Both candidates for the Okaloosa County School Board District 1 race were notified Wednesday that their qualifying packets did not meet all requirements to appear on the August primary ballot, according to the Supervisor of Elections office.
- JD Peacock and Jerry Buckman each submitted election packets that contained deficiencies.
Despite prior review by the Supervisor of Elections office, those deficiencies were not noted until after the qualifying period ended last week. Florida statute 99.061(7)(a) requires five specific items to be received by the Supervisor of Elections, and neither candidate met that requirement before the close of qualifying.
In a statement posted to his campaign Facebook page, Peacock described the issue on his end as a technical one.
- “The specific issue is that while I filed my financial disclosure in the state’s system timely, I did not include a printed copy with my qualifying packet and apparently the supervisor’s office does not have access to the state’s system,” Peacock said. “I’m disappointed that the supervisor’s office told me that my packet was complete.”
Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux took responsibility for the oversight.
“This does not reflect the standard of service our candidates have come to expect from my office,” Lux said. “While it is regrettable that this occurred, the relevant law is clear and had to be upheld. I have personally apologized to both candidates, and take full responsibility for the oversight. We are making our review process more robust to ensure such deficiencies are noted as early as possible so that candidates can be timely notified in the future.”
Buckman, in his own Facebook statement, echoed that both candidates had been declared qualified before the deficiencies surfaced.
“JD and I both completed our qualifying paperwork, turned it in early, and were declared Qualified by the Supervisor of Elections,” Buckman said. “At some point after the qualifying period ended, it was discovered that each of us had an administrative error that could’ve been quickly corrected if caught on time.”
With no qualified candidates in the race, a special election will be held on a date to be determined. The Supervisor of Elections office has been in contact with the Secretary of State in hopes that a date can be set as soon as possible.
Both candidates said they hope the special election will be held alongside the Nov. 3 general election, and both indicated their campaigns will continue.
“As my campaign goes on I will continue to work hard for Okaloosa County Schools and look forward to the coming days as the state sets the election date,” Peacock said.
Buckman said he and Peacock will both qualify again once a new date is set.
- “Our campaigns continue on, and we get an extra 2.5 months (likely) to make our cases to you, the voters,” Buckman said.
School Board races for Districts 3 and 5 are not affected and will appear on all voters’ primary ballots in August.
“The Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Office remains committed to ensuring the integrity of elections and maintaining compliance with the election laws of Florida,” Lux added.
