Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 398

FORMERLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 417

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 31, TITLE 15, DELAWARE CODE, RELATING TO FILING FEES IN PRIMARY ELECTIONS AND PROVIDING FOR FILING OF PETITIONS BY INDIGENT CANDIDATES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:

Section 1. Amend §3103, Chapter 31, Title 15, of the Delaware Code by deleting Subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof a new Subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) The filing fee shall not be greater than 2% of the total salary for the entire term of office for which the candidate is filing, except that no filing fee shall be required where a person is indigent and qualifies as a candidate as provided in §3106 (f) of this title."

Section 2. Amend §3106, Chapter 31, Title 15, of the Delaware Code by adding thereto a Subsection (g) to read as follows:

"(g) Whenever a person who is otherwise eligible to be a candidate is indigent, then in lieu of paying a filing fee, such indigent person may qualify and become a candidate by presenting with his notification a petition and affidavit on forms to be provided by the State Election Commissioner in the case of statewide candidates or, in the case of other candidates, by the Department of Elections of the county in which the candidate resides.

The petition shall be signed by no fewer than 5% of the persons who are registered as members of the political party of which the candidate seeks to be the nominee, and who are eligible to vote for the office which the candidate seeks, requesting that the candidate be entered in the primary election.

The affadivit shall be executed by the candidate and shall verify that he is indigent and that the person who have signed the petition are eligible to vote for the office which the candidate seeks and that such persons are registered members of the political party of which the candidate seeks to be the nominee.

Wherever in this section the State Election Commissioner is required to send the candidate's check to the State Chairman of a political party committee or where a county Department of Elections is required to send a check to the County Chairman or the City Chairman of a political party committee, as the case may be, then in the event that an indigent person qualifies as a candidate by presenting a signed petition and an affidavit, as herein provided, a copy of such petition and a copy of such affidavit shall be sent to such State Chairman, County Chairman, or City Chairman as the case may be."

Approved May 14, 1976