MONTGOMERY COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE PETITION TRAINING

Transcription

1 MONTGOMERY COUNTY DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE PETITION TRAINING Eunice Franklin-Becker, MCDC Joe Graeff, MCDC Tim Ford, Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippell, LLP

2 AGENDA Overview Frequently Asked Questions Petition Basics MCDC Resources 2019 Election Calendar

3 Frequently Asked Questions What offices are on the ballot this year? State Superior Court - 2 Court of Common Pleas 3 County Commissioners 2 County Row Offices Municipal officials (council/supervisor/commissioner) School Boards Auditors Magisterial District Judge

4 Frequently Asked Questions Which candidates need signatures? Each candidate running for office needs to collect a certain number of signatures to appear on the Primary Ballot even if they are running for re-election. Does signing a petition mean that I must vote for that candidate? No. Signing the petition only helps candidates get on the ballot. You may still vote for whomever you choose. May I sign more than one petition for candidates running for different offices? You may only sign as many petitions as the number of votes you may have for that office. If there is one slot on the ballot you may sign one petition, etc. May I circulate petitions for more than one candidate? Yes. You are encouraged to circulate petitions for multiple candidates.

5 Petition Basics - Essential Dates Petition period starts on Tuesday, February 19 and continues through Tuesday, March 12. No petition can be signed before Tuesday, February 19. Petitions need to be completed, notarized, and submitted to Montgomery County Voter Services before 4:15PM, Tuesday, March 12.

6 Petition Basics Best Practices All blank spaces at top front of petition MUST be complete BEFORE circulating. Circulators & signers must be registered Democrats, registered to vote IN the district. Circulators and signers MUST BE ABLE to vote for the candidate whose petitions they are signing. This does not mean that they have to vote for that candidate. The signer must personally complete information on the line where they are signing. If a mistake occurs, draw a single line through the entire row and start again on the next line below. Do not leave any signature line blank. Every entry must be legible. Ditto marks are NEVER acceptable. Signatures must be dated in chronological order. Once the petition is notarized, NO additional writing of any sort may be added.

7 Petition: Candidate Information 1= Montgomery 2= District in which Candidate is running for election (e.g., Colonial School District, Plymouth Township, Ward 2) 3= Democratic 4= Montgomery 5= Candidate s name as it should appear on the ballot 6= Candidate s Profession 7= Candidate s mailing address w/number & ZIP code 8= 19 (2019) 9= Office for which candidate is running (e.g. School Director, Auditor, etc.) 10=Length of term: 2 year, 4 year, 6 year 11= DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOX Best Practice: Candidate information must be complete BEFORE collecting any signatures.

8 Petition: Signatures 1= Signature 2= Printed Name of Signer 3= House Number 4= Street 5=City, Borough or Township - **NOT POST OFFICE** 6= Date (MM/DD/YYYY) BEST PRACTICE: Prompt signers as they are writing: In this box sign your name the signature you use for official documents and as it appears on your voter registration card. In the next boxes print your name, then your house number, then the name of the street where you live. For the City, Borough or Township, write the name of the Municipality, not the post office. The last box is today s date, which is Month, Day, 2019.

9 Petition: Affidavit of Circulator **Note: SS is NOT Social Security** 1= Montgomery 2= Circulator Signature 3= Circulator Printed Name 4= Circulator Street Address & Post Office 5= MUNICIPALITY-City, Borough or Township 6= Date Notarized 7= Reserved for the Notary stamp 8= Notary Signature Best Practice: DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING IN ANY PART OF THIS SECTION UNTIL YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN FRONT OF THE NOTARY!!

10 Petition: Candidate Affadavit **NOTE: SS is NOT Social Security** 1= Montgomery 2=Office for which Candidate is running 3= Signature of Candidate 4=Printed name of Candidate 5=Candidate s street address 6=Municipality; City, Borough, Township 7= Election District of Candidate; Ward, City, Borough, Township 8= Date Notarized 9= Notary Stamp 10=Notary Signature Best Practice: DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING IN ANY PART OF THIS SECTION UNTIL YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN FRONT OF THE NOTARY!!

11 Petition: Expense Waiver Affidavit **NOTE: SS is NOT Social Security** 1= Montgomery 2= Signature of candidate 3=Printed name of candidate 4=Candidate s street address 5=Municipality; City, Borough, Township 6= Date notarized 7= Notary stamp 8= Notary signature *= Does not apply to local candidates Best Practice: DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING IN ANY PART OF THIS SECTION UNTIL YOU ARE ACTUALLY IN FRONT OF THE NOTARY!!

12 Statement of Financial Interests =Name 2=Business, government, or home address 3=Mark Candidate 4=Mark seeking and identify title of the position you are seeking. Also include any position you currently hold, or any positions you held in 2018, and mark the appropriate box (e.g., Supervisor, Commissioner, School Director) 5=Identify the governmental entity in which you are running (e.g., Upper Merion Township, Colonial School District) 6=Your occupation (may be same as position) 7=2018 8=Addresses of any property in which you have a direct or indirect interest and was involved in transactions with a government entity (e.g., lease, purchase) in =List name, address, and interest rate of any creditor of your debt greater than $6,500. You do not need to provide the amount of the debt. 10=List name and address of every source of income greater than $1,300. This includes payments, fees, salaries, expenses, interest, dividends, and capital gains. You do not need to provide the amount of each source of income, as long as the source is listed. 11=List name, address, description and value of gifts received greater than $250 in the aggregate. Do not report gifts received from family or friends. Friends do not include lobbyists or any person who has business before your governmental entity. 12=List name, address, and amount for each payment or reimbursement of transportation, lodging, or hospitality greater than $650 in the aggregate in =List name and address for any business entity in which you are an officer, a director, or employed 14=Name, address, and interest held in any business entity 15=List name and address of any business in which you transferred an interest to a parent, spouse, child, or sibling, the interest held, your relationship to the transferee, and date\ 16=Signature and date (backdating is a crime), no notary Best Practice: File original with Clerk of your governmental entity; attach copy to 16 petitions. Due March 12, last day to circulate petitions.

13 I collected signatures now what? After collecting all of the signatures you will collect, you need to get the Petition notarized. REMEMBER: once the petition is notarized you MAY NOT ADD ANY additional writing of any sort to the petition. Many Areas and local committees have Notary Parties to help notarize petitions efficiently. MCDC will host a notary event Sunday, March 10 from 1 5 PM at the MCDC Headquarters, 21 E. Airy St., Norristown (the weekend before petitions are due.) This is the ONLY date that MCDC will have notaries on site. MCDC will offer to submit completed, notarized petitions to Voter Services. Petitions must reach MCDC well BEFORE the 4:15 deadline on 3/12 in order for us to submit to Voter Services. There is a one-week period after the petition cut-off date to challenge the petitions. MCDC will assist local candidates and Areas on a case-by-case basis to either challenge Republican petitions, or defend Democratic petitions from a challenge.

14 Important Dates

15 Presenter Information MCDC Staff Phone: Eunice Franklin-Becker Executive Director Joe Graeff Political Director Tim Ford, Esq. Phone: Tim is an Associate at Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel, LLP, with offices in Philadelphia and West Conshohocken. He specializes in political and election law.

16 THANK YOU!