Becoming a Candidate
Don't open your bank account, collect contributions, or spend money on your campaign until you have filed the required forms with your qualifying officer. Anyone seeking to become a candidate in Flagler County is welcome to call or visit our office to learn about the qualification process.
Flagler County Candidates
Interested in running for office in Flagler County? This page was created to help prospective candidates and provides the information needed to begin your campaign.
Once you make the decision to run for public office in Florida, you must file your candidacy with the appropriate office before you can make any expenditure or accept any contributions on behalf of your campaign. You must also file your candidacy before you open a campaign bank account. The office which you have chosen to run for determines where and when you file for candidacy.
Looking for qualifying forms, publications, or sign information? Start here:
2026 Candidate Resources
Multi-County District or State or Federal Offices
Candidates for multi-county, state or Federal offices file directly with the Florida Division of Elections in Tallahassee. Contact the Division of Elections for more information about running for a multi-county, state or federal office.
City Candidates
Candidates for Mayor, City Council or City Commission must qualify with the City Clerk of the city where they reside. Ballot qualification rules and dates vary from city to city in accordance with the city’s charter.
There are four municipalities in Flagler County: Beverly Beach, Bunnell, Flagler Beach and Palm Coast. The town of Marineland conducts their elections independently. Contact your City Clerk for more information about running for a city office.
County Offices
Candidates for county and special district offices file and qualify with the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections. These offices include: County Commission, School Board, County Judge, Clerk of Court, Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, as well as Mosquito Control and Community Development District boards.
If you are considering running for an office that qualifies with the Supervisor of Elections, your first step should be to read this booklet:
Becoming A Candidate in Flagler County(PDF, 589KB)
Once you have an understanding of the requirements for the local office, you should download, complete, and file the DS-DE 9 and DS-DE 84 forms with the Elections Office. Upon filing, you will receive a Candidate Handbook prepared by our office which guides you through the specific requirements for the office you are seeking. New candidates are encouraged to call (386) 313-4170 and make an appointment to meet with the qualifying officer to discuss any questions you may have regarding qualifying procedures. We are here to help you!
Other forms are due during the qualifying period for your office. While the cities set their own qualifying periods, other offices are subject to state law. The qualifying period is the time when you must finish qualification for ballot position, which includes required paperwork and any required qualifying fees. You must complete your qualifying requirements by the close of the qualifying period to gain ballot position.
Candidate Qualifying Dates
Statewide, Multi-county, County and District Offices
- Qualifying Dates: Noon, June 8, 2026 – Noon, June 12, 2026
- Candidate qualifying paperwork can be submitted beginning on Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Note: Federal, State and Multi-County and Judicial Offices (except County Judge) file their qualifying paperwork with the State Division of Elections. County, Special District offices file their qualifying paperwork with the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections.
County Candidate Qualifying Location:
Supervisor of Elections Office
1769 E. Moody Boulevard, Building 2, Suite 101
Bunnell, FL 32110
It is recommended that anyone interested in seeking county public office contact us to make a candidate qualifying appointment.
Candidate Residency Requirements
- County Commission candidates must reside in the district they are seeking at the time of being elected to office in November
- School Board candidates must reside in the district they are seeking at the time of assuming office
- Constitutional Officers must reside in the district they are seeking at the time of assuming office
- Judicial candidates must reside in the district they are seeking at the time of assuming office
Resign To Run
An elected officer's current position or office must be resigned under the "Resign To Run" law, pursuant to Section 99.012(3), Florida Statutes. More information is available from the Division of Elections: Resign To Run Reference Guide.
Qualifying by Petition Method
All candidates, except for special district candidates who are not collecting contributions and whose only expense is the petition verification fee or filing fee, must file their Form DS-DE 9 before soliciting petition signatures. A person who seeks to qualify as a candidate for any office and who meets the petition requirements is not required to pay the qualifying fee or party assessment fee at the time of qualifying, pursuant to Section 99.095, Florida Statutes.
The total number of valid petitions must be submitted prior to the deadline. To meet the exact number of valid petitions required, it's often necessary to submit more than the requirement. Get started early soliciting petitions and submit them to the Elections Office as they are collected. This allows our office to keep candidates informed as to the status of their petition effort. Do not wait until the last minute to submit petitions! Candidates who fail to qualify by the petition method will be required to pay the required qualifying fee for the office sought in order to obtain ballot position.
For all county offices, other than special district offices, the number of petitions required is equal to 1% of the total number of registered voters in the geographical area represented by the office sought at the last General Election. The number of petitions required for all special district offices is 25.
2026 Petition Requirements
County Offices
Community Development Districts
Petition Guidelines
In order to be counted as valid, a petition must be completed and signed by a registered voter within the district represented by the office sought and submitted on the DS-DE 104 - Candidate Petition Form. A fee of ten cents for verification per petition must be paid to the Supervisor of Elections in advance unless the candidate files an oath of undue burden before submitting petitions.
Any candidate petition form which has been altered or differs form prescribed by the Division of Elections will not be accepted. According to Division of Elections Adopted Rule 1S-2.045, "Form DS-DE 104 must be reproduced for use by candidates in its exact wording and format without any changes in its text or format, except the DS-DE 104 may be reduced or enlarged proportionally in size as a whole document.”
Section 104.185(2), Florida Statutes
A person who signs another person’s name or a fictitious name to any petition, or who fills in missing information on a signed petition, to secure ballot position for a candidate, a minor political party, or an issue commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
Candidate petition forms must be completed correctly by both the candidate and the voter in order to be verified. Missing or incomplete information will invalidate the petition. For more information, please refer to the latest edition of the Candidate Petition Handbook, published by the Division of Elections.
Petition Submission Deadline
County and Special District (CDD) Candidates
When can I announce my candidacy?
Candidacy may be announced at any time, however, candidates must:
- File an Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository (Form DS-DE 9) with the Supervisor of Elections office before any contributions are accepted or expenditures are made.
- The DS-DE 9 must be filed with the Supervisor of Elections office BEFORE a bank account is opened and prior to collecting petition signatures.
- Special district candidates who do not collect contributions and whose only expense is the signature verification fee or filing fee may collect petitions without filing the DS-DE 9.
- File a Statement of Candidate (Form DS-DE 83 or Form DS-DE 84) within ten (10) calendar days of filing the DS-DE 9.
- The above forms can be obtained from the Division of Elections or by visiting the Supervisor of Elections office.
Please note: The information listed on this page is based upon current law and could change due to legislation.