Board of Commissioners of Sarasota County v. Gustafson

CAMPBELL, Acting Chief Judge.

In this case, we are asked to determine whether a county may require candidates for elected county office to be residents of that county for two years immediately pri- or to qualifying for the election. The trial court found that the two-year period was not shown to be necessary to the county’s stated goal of ensuring an informed electorate and informed candidates, and that, consequently, the requirement violated the equal protection clause. We agree.

Apparently, there had been some public concern in Sarasota County that, due to the mobile nature of the community,…