submitted shall include a physician's certification on professional letterhead stationery that includes the dates of the illness, disability, or surgery; a statement rega:rding the period of time that the patient was incapacitated; and a statement that surgery, if any, was not elective The peiiod of incapacitation may also be shown by copies of hospital records reflecting the dates of hospitalization (d) Serious illness, disability or non-elective surgery of the candidate's or campaign t:teasurer's immediate family member Evidence submitted shall include evidence of the candidate or treasurer's relationship to the family member, the location of the family member, and the reason the candidate or campaign treasurer's presence was required Evidence submitted shall also include a physician's certification on professional letterhead stationery that includes the dates of the illness, disability or surgery; a statement regarding the period of time that the patient was incapacitated; a statement that surgery, if any, was not elective; and a statement that the patient required the care of a family member (e) Computer or equipment failme caused by events that could not have been anticipated and that made timely filing of the report impossible Power outages or program failure does not constitute unusual circumstances unless it is established that reasonable precautions to assure the safety of the equipment or the ability of the program to perfonn as anticipated were taken before the events causing failme of the equipment or program (f) The abrupt and unexpected loss of the campaign l!easurer, over which the appealing pa:rty had no conttol The loss of the campaign tt·easurer shall not constitute unusual circU1Ustances if the appealing party failed to monitor the campaign treasmer's performance before his or her depa:rture or if the appealing pa:rty failed to assure prompt preparation of the repmt after the tteasurer's depa:rture (g) Failme of the filing officer to e-mail, telephone, or mail a letter to the candidate, chairman of a political committee, or tteasurer of a committee of continuous existence that a report is late no later than seven days after the report was due shall constitute unusual circumstances if the appealing party establishes that lack of notice cleruly interfered with the timely filing of the report The fine imposed by the filing officer shall be reduced to the amount that would have been imposed had the report been filed 13 days late Rulemaking Authority 106 26{1) FS C'h 97-13 Sec 52 Laws of Florida Law Implemented 106 04(8) 106 07(8) FS History-New 1-11-99 Amended 4-24-05