Blank forms for all financial statements required under this article shall be provided by the state election commission. The content of the forms shall be as prescribed by legislative rule promulgated in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code. Pending legislative approval of such legislative rule, the state election commission may by emergency rule prescribe the contents of the forms. Copies thereof, together with a copy of this article, shall be furnished through the county clerk or otherwise, as the Secretary of State may deem expedient, to all treasurers of political committees, to all political financial agents, and to all candidates for nomination or election to any office, upon the filing of a petition or announcement for nomination, and to all other persons required by law to file such statements who shall apply therefor. The form shall also be furnished, at a nominal cost, on computer disc or magnetic media. All statements filed in accordance with the provisions of this article shall be received, endorsed and filed by the Secretary of State and county clerks, and shall be preserved for five years, after which time they may be destroyed, if not required to be further preserved by the order of any court.