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The Lebanon County Bureau of Elections hosted an informative seminar Thursday, Jan. 30, on how to run for local office.
Lebanon County director of elections Sean Drasher explained that this was the bureau’s first year hosting the seminar, which was held in the basement of the Lebanon County Municipal Building. The purpose of both the event and the bureau, he said, is to promote a “smooth election” and empower residents to run for office, regardless of political affiliation.
The timeline
With the 2025 primary election taking place May 20, preparations for prospective candidates start this month.
Drasher explained that, starting Feb. 10, candidates can come into the office (Room 209 of the municipal building) for a dense manila envelope explaining details about the primary process. Candidates can start circulating petitions Feb. 18, and need to submit petitions by March 11.
While the bureau does not provide legal advice, they can notice some problems with applications and may notify petitioners of problems that could disqualify them from running. To account for the possibility of issues with the petition, Drasher advised attendees to get applications in early.
“Don’t wait until the deadline,” he said. “Get it in early so that if there are mistakes, you can fix it.”
Lots for ballot order will be drawn mid-March. The first campaign finance report of the year will be due May 9, 11 days before the primary May 20.
The winners of the primary will be on the ballot for the 2025 general election Nov. 4.
The election
Among the materials that attendees to Thursday’s event could pick up were guides to various offices and an unconfirmed list of positions with open seats in the primary.
This year’s election, encompassing some borough and township positions, some county offices, school boards, and the magisterial district judge, typically sees the lowest turnout in the four-year election cycle, Drasher explained.
While last year’s November election saw around 80 percent of registered voters coming out to vote, Drasher said, the bureau will be “lucky to see 35 percent” come out for the 2025 primary.
While Drasher mentioned the possible challenges a candidate could face from an opponent, he said that many candidates will not even have anyone running against them.
Countywide offices have a $100 filing fee, with magisterial district judges having a $50 fee per party (this being one of few positions that a person can run for office in multiple parties simultaneously). Lebanon City positions have a $25 fee, and constables have a $10 fee.
However, those running for township and borough offices, school boards, or as judges or inspectors of election do not need to pay a fee.
The petitions
While county offices, magisterial district judges, and city offices require 100 signatures from candidates, township/borough offices and school board positions only require 10 signatures. Most attending the seminar, Drasher said, would only need 10 signatures on their petition.
Petitions can be signed by family, friends, and even the person running for office.
Each signature for a petition to participate in the primary is only valid if the signer is a registered member of the candidate’s party.
Some people, Drasher said, may think they are registered to one party when they are actually registered as an independent or another party. Not to mention, when collecting signatures from family members, it is all-too-common for a petitioner to think someone is registered to the same party when they are not.
The folder given to candidates includes a “street list” of people living in their district and how they are registered, which allows a petitioner to check signers to ensure they count toward the signature requirement.
Drasher said that a signature is also invalid if it does not contain a street address, or contains “ditto marks” (for instance, a married couple who sign consecutively need to both write the full address rather than draw arrows to the above signer).
He advised attendees to exercise caution by collecting slightly more signatures than are needed.
“If you get 10 signatures and lose one, you’re off the ballot,” Drasher explained.
An upper portion to the petition, detailing the person running for office and what office they are running for, must be filled out before the petition is signed.
Drasher said that if a candidate shows up to the bureau with a signed petition without this portion filled out, the petition is automatically disqualified and the candidate is asked to take another petition and get signatures again.
He also noted that while white-out is permitted for the signature portion, it is disqualifying if it is used for the upper portion.
Drasher said that each resident can only sign an amount of petitions equal to the amount of open slots. For instance, for a school board with four open slots, each resident can sign up to four petitions, while they could only sign one petition for borough mayor.
The finances
Drasher explained that while there are a lot of rules for the finances of a candidate for office, many details are not going to be important for every candidate.
He urged candidates with low campaign expenses to consider filing a waiver for financial reports.
“Most of you will make one or two contributions to your own campaign, and that’s it,” explained Drasher.
While candidates need to keep track of contributions and expenses regardless, a submitted waiver means that a candidate with less than $250 in contributions and expenses does not need to submit a report.
He noted that candidates who fill out the waiver can still submit financial reports if they do end up passing this threshold.
However, if the waiver is not submitted, all candidates are expected to submit each financial report (five throughout the year), with a $20 daily late fee for unsubmitted reports. Even a candidate with $0 in expenses who did not submit a waiver is expected to submit each financial report.
Drasher showed off the county’s new campaign finance portal, which provides information and walks candidates through the process. The website is equipped with a wizard that, by asking a candidate questions to receive form information, can fill in reports for a candidate (though they are expected to double-check everything).
He said he hopes the portal will streamline the process and require less physical paperwork from candidates.
In response to a question from an audience member, Drasher explained that signs and other political expenses must be disclosed even if not purchased by the candidate running.
He advised those in attendance to seek guidance from their political party, but said that in some cases a political action committee may need to be formed.
Drasher also urged candidates to show common sense and courtesy when advertising, particularly with regards to signs. The bureau is not equipped to deal with disputes between candidates or take legal action on behalf of candidates.
“Please behave with the signs; don’t put a sign right in front of someone else’s sign, because they’ll come around and take it down and you’ll start a sign war,” Drasher said, seeming to speak from experience.
All candidates are required to fill out a statement of financial interest, with one copy filed with a municipality or school district and a copy filed with the Elections Office.
The point of this document, Drasher said, is transparency. Candidates need to disclose income sources over $1,300 and gifts over $250, as well as loans (including car loans but not mortgages).
There are exceptions, with gifts from friends and families not needing disclosed.
However, “if your friend is a lobbyist, they are not considered your friend for those purposes,” Drasher explained, imploring attendees to “use common sense on this.”
Throughout the seminar, Drasher emphasized that while his office will answer questions and offer help where possible, there is some advice they cannot give, such as telling a candidate beyond a shadow of a doubt that a petition is correctly filled out.
He urged candidates to seek advice from their parties and be as thorough as possible in their own review of documentation.
“It’s on you to make sure everything’s correct,” Drasher said.
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