Below is the section of Florida Statutes covering the presidential preference primary. Only the major parties submit names to the Secretary of State for the primary ballot, and it is entirely up to them how they chose which candidates will appear on the list (103.101(2)). Because only one Democratic candidate was submitted there will not be a Democratic ballot (103.101(4)). The names of the Republican candidates will appear alphabetical by last name.
Laws of Florida Florida Statutes Title IX Electors and Elections
Section 103.101 Presidential Preference Primary
(1)(a) There
shall be a Presidential Preference Primary Date Selection Committee
composed of the Secretary of State, who shall be a nonvoting chair;
three members, no more than two of whom may be from the same political
party, appointed by the Governor; three members, no more than two of
whom may be from the same political party, appointed by the Speaker of
the House of Representatives; and three members, no more than two of
whom may be from the same political party, appointed by the President
of the Senate. No later than October 1 of the year preceding the
presidential preference primary, the committee shall meet and set a
date for the presidential preference primary. The date selected may be
no earlier than the first Tuesday in January and no later than the
first Tuesday in March in the year of the presidential preference
primary. The presidential preference primary shall be held in each year
the number of which is a multiple of 4.
(b) Each
political party other than a minor political party shall, on the date
selected by the Presidential Preference Primary Date Selection
Committee in each year the number of which is a multiple of 4, elect
one person to be the candidate for nomination of such party for
President of the United States or select delegates to the national
nominating convention, as provided by party rule. Any party rule
directing the vote of delegates at a national nominating convention
shall reasonably reflect the results of the presidential preference
primary, if one is held.
(2) By October 31 of the year preceding the presidential preference primary, each political party shall submit to the Secretary of State a list of its presidential candidates to be placed on the presidential preference primary ballot or candidates entitled to have delegates appear on the presidential preference primary ballot. The Secretary of State shall prepare and publish a list of the names of the presidential candidates submitted not later than on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary. The Department of State shall immediately notify each presidential candidate listed by the Secretary of State. Such notification shall be in writing, by registered mail, with return receipt requested.
(3) A candidate’s name shall be printed on the presidential preference primary ballot unless the candidate submits to the Department of State, prior to the second Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary, an affidavit stating that he or she is not now, and does not presently intend to become, a candidate for President at the upcoming nominating convention. If a candidate withdraws pursuant to this subsection, the Department of State shall notify the state executive committee that the candidate’s name will not be placed on the ballot. The Department of State shall, no later than the third Tuesday after the first Monday in November of the year preceding the presidential preference primary, certify to each supervisor of elections the name of each candidate for political party nomination to be printed on the ballot.
(4) The names of candidates for political party nominations for President of the United States shall be printed on official ballots for the presidential preference primary election and shall be marked, counted, canvassed, returned, and proclaimed in the same manner and under the same conditions, so far as they are applicable, as in other state elections. If party rule requires the delegates’ names to be printed on the official presidential preference primary ballot, the name of the presidential candidates for that political party may not be printed separately, but the ballot may reflect the presidential candidate to whom the delegate is pledged. If, however, a political party has only one presidential candidate, neither the name of the candidate nor the names of the candidate’s delegates shall be printed on the ballot.
(5) The state executive committee of each party, by rule adopted at least 60 days prior to the presidential preference primary election, shall determine the number, and establish procedures to be followed in the selection, of delegates and delegate alternates from among each candidate’s supporters. A copy of any rule adopted by the executive committee shall be filed with the Department of State within 7 days after its adoption and shall become a public record. The Department of State shall review the procedures and shall notify the state executive committee of each political party of any ballot limitations. The Department of State may promulgate rules for the orderly conduct of the presidential preference primary ballot.
(6) All names of candidates or delegates shall be listed as directed by the Department of State.
PRESS RELEASES on Florida 2012 GOP Presidential Primary
Buddy Roemer for President
| For Immediate Release November 1, 2011 |
Contact: Carlos Sierra
|
Governor Buddy Roemer
Responds to Being Excluded From Florida Ballot
Manchester, NH - "It
is not only disheartening, but it is truly disappointing, that the
greatest nation on earth, the model for all democracies abroad, still
selects their President through a shady, archaic and behind closed
doors system.
The Florida State GOP Chairman has arbitrarily, and single-handily, decided to exclude me from the Florida GOP Presidential Primary ballot. He can list off all the reasons that are convenient for him, but he cannot say my poll numbers in Florida were not good enough.
According to the latest American Research Group poll, I am tied with Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman and ahead of Gary Johnson in Florida. I am also within a few points of Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry. Keep in mind the rest of the field has been in eight or nine debates already.
I still plan on competing in Florida
and
the rest of the states and territories where I will not appear on the
ballot. People are hungry for reform, and I am not going to let one
person or two parties get in the peoples' way."
| Florida | |
| Likely Republican Primary Voters |
Oct 2011 |
| Bachmann | 3% |
| Cain | 34% |
| Gingrich | 11% |
| Huntsman | 1% |
| Johnson | - |
| Paul | 4% |
| Perry | 5% |
| Roemer | 1% |
| Romney | 28% |
| Santorum | 1% |
| Other | - |
| Undecided | 12% |
Source: http://
###
Fred Karger for PresidentNovember 18, 2011
Contact: Rina Shah
Fred Karger Calls Florida GOP
Chairman the “Ayatollah of Florida”
Florida GOP Chairman Curry
MANCHESTER, NH – Lenny Curry, the Republican Party Chairman of Florida, personally handpicked the 9 candidates to be on that state’s Republican Primary Ballot. He left one out.
Californian and former Reagan aide Fred Karger was not included on Chairman Curry’s list, and feels that he was purposely left off the ballot. Karger fired off a letter to Mr. Curry earlier this week right after Michigan announced that he would be on its February 28, 2012 Primary ballot. Michigan chose its Presidential candidates based on who was, "generally advocated by the national news media." In his November 15th letter, Karger once again asked Curry to be included in the all-important Florida Primary (letter below or click here).
“We reached out repeatedly to Mr. Curry’s staff and him for several weeks prior to his announcement of who would appear on the Florida ballot and who would not," said Karger. “This guy is acting just like the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme leader of Iran. That may be okay in Tehran, but the voters of Florida should have the opportunity to vote for all the serious Republican candidates for President, not just the ones Lenny Curry picks.”
“I have been heavily involved in politics for over 35 years and I have never seen anything quite like this. I support full marriage equality, am pro-choice and believe in immigration reform. I would hope that there is a place for an Independent Republican on the Florida ballot.”
“This is not the way our democracy is supposed to work,” concluded Karger.
So far, Karger will appear on the New Hampshire (January 10, 2012) and Michigan Republican Primary ballots. He was invited to be in South Carolina’s Primary and is currently accessing all other state primaries and caucuses.
Letter to Florida GOP Chairman Curry
November 15, 2011
Mr. Lenny Curry
Chairman
Republican Party of Florida
420 E. Jefferson Street
PO Box 311
Tallahassee, FL 32301
VIA FAX (850) 681-0184
Dear Mr. Curry:
I am deeply disheartened that you and the Republican Party of Florida decided to keep me off the Florida Republican Primary Ballot, especially in light of the fact that Michigan just announced that I will appear on its Republican Primary ballot next year.
My campaign staff and I called and emailed your office and you repeatedly for several weeks before you made the decision which candidates to include on the Florida ballot and which to leave off. Our phone calls and emails were never returned.
I have been extremely active in Republican Party politics for over 40 years. I ran dozens of GOP races. I was a part of nine Presidential campaigns including those for President’s Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Gerald Ford.
I have been campaigning for President full time for the past 22 months. I was the first serious candidate to announce his intention to run in April 2010, the first to establish a Presidential Exploratory Committee in July 2010, the first to file with the Federal Election Commission in Washington, DC in March 2011, the first to run campaign commercials beginning in September 2010 and the first to hire staff way back in March 2010. I have campaigned in over 25 states including several visits to Florida. I have been featured and profiled in most major newspapers and appear frequently on national and international television and radio.
According to news reports, you chose to only include those Presidential candidates who participated in the most recent Florida Fox News Debate. I qualified for that debate. I met the criteria of achieving 1% in five national polls. I filed a 158-page complaint with the Federal Elections Commission against Rupert Murdoch and Fox News because I was excluded. By your criteria, I should be on the Florida Republican Primary Ballot as well.
Last Friday, Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson created a list of Presidential candidates who will appear on its February 28, 2012 Primary Ballot. Her criteria: candidates who were "generally advocated by the national news media." I will appear on the Michigan Republican Primary Ballot as well as the January 10, 2012 New Hampshire Primary Ballot.
As you are undoubtedly aware, my candidacy is historic. I am the first openly gay candidate to ever run for President of the United States from a major political party. I am also the first Jewish Republican to ever to run for President and appear on state ballots.
Florida is an important state in the Presidential Primaries and in the general election. These two constituencies may well be key to our success.
Mr. Curry, please do the right thing. Discrimination has no place in the party of Abraham Lincoln.
There are 2 ½ months until the Florida Republican Presidential Primary. The ballots have yet to be printed.
I urge you to do the right thing and let me on the Florida Republican Primary Ballot next year. Help open up and grow our Republican Party.
Best regards,
Fred Karger
cc: Chairman Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee
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