STATE OF HAWAII OFFICE OF ELECTIONS

802 LEHUA AVENUE PEARL CITY, HAWAII 96782

www.hawaii.gov/elections

FACTSHEET CANDIDATE FILING PROCESS 2008 ELECTIONS

PURPOSE

The Candidate Filing Process enables qualified individuals to have their names appear on the Primary Election ballot or Special Election ballot. Candidates may run as nonpartisan or as members of the following political parties:

Democratic Libertarian Republican

QUALIFICATIONS FOR OFFICE

Qualifications vary according to the elective office sought. Four qualifications apply to all offices. Each candidate must:

be a citizen of the United States;
be at least eighteen years of age;
be a resident and registered voter of the State of Hawaii; and
have received final discharge for any felony conviction.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

State elective offices: A candidate running for state elective office with a district residency requirement must reside in and be a qualified voter of the district from which he/she seeks election.

City/County elective offices: Candidates running for City/County offices should check their respective charters for countyspecific district residency requirements.

All candidates for elective office must file nomination papers in order to appear (be listed) on the State of Hawaii's ballot [Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Section 123].

Nomination papers are available at the following offices on the first working day February in every even numbered year.

SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT

Prior to being filed, nomination papers must be signed by a specified number of properly registered voters who are qualified to vote for the candidate in the upcoming election. The candidate is responsible to ensure that there are sufficient signatures of qualified voters on his/her nomination papers. Nomination papers that do not contain sufficient valid signatories will not be accepted for filing.

To be valid, each signatory:

must live and be properly registered to vote in the district from which the candidate seeks election;

may sign nomination papers for only one candidate for a particular elective office if there is only one seat available; and
NOTE: If more than one seat is available for election, a signatory may sign as many nomination papers as there are available seats.

must include the last four digits of his/her social security number, date of birth, and residence address to aid in the verification process. Mailing addresses will not be accepted.

The number of required signatures ranges from 15 to 25 depending on the office.

Candidates are advised to file their nomination papers early and to obtain more signatures than required in anticipation of invalid or unqualified signatories. Once nomination papers are filed and the filing fee is accepted, candidates will not be allowed to add more signatures to their nomination papers.

FILING OF NOMINATION PAPERS

Candidates must file nomination papers at the office of issuance. The deadline to file nomination papers is:

TUESDAY, JULY 22, 2008, 4:30 p.m.

When candidates file nomination papers, candidates must also do the following:

Certification by all candidates: Each partisan candidate must certify, by selfsubscribing oath, that:

the candidate will qualify under the law for that office;
the candidate has determined that all of the information on the candidate’s nomination papers, except for that provided by the voters who signed the candidate’s nomination papers, is true and correct; and
the candidate is in compliance with Section 8312, HRS, (has received final discharge for any felony conviction).

Certification by partisan candidates: Each partisan candidate is required to certify, by selfsubscribing oath, that the candidate is a member of a qualified political party in Hawaii. Candidates who are not members of the political party may be challenged and disqualified on that basis.

Oath of loyalty/affirmation: All candidates are required to take and subscribe to a prescribed written oath of loyalty or affirmation statement before a notary public or a public officer authorized by law to administer oaths. The oath or affirmation statement is on the nomination papers and may be completed before or at the time of filing (HRS Section 127). Candidates must provide the notary public with an identification card containing the person's picture and signature (i.e., driver license or state id) when the oath or affirmation is subscribed to before the notary public.

RESIGNATION FROM OFFICE

Certain elected state or county public officials must resign from the office currently held before being eligible as a candidate for another state or county elective office. This applies only if the term of the office presently held is not normally scheduled for election in the same year as the office sought. The candidate must resign from office before filing his/her nomination papers and must certify, by selfsubscribing oath, that he/she has complied with Hawaii State Constitution, Article II, Section 7.

The filing fee, which varies with the office sought, must be paid by cash, money order, or certified/cashier's check on Oahu and money order or certified/cashier’s check on the neighbor islands. Personal or campaign checks are not accepted.

Discounted Filing Fee: Candidates for state and county offices who agree to abide by the State's voluntary campaign spending expenditure limits may receive discounted filing fees. Candidates will receive the discounted fee after filing the "Affidavit of Compliance with Campaign Expenditure Limits" with the Campaign Spending Commission on Oahu or with the Offices of the County Clerk on the neighbor islands (HRS Section 11208).

Affidavits in compliance with the voluntary expenditure limits must be filed with Campaign Spending Commission or county clerk by the time of filing of nomination papers.

Candidates Who Agree to Comply With and Exceed the Expenditure Limits: Candidates who agree to the expenditure limits and who exceed the respective expenditure limits must pay the full filing fee and notify the chief election officer, all contributors and opponents, and the Campaign Spending Commission that the expenditure limitations are exceeded.

Candidates Who Are Indigent: Candidates who declare themselves indigent via affidavit may have the filing fee waived. The declaration must be accompanied by a petition signed by currently registered voters who constitute at least onehalf of one percent (1/2%) of the total voters registered at the last preceding General Election in the district from which the indigent person seeks election (HRS Section 126). Indigent candidates must file nomination papers and comply with other filing requirements.

CANDIDATE NAME ON BALLOT

Each candidate must designate the name that he/she wishes to appear on the ballot, including Hawaiian and/or English equivalents or nicknames, at the time of filing. Each candidate is allowed a maximum of 27 typed spaces on the ballot for his/her name. The 27 spaces include all letters, spaces, and punctuation marks. Titles are not permitted as part of a candidate's ballot name. All candidates' names will be in the format prescribed by the Office of Elections to ensure consistency and equality.

Candidates verify and confirm the