Filing period opens soon for May primary
By Steve Herring
Published in News on January 26, 2010 1:46 PM
Candidate filing begins in just under two weeks for the May 4 primary election.
Five local seats in the General Assembly and three in the U.S. Congress are up for election this year along with several local offices. The general election is Nov. 2.
There are actually two filing periods. The one for partisan races for the May primary will begin at noon on Feb. 8 and end at noon on Feb. 26, while the one for the non-partisan races in November for Soil and Water Board and Wayne County Board of Education will open at noon on July 2 and end at noon on July 16.
Board of Education members facing re-election in November are Dave Thomas, District 1; John Grantham, District 4; George Moye, District 5; and Rick Pridgen, District 6.
Soil and Water Board incumbents up for re-election are Ronald Parks and Bryant Worley.
"They are non-partisan offices and do not need to run in a party primary," said Elections Board Director Vickie Reed. "The candidates will only appear on the November ballot with no party designation."
Facing re-election in partisan races are Sheriff Carey Winders, Clerk of Superior Court Pam Minshew and District Attorney Branny Vickory, all of whom serve four-year terms. District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Heath, who is serving a two-year term, also is up for re-election.
Two state Senate seats will be on the ballot, Don Davis, D-Greene, 5th District and David Rouzer, R-Johnston, 12th District. The 5th District includes Greene, Pitt and Wayne counties and the 12th District consists of Johnston and Wayne.
State House seats on the ballot are held by Van Braxton, D-Lenoir, 10th District; Efton Sager, R-Wayne, District 11; and Larry Bell, D-Sampson, District 21.
The 10th District is comprised of Greene, Lenoir and Wayne counties. Wayne is the only county in the 11th District and the 21st District is comprised of Sampson and Wayne.
On the national level, Senator Richard Burr (R), Third District Congressman Walter Jones, (R), and First District Congressman G.K. Butterfield, (D) face re-election.
The filing fees are:
* $1,652 for the U.S. House and Senate
* $207 for the N.C. House and Senate
* $1,064 for District Court judge
* $1,161 for District Attorney
* $620 for Sheriff
* $925 for Clerk of Court
* $117 for Board of Education
* $5 for Soil and Water Board.
Absentee ballots are available 60 days before a general election in an even-numbered year, but remain at 50 days prior for the primary.
Revisions to the law governing absentee ballots changed the number of witnesses required on both civilian and absentee requests from 2 to 1.
Also new is a campaign finance law which sets the threshold for filing campaign reports at $1,000 instead of the previous $3,000 threshold.
Other dates to keep in mind are:
* March 15 Absentee voting by mail begins
* April 9 (5 p.m.) Voter registration deadline
* April 15 One-stop absentee voting begins
* April 27 (5 p.m.) Last day to request absentee ballot by mail
* May 1 (1 p.m.) One-stop absentee voting ends
* May 3 (5 p.m.) Last day to return absentee ballots to Board of Elections
* May 4 Election Day. Polls will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
* May 11 Canvass (election certification).