FAQs • Palm Beach, FL • CivicEngage

Is the Town Clerk’s office responsible for ensuring my forms are correct?: While the Town Clerk is the Qualifying (Filing) Officer for our municipality, pursuant to F.S. 99.061(7)(c), the filing officer performs only a ministerial function in reviewing qualifying papers. Therefore, the Town Clerk may only review the qualifying papers to determine whether all items required have been properly filed and whether each item is complete on its face, but may not determine whether the contents of the qualifying papers are accurate.

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Elections

1. Which forms need to be submitted first?: The Statement of Candidate (DS-DE 84) and the Treasurer’s Form (DS-DE 9) must be submitted to the Town prior to any solicitation for campaign contributions or opening a campaign account. These must also be submitted prior to collecting any of the Candidate Petitions (DS-DE 104) as well.

2. Why is the Town's qualifying period only one day?: According to the Town’s Charter (Sec. 5.03), candidates shall qualify for the office of Mayor or Town Council by being nominated at the Town Caucus to be held on the first Tuesday of December each year and by being endorsed by petition signed by at least twenty-five electors.

3. Can I appoint myself as treasurer?: Yes! A candidate can appoint one treasurer and up to three (3) Deputy Treasurers, subject to requirements (106.021 (1)(a) F.S.). The campaign treasurer does not need to be a registered voter. Read more on the campaign treasurer and campaign finance here.

Keep detailed accounts of all contributions received and made by or on behalf of the candidate (106.06 F.S.).
Accounts must be kept up to date – 2 days after a contribution and/or an expenditure is made.
Deposit all funds received by the end of the 5th business day into the campaign depository account.
All deposits shall be accompanied by a bank deposit slip containing the name of each contributor and the amount of each contribution.
Keep a detailed account of all deposits made in any separate interest-bearing accounts or certificate of deposit, and all withdrawals made from these accounts to the primary depository and all interest earned.

5. What is considered a contribution?: Read more on campaign contributions here.

Any contribution received by a candidate on the day of the election or less than 5 days prior to the day of election.
This contribution must be returned to the contributor and may not be used or expended by or on behalf of the candidate.
Anonymous contributions must be reported on the candidate’s campaign treasurer report as an anonymous contribution. A letter should be submitted to the filing officer explaining the circumstances surrounding the acceptance of the anonymous contribution. The anonymous contribution cannot be spent. At the end of the campaign, the candidate must donate the anonymous contribution to an appropriate entity under 106.141 F.S.

7. Can I loan myself money for my campaign?: Yes! There are no limits on the amount contributed by the candidate to his/her own campaign.

8. Do I have to fill out the new Form 6 Financial Disclosure Form?: Due to new legislation, all elected officials in office on or after January 1, 2024 must fill out the Form 6 - Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests. This form will only be required once elected. Please click here to view an informational video on Form 6.

9. Do I have to be a resident of Palm Beach to run for Town Council?: Yes! Per Ordinance No. 15-2021, the Town of Palm Beach requires all candidates to have one year of town residency to become a candidate.

10. Are the signed petitions mandatory?: Yes! Each candidate must have 25 petitions, verified by the Supervisor of Elections Office. We ask that you submit more than the required amount if more than one of your petitions is not certified.

Please view the following documents containing state and local regulations on political advertisements:

12. Who will see my election documents?: All documents submitted to us are considered a public record. In the spirit of transparency, we will post all election documentation on the Town’s website until the end of the election period.

13. Is the Town Clerk’s office responsible for ensuring my forms are correct?: While the Town Clerk is the Qualifying (Filing) Officer for our municipality, pursuant to F.S. 99.061(7)(c), the filing officer performs only a ministerial function in reviewing qualifying papers. Therefore, the Town Clerk may only review the qualifying papers to determine whether all items required have been properly filed and whether each item is complete on its face, but may not determine whether the contents of the qualifying papers are accurate.