Election Filing Period Opens Today

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Election Filing Period Opens Today

Special Report - February 13, 2012
Today marks the first day that North Carolina candidates who intend to run for public office in the 2012 elections can officially file with the State Board of Elections (SBOE). Candidates for U.S. House of Representatives, N.C. Governor and Council of State, District Attorney, N.C. State Senate, N.C. State House of Representatives, all county offices, and state and local courts have until 5:00 pm on Wednesday, February 29 to file a Notice of Candidacy and the proper filing fee to the Board of Elections. Since they do not face the possibility of a primary election, unaffiliated candidates (other than those in judicial races) have until Friday, June 29 to file.

For those races in which more than one person files as a candidate for the same political party (or for judicial races where there are more than 2 candidates running for a single seat), a Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, May 8. In this year’s Primary Election, voters will also have the opportunity to vote on a proposed amendment to the North Carolina State Constitution, which would state that “Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.”

Absentee voting for the Primary Election begins Monday, March 19, with ballots due back by Tuesday, May 7. One-stop voting for primaries will be open Thursday, April 19 and run through Saturday, May 5. For those voters (other than one-stop absentee voters who will be registering and voting at the same time) who will be registering to vote in the Primary Election, their voter registration forms must be postmarked or hand-delivered to their County Board of Elections by Friday, April 13th in order to be eligible to vote in the Primary Election.

The General Election will be November 6. Citizens (other than one-stop absentee voters who will be registering and voting at the same time) must be registered to vote by Friday, October 12 to be eligible to vote in the General Election. Absentee voting for the General Election begins Friday, September 7 with ballots due back by Monday, November 5. One-stop voting will begin Thursday, October 18 and conclude on Saturday, November 3. Citizens who are not yet 18, but will be 18 by November 6 may register and vote in the primary election, but will not be permitted to vote on the proposed constitutional amendment.

More information on how to file for office, instructions on how to register to vote, along with a full calendar of important election deadlines, can be found at the North Carolina State Board of Elections website.

In an effort to promote civic responsibility and involvement, the North Carolina Family Policy Council is providing a 2012 Voter Registration Kit for use by churches and community organizations which wish to sponsor a voter registration drive. The 2010 Voter Registration Kit is an information booklet that includes a letter from our president, important voting dates, frequently asked questions about the State Board of Elections voter registration form, contact information for each of North Carolina’s 100 county boards of elections, and a copy of the North Carolina voter registration form. Church leaders and other citizens are encouraged to download the Voter Registration Kit and use it to carry out a successful voter registration drive in their church or organization. Churches and other non-profit groups are allowed by law to conduct voter registration drives. This kit provides the information needed to conduct such a drive in a legal and successful manner.