• To obtain a place on a Florida ballot as an elected official, you must be an individual who is able to amass funds and signatures together in a relatively short period of time. Additionally, according to the RangeVoting.org, if you are a third party or independent candidate, prepare to face more stringent laws that act as roadblocks for getting on the ballot.
  
  

Qualifications

• The qualifications to attain a place on a Florida ballot vary, depending on the position for which you are running. According to the Federal Qualifying Handbook, to be a United States Senator from Florida, you must have been an American citizen for nine years or more. You must be at least 30 years of age, and you also are required to reside in Florida on the day you win your election.
  
  For a Representative, you must be at least 25. The Florida Division of Elections also says that instead of the nine years the law requires for Senators, you must have been a United States citizen for only seven years. The one requirement that is the same for both positions is that you must live in Florida at the time of your election win.
  
  

Forms and Signatures

• According to the Florida Division of Elections website, you must use form DS-DE 104 to obtain signatures of registered Florida voters. The signatures you collect need to be at least one percent of the population you are voting to represent. The website points out that you must hand these signatures in to the supervisor of elections in Florida by the last Monday in March.
  
  The website also states that you must also submit Form DS-DE 27, which is the Federal Office Loyalty Oath, as well as the Oath of Candidate and Statement of Party to the state supervisor of elections. If you've named a party affiliation, the Supervisor of Elections wants to see that you've been true to one party for at least the last six months.
  
  

Fees

• If you are a regular party candidate, you must pay a filing fee of $10,440, which is six percent of the annual salary for the office that you seek. You must also pay $.10 per signature to the state supervisor, to cover the costs associated with the verification of the signatures you collected.
  
  

Third Party Candidates

• Third-party candidates face even more stringent rules. According to the RangeVoting.org, if you wish to run as a third-party candidate, you must generate at least 196,255 valid signatures. The site suggests that the rate is so cost prohibitive that only two third-party candidates for the House and one for the Senate have made it on the ballots since 1920. The site also states that the signature requirement for third-party candidates is higher than that of any other state.