City Council and School Board Elections
Filing dates for local city council and school board positions are fast approaching. If you are interested in serving your community, we encourage you to consider becoming a candidate and serving Oklahoma, your county and city.
This is a great opportunity for Democrats concerned about local and school issues to get involved and stand up for principles that are important to our children’s future and social justices.
The following Oklahoma City (City Council) and Oklahoma County (School Board) information, serves as an example on how you should file as a candidate in your respective city or county. Example: if you would like to file for candidacy on the Norman City Council, you would file with the Cleveland County Election Board or if you would like to run as a candidate for the Guthrie School Board, you should file with the Logan County Election Board. Please contact your respective County Election Boards for filing details.
City Council
Filing Dates/Election
Dec. 5-7, 2016 for the Oklahoma City Council election in 2017 for Wards 1, 3, 4, and 7.
Primary Election – Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017
Oklahoma County Election Board
4201 N Lincoln Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105-5210
(405) 713-1515
www.okc.gov/departments/city-clerk/elections
Filing Procedures:
To file as a candidate, submit a written declaration of candidacy to the Oklahoma County Election Board with your name (as you want it to appear on the ballot), address, Ward and the name of the office for which you are running.
Candidates must pay a $200 filing fee by cashier’s check or certified check, or provide a petition in support of the candidacy signed by 500 registered voters eligible to vote for the candidate. The petition is available from the Oklahoma County Election Board.
The check is returned if the candidate is unopposed, receives more than 15 percent of the votes in the primary election or advances to the general election.
Qualifying candidates must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- at least 21 years old;
- a qualified Oklahoma City voter;
- a resident of Oklahoma City or an area that has been annexed by Oklahoma City for at least three years before the election date;
- a resident of the Ward in which they are running for at least six months;
- and a registered voter at an address within the Ward in which they’re running for at least six months before filing a declaration of candidacy.
Pay:
$12,000 per year
Elections:
Elections are non-partisan and with no term limits.
School Board
Filing Period:
Monday 8:00 AM, December 5, 2016 through
Wednesday 5:00 PM, December 7, 2016
File at the County Election Board of the county wherein supervision of the school district is located or the County Election Board in the county in which the candidate resides.
OSSBA School Board Candidacy Information
OSSBA School Board Election Packet
OSSBA Candidate Brochure Information
Election Dates:
Annual School Election – Tuesday, February 14, 2017
Annual School Runoff Election – Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Candidate Filing Details:
Board of Education candidates filing Declarations of Candidacy with the County Election Board Secretary also may be required to register and file campaign finance reports with the clerk of the Board of Education. A Statement of Organization for a candidate committee may be filed at any time but must be filed within 10 days after a candidate has accepted or spent more than $1,000 for his or her campaign. For more information, visit the Ethics Commission website at www.ethics.ok.gov; contact the Ethics Commission by email at ethics@ethics.ok.gov; by regular mail at State Capitol Building Room B – 5, Oklahoma City, OK 73105; or by phone at (405) 521-3451.
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The Oklahoma Democratic Party is energized and looking forward to helping community leaders and candidates usher in changes for our children and Oklahomans around our great State.
