HIGH SPRINGS – The High Springs City Commission voted 4-0 Thursday to reopen the qualifying period for two commission seats on the November ballot after city officials discovered that candidates who had already qualified used an outdated state-mandated loyalty oath form.
Meeting in a special session July 30, the commission approved amended Resolution 2026-T, establishing a new qualifying period of Monday, Aug. 17, through Thursday, Aug. 20, for candidates seeking City Commission Seats 1 and 2. The Nov. 3 general election date remains unchanged.
City Attorney Kiersten Ballou said the issue stemmed from an emergency state rule that revised the candidate loyalty oath form effective July 8. However, the updated form was not forwarded to High Springs before the city’s original qualifying period closed.
Former Commissioner Sue Weller told commissioners that an email from Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton containing a link to the revised oath form did not reach City Clerk Angela Stone until 9:57 p.m. on July 23, after qualifying had already ended.
Because candidates qualified using the outdated form, city staff and the city attorney recommended reopening the qualifying period rather than risking a legal challenge to the election. Ballou said the city wanted to ensure it was “doing what it needs to do” to avoid litigation.
Stone said candidates who previously qualified will not have to repeat the entire process. They must submit a new loyalty oath dated within the Aug. 17-20 qualifying period and pay a new qualifying fee. Their previously filed Form 1 financial disclosure, however, does not need to be completed again; it only needs to be reprinted and resubmitted.
Ballou added that candidates may continue campaigning and spending campaign funds during the interim. She explained that restrictions on campaign expenditures apply only before candidates designate a campaign treasurer and depository and establish a campaign account — requirements the affected candidates had already satisfied.
Because the city is reopening qualifying rather than merely correcting paperwork, any eligible High Springs resident may file to run for either seat, not just those who qualified during the original filing period.
That consequence drew criticism during public comment.
Ross Ambrose, a candidate for Seat 2, argued the city should have corrected the outdated oath rather than invalidating the entire qualifying process. He said state and county elections officials have historically treated the use of an outdated form as a technical error that can be remedied by submitting the current version, rather than requiring a new qualifying period.
Ambrose also contended that the amended resolution contained conflicting language regarding the length of qualifying. While the city has used four-day qualifying periods since a 2016 ordinance change, one provision of the resolution still referenced a seven-day qualifying period. He also questioned whether a sitting commissioner whose seat is up for election and who had not ruled out becoming a candidate should participate in the vote.
Resident Ken Miller asked whether the city could extend the four-day qualifying period to eight days to provide residents with additional time to file. Ballou said that change could not be made for the current election because it would require amendments to the city’s ordinance and potentially its charter.
Commissioner Chad Howell noted that the original resolution establishing the first qualifying period, approved June 11, contained the same conflicting language now under scrutiny and agreed it should be corrected.
Commissioner Tristan Grunder apologized to the affected candidates for the added expense and inconvenience, saying the mistake was not the result of malice by city officials or the clerk’s office but nevertheless imposed an unfair burden on those who had already qualified.
The commission approved the amended resolution 4-0. Mayor Andrew Miller, who is an active candidate for one of the two commission seats, recused himself from the vote. Vice Mayor Wayne Bloodsworth Jr., whose seat is also on the November ballot, clarified during the meeting that he will not seek re-election.
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