Election Candidates

Candidate qualifications are as follows:

1. A candidate for local office must be a qualified elector at the time of filing their nomination paper.
2. Any such candidate, in addition to the other requirements, must be 18 years of age or over in general law cities and towns.
3. Candidates for local office must also have resided in the town for 1 year preceding the election. This 1-year residency requirement also permits persons living in an area that is annexed to a city or town less than 1 year prior to the election to qualify as a candidate if they meet all other requirements for candidates.
4. Concerning the question of candidate qualifications, it should be noted that a person convicted of a felony cannot serve as a councilmember until he/she has been restored their civil rights.

As previously noted, a councilmember must possess all of the qualifications of an elector, in general law cities and towns. The qualifications for an elector, in part, prohibit any person convicted of treason or a felony from being qualified to vote at any election, unless his/her civil rights are restored.

Also, if a person has been adjudicated an "incapacitated person", they are ineligible to vote at any election. Hence, it is clear that no person formerly convicted of a felony can be a candidate for office unless his civil rights are restored, nor can an "incapacitated person" be a candidate as such a person does not possess voter qualifications.

Also, a person cannot be a candidate for more than 1 public office if the elections for those offices are held on the same day and if the person would be prohibited from serving in the offices simultaneously.

Members of the Legislature

A member of the State Legislature is prohibited from holding office in a city or town. The only offices a legislator may hold while serving as a member of the Legislature are school trustee, teacher or instructor.

Federal Civilian Employees

Generally, employees in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government may not take an active part in political management or in political campaigns. However, they may run for local office in non-party elections; that is, elections in which no candidate for local office is identified on the ballot as representing any political party, including a nonpartisan party. In other words, Federal employees may participate in non-party local elections in which party designation and nomination are completely absent.

• A. As a candidate, you must file a Statement of Organization to form a Candidate Committee within ten days of meeting the committee criteria. (For additional requirements and restrictions refer to A.R.S. § 16-905.) 
• B. You may not file as a write-in candidate pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-312(F) if any of the following applies: 
  • 1. As a candidate in the PRIMARY election: 
    • a. You filed a nomination petition for the current primary election for the office sought and failed to provide a sufficient number of valid petition signatures as prescribed by A.R.S. § 16-322; 
    • b. You withdrew from the primary election after a challenge was filed; or 
    • c. You were removed from or otherwise determined by court order to be ineligible for the primary election ballot. 
  • 2. As a candidate in the GENERAL/RUNOFF election: 
    • a. You ran in the immediately preceding primary election and failed to be nominated to the office sought in the current election; 
    • b. You filed a nomination petition for the immediately preceding primary election for the office sought (or other than by primary for the office sought) and failed to provide a sufficient number of valid petition signatures as prescribed by A.R.S. § 16-322 or A.R.S. § 16-341. 
• C. The Primary/General election will be held on August 6, 2024. Pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-311, the following properly executed forms must be submitted to the town clerk for the official filing of your candidacy not later than 5:00 p.m. on the 40th day before the election (no later than June 27, 2024): 
  • 1. The Nomination Paper, Declaration of Qualification, and a Campaign Finance Statement included in the Declaration that states you have no final, outstanding judgments against you of more than an aggregate of $1,000 due to your failure to comply with or enforcement of Title 16, Chapter 6, Arizona Revised Statutes (signed under penalty of perjury). 
  • 2. The Financial Disclosure Statement (prescribed by the Secretary of State). 
• D. Note: In order to be issued a certificate of nomination or election, A.R.S. §§ 9-821.01 and 16-645 require a write-in candidate to receive a number of votes equivalent to or at least the same number of 591 signatures required by A.R.S. § 16-322 for nominating petitions for the same office. If you have questions, please feel free to call me. Fatima Fernandez, Town Clerk (928)759-3028

Nomination Paper/Declaration of Qualification/Write-in

Financial Disclosure Statement

Financial Disclosure Guide

Statement of Organization