LEXINGTON, Ky. — While most people are focused on the big presidential race this year, the filing deadline to run for office in 2020 is fast approaching and some may not be aware.
The last day for candidates to file nomination papers who must run in a primary election is 4 p.m. tomorrow, Jan. 10, 2020.
In the past the last day to file for a primary election was 4 p.m. the last Tuesday in January. The deadline was changed during the 2019 Kentucky Legislative Session by Senate Bill 60. For now, the filing deadline will be the first Friday after the first Monday in January.
This new deadline applies to all partisan offices at the federal, state and local level. The new deadline also affects nonpartisan offices in cities that haven’t waived the primary process. Meaning, some cities in Kentucky approved an ordinance to skip the primary election for its elected city offices.
Candidates who want to run for Beaver Dam City Commission will have to file by the Jan. 10, 2020, deadline. Beaver Dam hasn’t waived the primary process and is subject to a primary election if more than 8 candidates file to run.
Rockport has a partisan election for its city council seats so candidates need to file for office by Jan. 10, 2020, as well.
Hartford, Centertown, Fordsville, and McHenry all waived the primary process for its city governments. Candidates who want to run for Hartford, Fordsville, Centertown and McHenry City Councils have until 4 p.m. June 2, 2020, to file for office. In the past, the filing deadline for those cities was in August, but the Kentucky General Assembly changed the deadline in 2018. Due to House Bill 381, for cities that waived the primary, the filing deadline is now the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June, which is June 2 this year.
In addition to the city races, there are also four seats up for election in the Soil Conservation District, as well as Ohio County School Board seats in the First, Third, and Fourth Districts.
The deadline to file as a write-in candidate was unchanged and is still the fourth Friday of October, which is Oct. 23 this year. Only people who file with the county clerk to run as a write-in candidate are eligible to receive votes in the general election.