Letter from Jerry Holland 3-3-10 i
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MAR ®5 20i0
Office of City Clerk j
OFFICE OF THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
JERRY HOLLAND 105 EAST MONROE STREET
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA 32202 ~
OFFICE (904) 630-7777 FAX (904) 630-2920
CELL. (904) 318-6877 E-MAIL JHOLLAND@COJ.NET
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March 3, 2010 ~
The Honorable Mike Borno
Mayor, Atlantic Beach
Atlantic Beach City Hall
800 Seminole Rd. I
Atlantic Beach, FL 32233
Dear Mayor Borno:
Thank you for taking the time to meet with my group on Wednesday, February 24. We
believe that the changes we are recommending will provide the maximum opportunity for
overseas and military voters to vote by absentee ballot. As promised, I have taken the
points we discussed and compiled them into a series of recommendations:
1) Recommend that Atlantic Beach move its primary election to the Tuesday 10
weeks prior to the general election (as set in Charter section 41).
2) Recommend that candidate qualifying begin no later than noon on the 71~` day
(Monday) prior to the primary election and that candidate qualifying end at noon
on the 67`I' day (Friday) prior to the primary election;, Should you wish to offer a
full week of qualifying, we ask that you adhere to the °final day of Friday at noon.
3) Recommend that your nomination petition process be adjusted to establish a '
deadline for petition submission prior to the qualifying week. This would allow
sufficient time to verify and then to certify to the candidate that he/she has met the
required number of signatures prior to the qualifying period. I suggest you create
a 30 day window with the deadline for turning in the petitions 10 days prior to
qualifying. If the candidates turn in the petitions prior to the deadline, they can be
verified and if more signatures are required, there is still time to gather additional
signatures.
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The Honorable Mike Borno -Page 2
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Furthermore, I understand that you may be reviewing the timing by which your elected
officials would be sworn in after an election. Please review section 102.112(2), Florida
Statutes, concerning the deadlines by which the canvassing board must certify and send
in the election returns to the De artment of State. The statute re uires the official results
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for the General must be submitted by noon on the 12''' day after the election. Although we
typically certify the election results before these statutory deadlines, you may wish to
consider these dates in your evaluation as to when to swear in newly elected officials in
Atlantic Beach. ~
It is understood that this process will take several months to complete. We request than
you have the referenda language to us by July 31, 2010. I will be available to attend j
future commission meetings and answer any questions that might arise.
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We appreciate your consideration of these recommendations. I look forward to assisting
you in anyway that I can in the months ahead.
Sincerely,
ry Holland
cc: Jim Hanson, City Manager
Donna Bartle, City Clerk
Alan Jensen, City Attorney
Karen Chastain, Office of General Counsel
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