00:00 -

00:03 - Whether you're trying to win a seat on a local school board or

00:06 - a term as governor of Pennsylvania. Running for office

00:09 - is something anyone can do.

00:11 - But it requires hard work and attention to detail.

00:15 - If you have ever considered running for office, but never

00:18 - knew how...

00:19 - This is the program for you.

00:30 - Hello. I am Pedro Cortes, Pennsylvania Secretary of State.

00:34 - One of the central responsibilities of the

00:36 - Department of State is to oversee elections and ensure the

00:39 - integrity of the electoral process throughout the

00:41 - commonwealth.

00:42 - Without elections, there will be no government to work for the

00:45 - people. In order to have elections though, there must

00:47 - first be candidates willing to take on the responsibilities of

00:50 - elected office.

00:51 - That is why I am here to talk to you about how to run for office

00:54 - in Pennsylvania.

01:02 - Maybe you're thinking of seeking a council seat in your city or

01:05 - town or perhaps you would like to serve on the local school

01:08 - board or even seek an elected office at the county or state

01:11 - level.

01:12 - Before the campaigning begins, there are several things you

01:14 - should consider when making the decision whether to seek office.

01:18 - First consider whether you have the time to make such a

01:20 - commitment.

01:21 - Running for office will take a considerable amount of your

01:24 - time.

01:24 - If you are elected there will be meetings and workshops along

01:27 - with community events.

01:29 - Many of these take place in the evening.

01:31 - Talk to your friends to see if they will help you with

01:34 - campaigning work including making phone calls, knocking on

01:37 - doors, preparing mailings, and other time consuming tasks.

01:40 - Also consider whether you're comfortable with public

01:42 - speaking, debates, and talking to the press. This will be an

01:46 - important part of campaigning and making yourself known to

01:48 - voters.

01:49 - If you're elected, speaking at public meetings and discussing

01:52 - issues with other officials and constituents will be vital to

01:55 - doing the job well.

01:57 - Finally, are you comfortable fundraising, asking people for

02:00 - donations?

02:01 - Running for local office will require money for campaign

02:04 - materials such as yard signs, mailings, and handouts.

02:07 - Larger campaigns generally will require some form of advertising

02:11 - to get your message out to voters.

02:14 - The major political parties are the Democratic and Republican

02:17 - parties.

02:17 - Some of the minor political parties include Constitution,

02:21 - Libertarian, and Green.

02:23 - Sometimes the candidate represents a political body. A

02:26 - political body is a group of registered voters who nominate a

02:29 - candidate, but have not attained party status through a prior

02:32 - election.

02:40 - A prospective candidate who has not run for public office

02:43 - previously should pay close attention to the instructions

02:45 - provided with the various forms that must be filed in order to

02:48 - get on the ballot.

02:49 - The first step is to gain the nomination for your political

02:52 - party.

02:53 - Democratic or Republican, you will need to gather signatures

02:56 - of registered voters on a nomination petition to get your

02:59 - name on the party's ballot for the primary elections.

03:02 - Our primary election is when enroll voters of a particular

03:05 - party nominate a candidate for office.

03:08 - The people who collect signatures of registered

03:10 - electors for a candidate to qualify for a primary election

03:13 - are called circulators.

03:15 - The circulators gather signatures of registered voters

03:18 - in the candidate's district.

03:19 - If you decide to run for office, it's important that you plan on

03:23 - having people who will do this for you. Know that you may also

03:26 - have to do it yourself.

03:28 - The number of signatures required varies with the office

03:30 - and is said by law those who are signing petitions can sign for

03:34 - only as many candidates as there are open seats in the race.

03:38 - For example, there are three seats open on city council. A

03:42 - registered voter could sign nomination petitions for three

03:45 - candidates.

03:46 - Another important aspect of this process is making sure that the

03:49 - circulator affidavit on the back of the petition is signed and

03:52 - notarized.

03:53 - Once you and your circulators have collected enough

03:56 - signatures, the next step is to file a nomination petition with

03:59 - the county board of elections for local seats or the

04:02 - Department of State for statewide seats. It is key that

04:05 - you follow proper procedures.

04:07 - Very often when you hear that a candidate has been taken off the

04:10 - ballot it is because that petition was not notarized,

04:13 - there were not enough ballot signatures, or other information

04:16 - was missing.

04:17 - So it is crucial that candidates pay attention to the nomination

04:20 - petition process. Poll candidates have to provide a

04:24 - notarized signed affidavit with their permanent address and the

04:27 - way they want their name to appear on the ballot.

04:30 - You will also have to file the statement of financial interest,

04:33 - which requires you to disclose sources of income and real

04:35 - estate you may own. This is to prevent potential conflicts of

04:39 - interest.

04:41 - Last but not least, you need to make sure you're prepared to pay

04:44 - a filing fee. The filing fee varies depending on the position

04:48 - and has to be paid by raised or check or money order. Cash or

04:52 - personal checks are not acceptable.

04:55 - The number of signatures varies depending on the office you're

04:57 - seeking.

04:58 - For example, someone running for governor needs 10,000 signatures

05:02 - and a member of a state committee requires 100. Most

05:05 - local offices require 10 to 100 signatures.

05:09 - County board elections can tell you exactly how many signatures

05:12 - you will need.

05:13 - It is recommended that candidates gather more than the

05:15 - minimal requirement in case a petition challenges. Candidates

05:19 - with no party affiliation or representing a minor political

05:22 - party must file nomination papers.

05:25 - The number of signatures required is a percentage based

05:28 - on the number of votes cast in the most recent election year.

05:32 - County Board of Elections will be able to tell you the exact

05:34 - number of required signatures. Once a candidate has made it

05:43 - onto the ballot, the next step is to focus on your campaign and

05:47 - designate people to help you.

05:48 - You must have a chair and a treasure.

05:50 - In order to accept contributions or make expenditures. One person

05:54 - may not field both positions. The responsibility of the chair

05:58 - is to make sure that your campaign is run effectively.

06:01 - Now your message is on point and the direction of the campaign is

06:04 - correct.

06:05 - The Treasurer manages the finances of your campaign and

06:08 - makes sure that you meet all campaign finance regulations.

06:11 - It is important to note that both the chair and the Treasurer

06:14 - along with a candidate are legally responsible to file

06:17 - accurate campaign finance reports as required by law.

06:21 - Other positions could include a volunteer coordinator or event

06:24 - coordinator.

06:25 - For example, an event coordinator makes sure all

06:27 - events start on time.

06:29 - Everything is set up properly and the day runs smoothly.

06:33 - Every campaign is different, but when you decide to run you need

06:36 - to take into consideration that running for office costs money.

06:39 - Some of the expenses in a campaign include advertising

06:42 - costs.

06:43 - This means newspaper, radio, or TV ads. Also marketing materials

06:48 - such as flyers, posters, yard signs, or pamphlets.

06:52 - Organizing a rally may cost money.

06:53 - If you have to rent a venue and provide food and beverages, etc.

06:57 - It is very important to keep in mind that all campaign

07:00 - contributions and expenses must be disclosed in the campaign

07:03 - finance reports.

07:04 - Remember to save your receipts and document your expenses so

07:07 - that it's easy to report as required.

07:10 - If you're going to accept contributions of at least two

07:12 - hundred fifty dollars, you must form a campaign committee.

07:16 - The first step towards forming a committee is to complete an

07:19 - authorization form.

07:20 - As noted before, you will have to designate a chair and a

07:23 - treasurer.

07:24 - Those are very important positions.

07:26 - Therefore you should select people that you trust.

07:28 - Examples of campaign contributions are a check from a

07:31 - friend or a supporter, a check from political party, or a check

07:35 - from a political action committee.

07:36 - Or it could be an income contribution.

07:39 - For example, if one of your supporters pays for your yard

07:42 - signs, the cost of those signs will be considered an income

07:45 - contribution.

07:46 - Remember: all those contributions has to be reported

07:48 - in your campaign finance filings.

07:57 - On Election Day, it is very important of course that you get

08:00 - out and vote.

08:01 - It's essential that you encourage your supporters to do

08:03 - the same.

08:04 - You may want to have poll watchers at each of the polling

08:07 - places that can report back.

08:08 - Especially in the evening when the results are being tabulated

08:11 - at the county level. You are allowed to designate someone to

08:15 - watch that process.

08:16 - If the office you are seeking is in both more than one county,

08:19 - you want to have a representative at each of the

08:22 - county election offices calling your campaign headquarters to

08:25 - let you know what the total votes are.

08:28 - The election night tabulation is not final. Before finalizing the

08:31 - results, election officials will conduct a canvass or audit of

08:35 - the ballots that were cast.

08:37 - In a statewide race, if the vote count is close, a recount may be

08:40 - required by law for any race.

08:43 - Petitions can be filed to request a recount.

08:45 - If fraud or error is suspected, there's a feat for a recount.

08:50 - Whether you win or lose, it is very important to be gracious

08:53 - and thank everyone who supported you.

08:55 - In addition, call your opponent and congratulate him or her on

08:58 - their work.

09:00 - Talk to your friends about supporting and assisting you in

09:02 - the campaign.

09:04 - Remember that campaigns cost money.

09:06 - Document your contributions and expenses. Carefully report them

09:10 - as required.

09:11 - Pay close attention to instructions on the nomination

09:14 - petition form. Be sure people in your committee understand the

09:17 - roles and their legal responsibilities.

09:20 - On Election Day, you can designate a poll watcher for

09:22 - each polling place after the election.

09:25 - Be sure to talk to your opponent.

09:27 - Whether you win or lose.

09:28 - Be gracious.

09:30 - If you're running for a statewide position and you

09:32 - require more information, please visit www.dos.pa.gov or call 1 8

09:40 - 7 7 8 6 8 3 7 7 2.

09:43 - If you're seeking a local office, contact your county

09:46 - board of elections.

09:48 - Thank you for your interest in serving your fellow

09:49 - Pennsylvanians as an elected official.