Filing opens Monday for May primaries
By Matthew Whittle
Published in News on February 10, 2008 2:05 AM
With election season already well under way in much of the nation, North Carolina will officially kick its off at noon Monday when the filing period for the May primaries opens.
And, with prospects for state General Assembly, county Board of Commissioners and Board of Education announcing their candidacies since late last year, it's shaping up to be a busy next few weeks.
"They've been getting calls (in the front office) and we've been handing out that information," Wayne County Board of Elections Director Vickie Reed said. "We are trying to prepare for every contingency.
"We have a great staff here and a great team and we stay on top of things."
Primaries will be held only if more than one person from each party files for a seat for partisan races. For non-partisan races, primaries will be held only if three or more candidates file, and only the top two vote-getters will move on to the general election in November.
Non-partisan races include the county Board of Education, the county Register of Deeds and the state judicial races.
The local races on the ballot are:
* Wayne County Commissioner At-Large, currently held by Democrat Atlas Price.
* Wayne County Commissioner District 1, currently held by Republican Andy Anderson.
* Wayne County Commissioner District 2, currently held by Democrat J.D. Evans.
* Wayne County Commissioner District 3, currently held by Democrat John Bell.
* Wayne County Commissioner District 4, currently held by Republican Efton Sager (running for state House).
* Wayne County Commissioner District 5, currently held by Democrat Bud Gray.
* Wayne County Commissioner District 6, currently held by Democrat Jack Best.
* Wayne County Board of Education At-Large, currently held by Pete Gurley (retiring).
* Wayne County Board of Education District 2, currently held by Shirley Sims.
* Wayne County Board of Education District 3, currently held by Thelma Smith.
* Wayne County Register of Deeds, currently held by Lois Mooring.
Anyone interested in filing for those seats should go to the Wayne County Board of Elections office on William Street.
The state races on the ballot are:
* state Senate District 5, currently held by John Kerr, D-Wayne (retiring).
* state Senate District 12, currently held by Fred Smith, R-Johnston (running for governor).
* state House District 10, currently held by Van Braxton, D-Lenoir.
* State House District 11, currently held by Louis Pate, R-Wayne (running for state Senate).
* State House District 21, currently held by Larry Bell, D-Sampson.
* Governor, currently held by Democrat Mike Easley, (ineligible for third term).
* Lt. Governor, currently held by Democrat Beverley Perdue (running for governor).
* Attorney General, currently held by Democrat Roy Cooper.
* Secretary of State, currently held by Democrat Elaine Marshall.
* State Treasurer, currently held by Democrat Richard Moore (running for governor).
* State Auditor, currently held by Republican Les Merritt.
* Superintendent of Public Instruction, currently held by Democrat June Atkinson.
* Commissioner of Agriculture, currently held by Republican Steve Troxler.
* Commissioner of Insurance, currently held by Democrat Jim Long.
* N.C. Supreme Court, currently held by Justice Bob Edmunds.
* N.C. Court of Appeals, currently held by Judge Doug McCullough and Judge John Tyson.
* Superior Court Judge District 8B, currently held by Judge Jerry Braswell.
* District Court Judge District 8, currently held by Judges David Brantley, Lonnie Carraway, Joseph Setzer Jr., Les Turner and Tim Finan.
Anyone interested in filing for the General Assembly seats can do so at the Wayne County Board of Elections office on William Street if they live in Wayne County, but for all other state races, candidates must go to the N.C. Board of Elections office in Raleigh.
The national races on the ballot are:
* President, currently held by Republican George W. Bush (ineligible for third term).
* U.S. House District 1, currently held by Democrat G.K. Butterfield.
* U.S. House District 3, currently held by Republican Walter Jones.
* U.S. Senate, currently held by Republican Elizabeth Dole.
Anyone interested in filing for those seats also should go to the N.C. Board of Elections office in Raleigh.
For all seats, the filing period will end at noon, Feb. 29.
"There are forms they have to fill out and we have those packets already made up for them. The only thing they have to make sure of is that they live in the district of the office they're filing for," Ms. Reed said.
Also expected to be on the ballot in May is the quarter-cent sales tax referendum approved by the commissioners earlier this year. The language for that referendum, though, will not be established until at least Feb. 29.
Once the filing period is over and the ballots are sent to the printer, the rest of the election calendar begins to move along, with absentee ballots becoming available on March 17.
But, Ms. Reed explained, before any unaffiliated voter asks for one, he or she needs to decide which primary to participate in. Unaffiliated voters can vote in any primary -- Republican, Democrat or unaffiliated -- but they must request that ballot style.
"We need to emphasize for our unafilliated voters who are sending in absentee requests, they need to put down a party," she said.
If they don't, or if they request an unaffiliated ballot, they will only be eligible to vote in non-partisan primaries. The same will be true on Election Day.
Requesting one style or the other will not affect their unaffiliated status.
"This is only in order for them to vote for the president, the governor, the commissioners -- all the partisan offices. They have to put that in writing so we can send them the correct one for this May primary only," she said. "I don't want them to not get the whole ballot that they might require."
Voter registration for the May primary ends April 11. On April 17, early voting and same day registration begins. The last day to request an absentee ballot is April 29. The last day for early voting is May 3.