SALISBURY — With several public office filing periods set to open next month, Rowan County election officials say potential candidates should know the process.
County Elections Director Nancy Evans said it’s difficult to gauge the interest in election seasons or specific races, but this year’s county commission race does have one peculiarity.
“We’ve already got three new committees open, but we’ve had a lot of phone calls — but you don’t know how many are serious phone calls or just checking or whatever,” Evans said. “I think the most unusual are the ones who have opened new committees. Most of the time, they just come out when filing starts. You don’t have a lot of committees starting before.”
Three candidates have formed committees for the county commission race: Greg Edds, an insurance agent and former chairman of the Rowan County Republican Party; Judy Klusman, a Republican and former Wisconsin legislator; and newcomer Mark Lyerly, a registered Libertarian.
Elections officials said several callers who inquired about running for county commissioner weren’t aware they needed to form a committee to run.
For those interested in running, here’s what you need to know:
• All candidates must form a committee and file paperwork with the board of elections office. Every candidate must file paperwork within 10 days of announcing a candidacy, receiving or spending any money in support of the candidacy — including his or her own personal funds — or filing for a seat, whichever comes first.
• All candidates are required to pay a filing fee at the time of filing. The fees must be paid by check; a list of fees is posted on the board of elections’ website or interested parties can call the office to find out the fee amount. For commissioner, it’s $124.21.
• Any time an individual is considering running for office, he or she should contact the elections department for information on the statutory requirements involved.
• Those interested in running for partisan county offices — clerk of court, county commission, register of deeds, sheriff — must be 21 years of age, must be a resident of the county at the time of filing, must be a registered qualified voter and must not have changed their party affiliation within the 90 days prior to filing. County candidates will file in the county office in the Rowan County Administrative Office Building, 130 W. Innes St.
• Those interested in running for state Senate must be 25 years of age, must be a qualified voter, must be a two-year resident of the state, a one-year resident of the district and must not have changed their party affiliation within the 90 days prior to filing. Senate candidates will file in the county office.
• Those interested in running for House of Representatives must be 21 years of age, must be a qualified voter and must be a one-year resident of the district and must not have changed their party affiliation within the 90 days prior to filing. House candidates will file in the county office.
• Those interested in running for Congress, district attorney, superior court judge, district court judge and U.S. Senate must file in Raleigh with the State Board of Elections and should contact the state for filing requirements.
For more information, visit the “candidate information” page on the county’s website or the State Board of Elections website or call the local elections department at 704-216-8140.