Today at 4 p.m. is the deadline to file as a primary candidate for state, federal and some local offices.
Friday, Jan. 9, is the last day for candidates to file to appear on the May 19 primary ballot. That deadline applies to candidates seeking a party nomination (Democrat or Republican) for the May primary. If only one candidate files for a party’s nomination in a race, that candidate automatically advances to the general election and no primary is held for that office.
County offices such as judge/executive, county clerk, sheriff, jailer, coroner, county commissioner, county attorney, property valuation administrator, surveyor, magistrate/ justice of the peace and constable are partisan offices that require nomination when multiple candidates from the same party file and, therefore, are subject to the Jan. 9 deadline.
City offices (mayor, city council, commission) and school board positions are a little more complicated. Local entities can decide for themselves whether to be partisan, and in Northern Kentucky, most do not. Local bodies can still have primaries, but anyone can vote in a nonpartisan primary.
Judicial races are also nonpartisan (circuit judge, district judge, family court judge), but they still use the May primary and still file by Jan. 9. Voters of any party can vote in those primaries.
Some examples of races in Northern Kentucky where nonpartisan primaries are possible are the city council races for Covington, Erlanger and Florence. Florence’s mayoral race can also have a primary.
Nonpartisan primaries are triggered when enough candidates run. The rule is to double the number of positions available, plus one additional candidate, to determine the threshold that triggers a nonpartisan primary. In nonpartisan races, the primary does not elect a winner but instead narrows the field to the required number of candidates for the general election.
Most smaller cities in the region forgo primaries altogether, regardless of the number of candidates. Check with your city clerk to learn how it works in your city.
Congressional and state-level partisan primary elections are closed. That means if you want to vote in those primaries, you must be registered as a member of one of the major parties, and you can only vote on a ballot for that party in the primary.
The filing deadline for the November General Election is June 2 for candidates not participating in the primary. Write-in candidates must file a declaration of intent later in the election cycle to have their votes counted.
For a list of important elections related dates to keep in mind, click here. To stay up to date with NKY election coverage, visit LINK nky’s Election Headquarters.
Nathan Granger contributed to this report.