2010 Office Information

2010 Election Calendar

Important Election Dates

• June 10, Noon – Deadline for candidates to file or withdraw
• July 14 – Begin mailing advance ballots; advanced voting in person may begin
• July 19 – Last day to register to vote or change party affiliation
• July 30 – Deadline for voters to apply for advance ballots to be mailed
• August 2, Noon – Deadline to vote regular advance ballots in person
• August 3 – Primary Election
• August 6 – County canvassers certify election results
• October 13 – Begin mailing advance ballots; advanced voting in person may begin
• October 18 – Last day to register to vote or change party affiliation
• October 29 – Deadline for voters to apply for advance ballots to be mailed
• November 1, Noon – Deadline to vote regular advance ballots in person
• November 2 – General Election
• November 5 – County canvassers certify election results

Primary Election - August 3, 2010
General Election - November 2, 2010

Offices Up for Election

Election of National Officials

• United States Senator - 6 Year Term
• United States Representative (District 3) - 2 Year Term

Election of State Officials

• Governor/Lieutenant Governor - 4 Year Term
• Secretary of State - 4 Year Term
• Attorney General - 4 Year Term
• State Treasurer - 4 Year Term
• Commissioner of Insurance - 4 Year Term
• State Representatives - Districts 2, 3, and 8 - 2 Year Term
• State Board of Education - District 9 - 4 Year Term
• Kansas Supreme Court Justices - 6 Year Term (November General Election only)
• Kansas Court of Appeals Judges - 4 Year Term (November General Election only)
• 11th Judicial District Judges - (November General Election only) - 4 Year Term

The above offices file at the Secretary of State Office

Election of County Officials

• County Commissioner - Districts 1 and 3 - 4 Year Term
• Precinct Committeeman (August Primary Election only) - 2 Year Term
• Precinct Committeewoman (August Primary Election only) - 2 Year Term
• Township Clerk - 4 Year Term

The above offices file at the Crawford County Election Office

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Candidates for public office may be nominated either by political party nominations or independent nomination.

• Democratic and Republican candidates must run in the primary and may file by either fee or petition.
• Candidates of other recognized parties (currently Libertarian and Reform) do not run in the primary and may be nominated for the general election by party caucus or convention.
• Independent candidates do not run in the primary and may file for the general election only by petition. 
• All candidates for state and county offices must pay report fees and must appoint treasurers and file periodic campaign finance reports.

FILING DEADLINES

• Partisan Filings: 12:00 Noon, Thursday June 10, 2010
• Independent Nominations: 12:00 Noon, Monday August 2, 2010
• Democratic and Republican party candidates who wish to appear on the primary ballot on August 3, 2010 must file by 12:00 Noon June 10, 2010.
• Libertarian and Reform party candidates nominated by caucus or convention must have nomination papers filed by the party in the Secretary of State’s office by 12:00 Noon June 10, 2010 to appear on the general election ballot.
• Independent candidates may file for office only by petition.  Upon filing a valid petition, the candidate’s name will be placed on the general election ballot.  An independent candidate must be registered as an unaffiliated voter.  Independent candidates must file nomination petitions by 12:00 Noon, August 2, 2010

FILING FORMS

Petition forms and declaration of intention forms used to file by fee for national offices may be obtained only through the Secretary of State’s office.  Forms for state offices may be obtained either at the Secretary of State’s office or the county election office.  Forms for county and township offices may be obtained only at the county election office. Forms for precinct committee offices are online or at the county election office.

FILING LOCATION

• Candidates for national and state offices, for state legislature and for judicial offices file at the Secretary of State’s office.  The signature on a declaration of intention may be attested at the county election office and the declaration then filed with the Secretary of State’s office.  NOTE: The candidate is not considered filed until the declaration and fee are received by the Secretary of State’s office.  It is the responsibility of the candidate, not the county election office, to ensure that filing documents are sent to and received by the Secretary of State.
• Candidates for county, township and precinct committeemen and committeewomen file at the county election office.  Precinct committee candidates may have their signatures attested by a notary public rather than the county election officer, but their declarations of intention must be filed with the county election officer.

FILING PROCEDURE

Filing by Fee

Only Democratic and Republican primary candidates may file by fee.  The filing fee is either a set amount or is based on a percentage of the salary of the office the candidate is seeking.

County Offices: County Commissioner Districts 1 and 3; the fee is $293.54.

Township Office: Clerk; the fee is $1.00.

Filing by Petition

County Offices: County Commissioner

-Democratic and Republican primary candidates must have valid signatures of 3% of the party’s total registration from the district.

-Independent candidates must have valid signatures of 4% of the registered voters of the district.

The chart below shows the number of valid signatures needed for County Commissioner.

                                                         Democratic                     Republican

County Commissioner Dist. 1                 82                                    91

County Commissioner Dist. 3                 76                                    66

Township Office: Clerk

-Democratic and Republican primary candidates must have valid signatures of 3% of the party’s total registration from the township.

-Independent candidates must have valid signatures of 5% and not less than 10 total, of the township’s total voter registration.

National and State Offices Elected on a Statewide Basis: U.S. Senator, Governor/Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner

-Pairs of Democratic and Republican primary candidates for Governor/Lt. Governor must have valid signatures of 1% of the party vote for Secretary of State in the last general election.

-Democratic and Republican primary candidates for other statewide offices must have valid signatures of 1% of the party’s total voter registration.

-Independent candidates must have 5,000 valid signatures of registered voters.

National and State Offices Elected on Less than a Statewide Basis: U.S. Representative, State Representative, District Judge, State Board of Education

-Democratic and Republican primary candidates (except state board of education) must have valid signatures of 2% of the party’s total voter registration from the district.

-Independent candidates (except state board of education) must have valid signatures of 4% of the registered voters of the district.  The petition must contain valid signatures of at least 25 voters but not more than 5,000 voters.

-Candidates for State Board of Education must have valid signatures of 200 voters of the district.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS

The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission (GEC) oversees campaign finance and ethics laws for the State of Kansas.  This agency monitors the campaign finance and other reports submitted by state elected officials and candidates.  Before receiving or spending any funds in a political campaign, a candidate for state or county office must file an appointment of treasurer form with the Secretary of State.  This form must be filed within 10 days after the candidate has filed for office, if not before.  GEC provides these forms to candidates.  Candidates must file campaign finance reports by the dates listed below.  Reports must include contributions and expenditures of candidates for that reporting period.  Candidates for county offices file reports with the county election officer.

Deadlines for filing Campaign Finance Reports

Date – Period of Coverage

January 10, 2010 – January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009

July 26, 2010 – January 1, 2009 through July 22, 2010

October 25, 2010 - July 23, 2010 through October 21, 2010

January 10, 2011 – October 22, 2010 through December 31, 2010

Candidates for national offices file reports with the Federal Election Commission and the Kansas Secretary of State according to federal requirements.

Candidates for township offices file reports with the county election officer within 30 days of the primary and again within 30 days of the general election.  The reports must include contributions and expenditures of the candidates for that reporting period.