THE BILL ITSELF
CS/SB 62
Candidate Qualification
Florida Senate - 2026 CS for SB 62 By the Committee on Ethics and Elections; and Senators Arrington, Osgood, and Berman 582-01308-26 202662c1
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to candidate qualification; amending
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s. 99.021, F.S.; specifying that a person seeking to
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qualify for office as a candidate must be a registered
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member of a political party, or registered without any
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party affiliation, for 365 consecutive days preceding
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the beginning of qualifying for an election; providing
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that compliance with specified requirements is
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mandatory; providing construction; authorizing
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qualified candidates or certain political parties to
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challenge compliance with specified provisions by
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filing suit in a specified circuit court; prohibiting
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a person from being qualified as a candidate for
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nomination or election and appearing on the ballot
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under specified circumstances; providing an effective
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date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of
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section 99.021, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (f)
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is added to that subsection, to read:
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99.021 Form of candidate oath.—
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(1)
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(b) In addition, any person seeking to qualify for
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nomination as a candidate of any political party shall, at the
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time of subscribing to the oath or affirmation, state in
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writing:
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1. The party of which the person is a member.
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2. That the person has been a registered member of the
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political party for which he or she is seeking nomination as a
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candidate for at least 365 consecutive days preceding before the
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beginning of qualifying before preceding the general election
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for which the person seeks to qualify.
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3. That the person has paid the assessment levied against
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him or her, if any, as a candidate for said office by the
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executive committee of the party of which he or she is a member.
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(c) In addition, any person seeking to qualify for office
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as a candidate with no party affiliation shall, at the time of
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subscribing to the oath or affirmation, state in writing that he
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or she is registered without any party affiliation and that he
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or she has not been a registered member of any political party
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for at least 365 consecutive days preceding before the beginning
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of qualifying before preceding the general election for which
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the person seeks to qualify.
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(f) The statements in subparagraph (b)2. and paragraph (c)
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constitute substantive requirements for the person completing
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the statement, and compliance with those requirements is
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mandatory. The sole method to enforce compliance with such
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requirements is contained in this paragraph. Compliance with
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subparagraph (b)2. and paragraph (c) may be challenged by a
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qualified candidate or a political party with qualified
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candidates in the same race by filing an action in the circuit
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court for the county in which the qualifying officer is
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headquartered. A person may not be qualified as a candidate for
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nomination or election and his or her name may not appear on the
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ballot if in an order that has become final, the court
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determines that:
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1. The person seeking to qualify for nomination as a
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candidate of any political party has not been a registered
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member of that party for the 365-day period preceding the
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beginning of qualifying; or
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2. The person seeking to qualify for office as a candidate
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with no party affiliation has not been registered without party
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affiliation for, or has been a registered member of any
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political party during, the 365-day period preceding the
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beginning of qualifying.
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Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.