The filing period for all partisan offices, Surry County Board of Education seats, all judicial seats, and district attorney runs from Feb. 8 to Feb. 26. Primary election day for these offices is May 4. Filing for the Elkin Board of Education begins on Feb. 8 and closes on Aug. 2. The soil and water conservation filing period opens on June 14 and closes on July 2. Filing opens for the Mount Airy Board of Education on July 2 and closes on Aug. 6. The general election takes place on Nov. 2.
The seats that are open for the 2010 election are North Carolina Senate, 30th district; NC House, 90th district; clerk of court; sheriff; county commissioner, Mount Airy district; county commissioner, south district; county commissioner, central district; Surry County Board of Education, district 2; Surry County Board of Education, district 3; Surry County Board of Education, district 4; Surry County Board of Education, district 5; Elkin Board of Education, city district; Elkin Board of Education, west district; soil and water conservation supervisor; Mount Airy Board of Education, at-large; Mount Airy Board of Education, district A; Mount Airy Board of Education, district B.
The filing fee for the state senate and house seats is $207. Filing fee for clerk of court is $824, and fee for sheriff is $582. The fee to file for a county commissioner seat is $75. Fees for board of education seats and soil and water conversation supervisor are each $5.
Those who want to run for a county office must file a notice of candidacy within the filing period and pay a filing fee. Candidacy forms can be obtained at the county board of elections office. A candidate cannot file for more than one office in the same election. The candidate must be at least 21 years of age.
Candidates must be registered voters of the same political party they are filing under and must have been a member of that party for at least 90 days. While unaffiliated candidates cannot run in the primary, they may petition to have their names put on the general election ballot. They must submit a petition to the county board of elections office by Fri., June 25. This petition has to be signed by four percent of the registered voters in the county as of Jan. 1 or four percent of the registered voters in a district if only district voters vote for the office.
While unaffiliated candidates cannot run in the primary, unaffiliated voters may vote in the primary. Both the Democratic and Republican parties open their primaries to unaffiliated voters in North Carolina. When an unaffiliated voter states his or her name and address at a polling place, the person just has to state which party’s primary he or she chooses to participate in.
Financial disclosure is required of all candidates. One of the requirements is that an organizational report must be filed with the county board within 10 days of a person becoming a candidate. Becoming a candidate includes taking positive action for the purpose of obtaining nomination or being elected, soliciting or receiving contributions, making expenditures to enhance a campaign, or filing a notice of candidacy, whichever comes first. This report can be found online at the state board of elections Web site.
These are some of the basic requirements for office, but more detailed information can be obtained from state and county elections boards. For more information about elections and filing, call the Surry County Board of Elections at 401-8225; go to the board of elections page on the county Web site, http://co.surry.nc.us; or visit the state board's Web site at www.sboe.state.nc.us.
Post a Comment
