2015 LUZERNE COUNTY NOMINATION PETITIONS & PAPERWORK FILING INSTRUCTIONS

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1 READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS COMPLETELY & THOROUGHLY PRIOR TO COMPLETING FORMS! INTRODUCTION TO PRIMARY ELECTION NOMINATING PETITIONS Candidates wishing to secure a position on the primary ballot must file a properly completed nomination petition. As the name suggests, nomination petitions are documents signed by registered electors of a certain party petitioning the local county board of elections to print a candidate's name on the official primary ballot. For each office, the Election Code requires a specific number of voter signatures to obtain a ballot position (Table 1). Only signatures of voters registered in the party and residing within the district of the office will be counted toward the total number of signatures. Table 1 Office Sought Signatures Required Filing Fee Countywide Offices 250 $ Magisterial District Judge * 100 $50.00 City School Director * 100 NONE School Director * 10 NONE District Council, 3 rd Class City 10 $25.00 All other City Offices 100 $25.00 Borough Offices 10 NONE Township Offices 10 NONE Constable 10 $10.00 *Candidates for nomination to these offices have the ability to file petitions in all parties appearing on the primary ballot, commonly know as cross-filing. The time deadlines for filing petitions are extremely important and are strictly enforced (Table 2). The Election Code provides only three weeks for candidates to complete and file nomination petitions. This period begins on the thirteenth Tuesday before the primary. Candidates must file the petitions three weeks later, on or before the tenth Tuesday prior to the election. This procedure is both onerous and important and must be carefully monitored. FILE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID LONG LINES, AND POSSIBLE PROBLEMS WITH PAPERWORK THAT WOULD REQUIRE YOU TO RECIRCULATE! Table Petition Calendar Events Date First day to circulate and file nominating petitions February 17 Last day to circulate and file nominating petitions March 10 Last day to file objections to nominating petitions March 17 Last day for a Court of record to conduct hearings on objections March 20 Last day for candidate s withdrawal of nominating petitions March 25 Last day for a Court of record to render decisions on objections March 25 HOW TO COMPLETE NOMINATION PETITIONS The legal guidelines for circulating nomination petitions are the most detailed requirements that a candidate will encounter in a campaign. Candidates must ensure that their circulators are apprised of the complete requirements pertaining to the dissemination of petitions. Candidates or their authorized agent(s) shall complete the preamble of the petition in advance of circulation. Attention to these details is necessary and follows this form: 1. The county of qualified electors 2. The electoral district in which the nomination is made (e.g. County of Luzerne, City of Nanticoke, Magisterial District , Wilkes- Barre Area School District, Borough of Nuangola. NOT 6 th or 119 or FOUR) Page 1 of 5

2 3. The political party of the electors 4. The county of the board of elections to which the petition is to be presented 5. The printed name of the candidate exactly as it is to appear on the ballot 6. The profession, business or occupation of the candidate (e.g. county commissioner, attorney, teacher, retired, or the name of the owned business) 7. The residential address with street, number and zip code 8. The year of the municipal primary The title of the office (e.g. Member of County Council, Mayor, Supervisor, Borough Council Member, City Council Member, Constable, Auditor) with the years of Term (e.g. Six Year Term, Four Year Term, Two Year Term) In addition to the preamble, candidates or their authorized agent(s) shall complete the bottom sidebar on the reverse side of the petition in advance of circulation. Attention to these details is necessary and follows this form: 1. The political party 2. The office title 3. The municipality 4. The ward and district 5. The term of the office 6. The printed name of the candidate as it is to appear on the ballot 7. The year of the primary election Make no mark under the words Filed in the Office of the County Board of Elections as this is the area in which the official time stamp of receipt by the county board shall be affixed. Circulators must be informed of the dates when they may begin to collect signatures as well as the deadline for collecting signatures. Any signatures dated before or after this time period will be deemed invalid. For nomination petitions, candidates have three weeks to gather signatures; the first circulation date is the thirteenth Tuesday before the primary. Circulators must also be certain that the documents they circulate completely identify their purposes in accordance with the law. The most important advice for a candidate to follow is to ensure that if he or she does not personally take the petition around to obtain the necessary signatures, then those who do ("circulators"), are to be carefully instructed on what is required. Circulators should be sure that signers of nomination petitions are registered voters of the particular district served by the office. Furthermore, signers must be registered in the party whose nomination the candidate seeks. Circulators should also be certain that each signer enters his or her own signature, printed name, residence, and date of signature, legibly and accurately. DO NOT USE DITTO MARKS! If the circulator must strike a line due to an error, simply draw one straight line through the line that is to be struck and move onto the next line. DO NOT USE correction fluid or tape. Female signers should sign and print her given name e.g. Mary Jones and NOT Mrs. Jack Jones. Circulators should also employ three additional precautions. First, since affidavits by the circulators must accompany each individual petition, no two circulators should handle the same sheet. Second, no sheet for an office covering more than one county should be used in more than one county. Third, circulators should be aware that there is a limit to how many petitions a registered elector can sign for the same office. For offices where only one person will be elected, an individual can sign only one nomination petition. Where two or more persons are to be elected to the same office, an individual can sign nomination petitions for as many candidates as he or she can vote for in the upcoming election. After the final signature of an elector has deemed the petition complete or no further signatures shall be obtained on a given petition, circulators must complete the affidavit of circulator on the reverse side of the petition. This process includes signing the affidavit under oath before a notary public BE SURE TO READ THE AFFIDAVIT OF CIRCULATOR PRIOR TO CIRCULATION OF THE NOMINATING PETITION. In short, each circulator: 1. Must be a registered elector 2. Must be of the same political party as that of the signers and of which the nomination is to be made Page 2 of 5

3 3. Must set forth his or her signature, printed name, street address and zip code and the city borough or township of residence NOTE: If the candidate is the circulator, then the candidate shall execute the circulators affidavit. The completed package of signature sheets and circulators' affidavits must be accompanied by a single affidavit signed by the candidate to be nominated; candidates must complete the candidate s affidavit on the reverse side of the first petition. This process includes signing the affidavit under oath before a notary public BE SURE TO READ THE CANDIDATES AFFIDAVIT PRIOR TO HAVING IT NOTARIZED. For a nomination petition, the candidate's affidavit must set forth the following: 1. The candidate's residence, with street number and postal address 2. The election district in which the candidate resides 3. The office for which the candidate is filing 4. That the candidate is eligible for the office stated in the petition 5. That the candidate will not knowingly violate any provision of the Election Code or any other law regulating or limiting election expenses or prohibiting corrupt practices in connection therewith 6. That the candidate is not a candidate for nomination of any other party for the same office excepting School Directors and Magisterial District Judges 7. Or holds the same office for which he or she is running the term of which is not set to expire in the same year 8. That the candidate is aware of the requirement that pre- and postelection reports are filed concerning campaign contributions and expenditures and 9. That if the candidate is seeking a party office (committeeperson or national party delegate, for example), then he or she shall be a registered and enrolled member of the designated party IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING CAMPAIGN FINANCE It is REQUIRED that the candidate also complete and have notarized the "WAIVER OF CAMPAIGN EXPENSE REPORTING AFFIDAVIT section of the petition. Completing the waiver exempts the candidate from filing expense statements, if the candidate does not intend to form a finance committee at the time of filing petitions, yet still allows the candidate to collect and expend up to $ in each of the reporting periods during the election year, providing that the receipts and records of contributions are maintained by the candidate. FILING THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS In addition to a nomination petition, all candidates for public office, other than candidates for party office and polling place officials, must also file a "Statement of Financial Interests" ("Statement"). This Statement is a pre-printed form that is intended to reveal any potential conflicts that a candidate may bring to the office that he or she is seeking. You must file the Statement of Financial Interests with your nominating petition or the printed website copy. Please consult the reverse side of the form to ensure a copy is filed with the proper authority. Since the form is no longer carbon copied, the candidate will be required to make a copy to file with the proper authority. The original is to be filed with the Election Bureau. If you neglect to make a copy prior to filing your petition, you must pay 25 in a check or money order in order to obtain a copy from the Election Bureau. The Bureau DOES NOT ACCEPT CASH AS A FORM OF PAYMENT. For all questions relating to completing the form, please contact the State Ethics Commission at (707) or Toll Free at Page 3 of 5

4 FILING THE CANDIDATE INFORMATION SHEET The last form required of a candidate is the Candidate Information Sheet. Information provided on this self-explanatory form shall match exactly the information on the nominating petition(s). This form will be used for the purpose of programing the election ballot. FILING THE CANDIDATE NAME CHANGE AFFIDAVIT A supplemental form is required to have a name appear on the ballot that is not a part of your given name e.g. nicknames. This form is self-explanatory and must be notarized. The name-change affidavits shall be filed together with all other paperwork. Titles denoting a profession such as attorney, doctor or C.P.A. are prohibited. FILING ORDER AND CASTING OF LOTS Candidates draw for ballot positions in the order in which their nominating petitions are filed with the Bureau of Elections. This drawing occurs shortly after the last filing day at the office where petitions are filed. The Election Code requires that each candidate be notified of (Table 3) and represented at the drawing of lots for positions so as to protect his or her right to a fair draw. Candidates can attend in person or be represented by an agent duly authorized by a notarized letter of proxy from the candidate. A standard form letter of proxy will be available from our website. Those not presenting the proper documentation for a proxy draw, or those unrepresented entirely, shall have the lot cast by a member of the staff of the Bureau of Elections NO EXCEPTIONS. Table 3 CASTING OF LOTS FOR BALLOT POSITION MARCH 18, :30 AM MUNICIPALITIES IN THE 116 TH LEG DIST 9:35 AM MUNICIPALITIES IN THE 117 TH LEG DIST 9:40 AM MUNICIPALITIES IN THE 118 TH LEG DIST 9:45 AM MUNICIPALITIES IN THE 119 TH LEG DIST 9:50 AM MUNICIPALITIES IN THE 120 TH LEG DIST 9:55 AM MUNICIPALITIES IN THE 121 ST LEG DIST 10:00 AM SCHOOL DIRECTORS (ALL DISTRICTS) 10:15 AM MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT JUDGES 10:30 PM COUNTYWIDE OFFICES MUNICIPALITIES COVERING MORE THAN ONE STATE LEG DIST: All of Hazle Township shall follow the 119 th Schedule All of Hanover Township shall follow the 121 st Schedule Page 4 of 5

5 AT THE TIME OF FILING, BE ORGANIZED AND TURN IN YOUR DOCUMENTS IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER: 1. NOMINATING PETITION (S) 2. CANDIDATE INFORMATION SHEET 3. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS (ORIGINAL) 4. IF APPLICABLE - FILING FEE IN THE FORM OF A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER NO CASH WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE BUREAU DO NOT STAPLE ANY OF YOUR DOCUMENTS TOGETHER ANY AND ALL FILING FEES CAN NOW BE PAID DIRECTLY AT THE BUREAU OF ELECTIONS OFFICE. CHECKS AND MONEY ORDERS MUST BE MADE PAYABLE TO THE LUZERNE COUNTY TREASURER. THE BUREAU WILL PROVIDE A RECEIPT OF PAYMENT. CANDIDATES: FILE ALL COMPLETED DOCUMENTS AT THE: LUZERNE COUNTY BUREAU OF ELECTIONS 20 NORTH PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, SUITE 207 WILKES-BARRE, PA REMEMBER: YOUR PACKET INCLUDES ENOUGH PETITIONS FOR EACH CANDIDATE TO RECEIVE TWICE THE NUMBER OF SIGNATURES REQUIRED TO QUALIFY. IF YOU NEED MORE, REQUEST ADDITIONAL ONES. MAKING COPIES IS PERMITTED BUT IT IS STRESSED TO EXERCISE CAUTION IF MAKING COPIES, AS IMPROPERLY COPIED ONES COULD BE REJECTED! READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS COMPLETELY AND THOROUGHLY PRIOR TO MAKING INQUIRY WITH THE BUREAU OF ELECTIONS. THE USE OF TO POSE QUESTIONS IS STRONGLY ENCOURAGED AND WILL YIELD ANSWERS QUICKER THAN ANY OTHER METHOD OF COMMUNICATION: ELECTIONS@LUZERNECOUNTY.ORG WARNING!!! DO NOT LEAVE THE NOTARY UNTIL YOU ARE CERTAIN THE NOTARIAL SEAL (THE RUBBER STAMPER) HAS BEEN AFFIXED TO EACH AND EVERY AFFIDAVIT SIGNED. FAILURE TO PRODUCE DOCUMENTS PROPERLY SEALED BY A NOTARY WILL RESULT IN YOUR PAPERWORK BEING REJECTED. THE SEAL LOOKS LIKE THIS: NOTARIAL SEAL JOHN DOE, NOTARY PUBLIC City of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County My commission expires January 1, 2016 FILING HOURS MONDAY FRIDAY 9:00 AM - 4:15 PM Page 5 of 5