City of Fullerton, CA

Online Candidate Nomination Process

The City of Fullerton, with the assistance of ECS Imaging, developed an online Candidate Nomination Process for municipal elections using Laserfiche Forms. The process begins when a candidate completes the online Candidate Registration Form (pictured below) and makes an appointment with the City Clerk to pull papers. By automating the process online, it creates a convenience for the Candidates and saves time for the Clerk. There are many steps involved in this process for the City Clerk and being able to have online tracking and auto-filing into Laserfiche for record keeping helps save steps and streamlines the process.

Once the form is submitted the Clerk verifies the candidate’s voter registration as well as the candidate’s district. If the candidate is a write-in, the Clerk must collect a statement of write-in candidacy, before issuing nomination papers. Finally, the Clerk meets with the Candidate either remotely or in person to review the nomination packet with the candidate. The nomination packet contains as many as 35 different documents in the following categories:

• General information (8 documents)
• Nomination Papers (4 documents)
• Candidate Statement (4 documents)
• Campaign Information (4 documents)
• Fair Political Practices Commission Information (6 documents)
• Miscellaneous (7 documents)
• District Elections (2 documents)

As the Clerk and the Candidate review the documents, the Candidate marks a check-off sheet as the documents are verified. City Clerk signs and date stamps front page of nomination paper and fills in Member of City Council and District Number. At this point, the Clerk emphasizes which documents are due at time of signing including Candidate Contact information. Before filing appointment is complete, the City Clerk makes a copy for the candidate including:

• Statement of Write In Candidacy
• Candidate Contact Information Sheet
• Acknowledgements
• Check-Off List of Documents Received

The Candidate may return documents electronically, but must also submit hard copies of Nomination Paper and Ballot Designation worksheet by the filing deadline.