§ 21.07-1. Alternative Method for Qualifying Fee; Signature Verification; State Election Assessment.

(1)

Alternative Method. A candidate who seeks to qualify for any office in a municipal election can have the qualifying fee waived by satisfying the petition requirements set forth herein and applicable Florida Statutes. Such candidate must also satisfy all other requirements for qualification.

(2)

Required Number of Signatures. In order to qualify for office by means of a petitioning process, a candidate shall obtain signatures of at least 3% of the registered electors for the office being sought as of January 1 of the year of the election; in the case of City Commissioner, 3% of the registered electors of the District, and in the case of the Mayor-Commissioner, 3% of the registered electors of the City as a whole. Except that, in the election cycle immediately following the U.S. decennial census and the subsequent City of Orlando redistricting, candidates for City Commissioner may qualify by obtaining the signatures of .005 of the registered electors of the City as a whole. If a candidate is unable to collect the required number of signatures, the candidate can still qualify by paying the qualifying fee. Such candidate must also satisfy all other requirements for qualification.

(3)

Notice of Intent Collect Petitions. Any candidate seeking to collect signed petitions in lieu of paying the qualifying fee, shall file with the City Clerk a Notice of Intent to Collect Petitions, or such other form as prescribed by the City Clerk, prior to beginning the collection of signed petitions. The dates for submission of said Notice shall be set by the City Clerk to begin approximately one hundred (100) days prior to the qualifying period. Any signatures that are collected prior to the submission of the Notice of Intent to Collect Petitions shall be considered invalid and not counted. Signatures for all candidates are valid only for the next general election qualifying period for that office immediately following the filing of the Notice of Intent to Collect Petitions.

(4)

Format of Petition. All petitions shall comply with Florida Statutes ch. 99, as amended, unless there are no requirements set forth by Florida law, then said petitions shall comply with petition requirements prescribed by the City Clerk.

(5)

Submission of Petitions. Each signed petition must be submitted to the City Clerk before noon of the 28th day preceding the first day of the qualifying period for the office sought along with payment to the City of Orlando for verification of signatures, as set forth in Subsection (6) below. The City Clerk shall submit the petitions and payment to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections in order to verify the signatures and the status of the voters in the city or district of the office sought.

(6)

Charges for Verification of Signatures. Pursuant to Florida law, the City of Orlando shall be paid in advance for verification of signatures. If a candidate cannot pay such charges without imposing an undue burden on personal resources or on the resources otherwise available to such candidate, the candidate may have the signatures verified at no charge upon written certification of such inability given under oath to the Supervisor of Elections, by filing an Affidavit of Undue Burden as required by Florida law with the City Clerk upon submission of the petitions. Pursuant to Florida law, if any person is paid to solicit signatures on a petition, an undue burden oath may not subsequently be filed in lieu of paying the fee to have signatures verified for that petition. If an undue burden oath has been filed and payment is subsequently made to any person to solicit signatures on a petition, the undue burden oath is no longer valid and a fee for all signatures previously submitted to the Supervisor of Elections and any that are submitted thereafter shall be paid by the candidate who submitted the undue burden oath. If a candidate receives any monetary contributions, the candidate must reimburse the City Clerk pursuant to Florida law for any signature verification fees that were not paid because of the affidavit.

(7)

State Election Assessment. Notwithstanding the above, a candidate is required to pay the Florida state election assessment as required by Florida Statutes § 99.093, as amended, unless the candidate files with the City Clerk an Affidavit of Financial Hardship, or other form as prescribed by the City Clerk, prior to or at the time of qualifying.

(Ord. of 5-21-1990, Doc. #23933; Ord. of 9-8-1997, Doc. #30568; Ord. of 10-29-2001, § 3, Doc. #011029707; Ord. Of 7-9-2007, § 4, Doc. #0707091005; Ord. No. 2018-55, § 1, 10-8-2018, Doc. #1810081202)