City of Miami - City Clerk's Office

Candidate qualifying for City of Miami Commission Districts 1, 2 and 4, for the November 5, 2019, General Municipal Election will be held at the Office of the City Clerk, Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, Miami, Florida 33133, beginning on September 6, 2019, and ending on September 21, 2019. During this period, the Office of the City Clerk will be open Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., and on Saturday, September 21, 2019, from 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.

It is respectfully requested that all prospective candidates call, in advance, in order to set up an appointment for qualifying as a candidate. Appointments can be made by calling the Office of the City Clerk at 305-250-5361 (TTY users may call via the Florida Relay Service by dialing 711).

The following documents are REQUIRED to qualify as a candidate:

1) Form DS-DE 9 - Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository
2) Form DS-DE 84 - Statement of Candidate
3) Affidavit of Candidate
4) Form 1 Statement of Financial Interests - 2018 Tax Year
5) Form DS-DE 302NP - Candidate Oath

The following documents are OPTIONAL to qualify as a candidate:

1) City of Miami Loyalty Oath
2) Acknowledgement by Candidates Covered by the Mandatory Provision of the
    Ethical Campaign Practices Ordinance
3) Declaration and First Amendment Waiver for Candidates Who Agree to Comply
    with the Voluntary Statement of Fair Campaign Practices

To become a qualified candidate for Commissioner of the City of Miami you must be a resident for a minimum of one (1) year before qualifying in the Commission District for which you are running, be a registered voter and a qualified elector in the City of Miami.

Additionally, candidates must pay at the time of qualifying a City of Miami Qualifying Fee of $100 and a State of Florida Assessment Fee equal to one percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought. These fees can only be paid with a check from a campaign account.

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QUALIFYING BY PETITION IN LIEU OF PAYING MUNICIPAL QUALIFICATION FEE

The petition process in lieu of qualification fee may be used by City of Miami candidates instead of paying the $100 qualification fee.

Before circulating any petitions, all candidates must file form DS-DE 9 Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository for Candidates with the Office of the City Clerk. Once this form has been filed candidates may begin circulating petitions using form DS-DE 104 Candidate Petition.

Signed petitions representing at least one percent (1%) of the geographical area of the office being sought, must be submitted before noon of the 28th day preceding the first day of the qualifying period for the office being sought to the Office of the City Clerk. With this in mind, petitions must be submitted before noon on Friday, August 9, 2019. Petitions received before the deadline will be delivered to the Miami-Dade Elections Department to determine if the petitions contain the required number of qualified and registered voters for the office being sought.

At the time that petitions are submitted to the Office of the City Clerk, the candidate must pay in advance the sum of 10 cents for each signature checked or the actual cost for checking such signature, whichever is less. This fee must be paid by a check drawn on the candidate's campaign account. If a candidate cannot pay the aforementioned charge without imposing an undue burden on personal resources or upon the resources otherwise available to the candidate, the candidate shall upon written certification of such inability given under oath (form DS-DE 19A) to the City Clerk, be entitled to have the signatures verified at no charge.

No later than the 7^th day before the first day of the qualifying period, the City Clerk shall determine whether the required number of petitions has been obtained and shall notify the candidate.

Required number of petitions for City Commissioner for District 1, District 2, and District 4:

District 1 - 326 petitions
District 2 - 478 petitions
District 4 - 395 petitions

For more information regarding the process for collecting candidate petitions, please refer to the Florida Division of Elections Candidate Petition Handbook

IMPORTANT - Candidates qualifying by petition process are required to pay the State Election Assessment Fee. (For the Office of Commissioner, the State Election Assessment Fee is $582.) The State Election Assessment Fee MUST be paid by a check drawn on the candidate's campaign account. The check from the campaign account is to be made payable to the City of Miami for the total amount due. Any person seeking to qualify for election who is unable to pay the State Election Assessment Fee without imposing an undue burden on personal resources or on resources otherwise available to him or her shall, upon written certification of such inability given under oath to the City Clerk, be exempt from paying the State Election Assessment Fee (see Section 99.093 (2) Florida Statutes). An Affidavit of Financial Hardship for municipal candidates can be found on the Office of the City Clerk's website under the section titled "Most Commonly Used Election Forms and Handbooks."

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POLITICAL ELECTION SIGNS

November 5, 2019 General Election
Signs can be displayed on private property beginning on Monday, August 5, 2019.
Signs must be removed from private property no later than Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

November 19, 2019 Run-Off Election (if required)
Candidates participating in a Run-Off Election may continue to keep their signs displayed on private property until Wednesday, December 4, 2019.

MIAMI 21 - Section 10.3.1 Class A Signs (Temporary)
For the purposes of this Article, Class A Signs shall be removed from the event or location to which they are related in a timeframe described below, unless otherwise specified.

c. Class A (political election signs). No Sign permit shall be required for political election signs displayed on private property. Such political election signs shall be permitted no earlier than three (3) months prior to the date of the election and removed within fifteen (15) days after the election. All such political election signs shall be subject to the following regulations:

1. In T5-L,O, T6-L,O, CI, CI-HD, D1, D2 and D3 Transect Zones, Signs shall not exceed fifteen (15) square feet in aggregate of Sign surface Area; or

2. In T3, T4, T5-R and T6-R Transect Zones, Signs shall not exceed four (4) square feet in aggregate of Sign surface Area.

Miami City Code Section 54-9 Placing signs, advertisements, or displays on any portion of public right-of-way, street or sidewalk surface.
(a) Except as provided in this section, it shall be unlawful for any person to post, stick, stamp, stencil, write, paint, erect or place a sign upon any sidewalk, crosswalk, curb, or any portion of the public right-of-way, including but not limited to, any trash receptacles, lamp post, electric light, telegraph, telephone, or utility line pole, hydrant, parking meter, bus bench or shelter, news rack, shade tree or tree box, any wall, fence or barricade, or upon the piers, columns, trusses, girders, railings, gates or other parts of any public bridge, overpass or viaduct, or any public structure or building except signs, advertisements, or displays authorized or required by the city, or by the laws or resolutions of the United States, the state, or the city. This subsection shall be enforced pursuant to the provisions of section 1-13.

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PAID CAMPAIGN WORKERS PARTICIPATING IN VOTE-BY-MAIL ACTIVITIES

Pursuant to Section 12-14.1 of the Code of Miami-Dade County (MDC), candidates running for municipal office, whose paid poll workers are engaged in Vote-by-Mail (formerly known as absentee ballot) activities must file form MD-ED 26, entitled "Vote-by-Mail Campaign Report" (formerly known as "Paid Campaign Workers Participating In Absentee Ballot Activities") with the Office of the City Clerk. The MD-ED 26 form is due at the same time Campaign Treasurer's Reports are due.

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REPORTING OF SOLICITATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS FOR POLITICAL COMMITTEES, ELECTIONEERING COMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATIONS, 501(C)(4) ORGANIZATIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES BY MUNICIPAL CANDIDATES

In accordance with Miami-Dade County Ordinances Nos. 16-46 and 16-75, codified in Sections 12-14.2.1 and 12-14.2.2 of the Code of Miami-Dade County, Florida, respectively, municipal elected officers and municipal candidates must file form MD-ED 28 to publicly disclose their fundraising activities for Political Committees, Electioneering Communications Organizations, organizations exempt under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code (except for homeowners associations) and/or Political Parties.

Effective January 1, 2017, each candidate for municipal office in Miami-Dade County shall ensure that their designated campaign treasurer shall, within five (5) days of commencing solicitation activities, either directly or indirectly, on behalf of a Political Committee, Electioneering Communications Organization, 501(c)(4) Organization or Political Party, file a one-time report with the City Clerk indicating that the candidate is undertaking solicitation activities on behalf of such Political Committee, Electioneering Communications Organization, 501(c)(4) Organization or Political Party. The report shall identify the name of the Political Committee, Electioneering Communications Organization, 501(c)(4) Organization or Political Party on behalf of whom such funds are being solicited and a description of the relationship between the candidate and Political Committee, Electioneering Communications Organization, 501(c)(4) Organization or Political Party. The report shall be filed on a form MD-ED 28.

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POLL WATCHER INFORMATION

Pursuant to Florida Statutes 101.131, each candidate may have one poll watcher in each polling room or early voting area at any one time during the election. Each candidate requesting to have poll watchers shall designate, in writing, utilizing Form DS-DE 125, before noon of the second Tuesday preceding the election, poll watchers for each polling room on Election Day, and before noon at least 14 days before early voting begins for early voting sites. Form DS-DE 125 MUST be submitted to the City Clerk.

POLL WATCHER FORM (DS-DE 125)

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If you have any questions regarding this information please contact the Office of the City Clerk at 305-250-5361.