Upcoming City Election

Step 1.Requirements

Gainesville City Commission At-Large A and At-Large B The At-Large Commissioner is elected by the electors of the City of Gainesville to serve a 4 -year term. Each candidate for an At-Large seat must be a qualified voter who is a resident of the City for a period of not less than 6 months prior to the date the person qualifies to run for office. The person elected to an At-Large seat shall continuously reside in the City during the term of office. The last dates to have moved into the City to meet the residency requirement for the 2024 election would be between December 10, 2023 and December 14 2023, depending on which day the candidate qualifies in 2024.

Gainesville City Commission - District 1 If a person is running for a District Seat, they will be elected by only the electors of that particular District. The commissioner for a District Seat will be elected to serve a 4 -year term. Each candidate for a District seat must be a qualified voter who is a resident of the District from which they seek to be elected for a period of not less than 6 months prior to the date they qualify to run for office. The person elected Commissioner shall continuously reside in that same City District during the term of office. The last dates to have moved into the City District to meet the residency requirement for the 2024 election would be between December 10, 2023 and December 14, 2023 depending on which day the candidate qualifies in 2024.

Find your district by using the City's interactive City Commission Districts Map.

Step 2.Become a Candidate

File to Run:

• Appoint a campaign treasurer and designate a campaign depository.
• File your statement of candidate.
• Submit a monthly Campaign Report stating your campaign activity to the Financial Reporting System.

   

Step 3.Qualify

• Sign the Candidate Oath
• File the Affidavit of Residency
• Submit a Financial Disclosure form
• Pay the Elections Assessment or submit an Affidavit of Undue Burden

Elections Assessment: 

The elections assessment for running for the At-Large seat or a City Commission District seat is 1% of the salary of the office as of the July 1 immediately preceding the qualifying period.

• 2024 Commissioner At-Large Seat A and At-Large Seat B fee is $403.86
• 2024 Commissioner District 1 fee is $403.86

Qualifying Fee:

Pay the Qualifying Fee of 2% of the annual salary of the office sought or submit petitions with signatures from registered voters. If choosing the petition option, the candidate must pay an advance fee of $0.10 per signature checked to the qualifying officer of the city.

City Commission Qualifying Fee is $807.73

• For at-large seats, the number of petitions necessary is equal to 1% of the registered voters in the last city regular elections. For 2024, candidates will need to submit 803 valid signatures to qualify by the petition method.
• For the district seat, the number of petitions necessary is 0.25% of the registered voters in the last city regular elections. For 2024, candidates will need to submit 201 valid signatures to qualify by the petition method.

Qualifying Dates:

Noon, Monday, June 10, 2024 – Noon, Friday, June 14, 2024

Kristen J. Bryant, Qualifying Officer

Qualifying Location: City Hall, 200 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601

Step 4.Election Dates 

Gainesville Regular City Election: August 20, 2024

Run-Off Election (if needed): November 5, 2024

Step 5.Post Election

• City Clerk's initial contact with newly elected officials 
• Swearing-In Ceremony
• Commissioner On-boarding
• First Commission Meeting & Committee Assignments