Running for Office

Overview

Are you thinking of running for office? On this page, find the upcoming candidate filing periods and review guidelines regarding the offices in which eligible individuals can run in 2022. To learn about the specific candidacy requirements, visit Filing for Candidacy.

Any person seeking to become a candidate must file a notice of candidacy form.* Download the form and find additional details at Notice of Candidacy. Determine specific filing fees and find payment information at Filing Fees.

*Only the candidate may file the notice of candidacy and pay the filing fee in person at the appropriate board of elections. Alternatively, a candidate may have the candidate’s signature on the notice of candidacy acknowledged and certified by an officer authorized to take acknowledgments and administer oaths, in which case the candidate may mail or deliver by commercial courier service the candidate’s notice of candidacy to the appropriate board of elections. Please note that the candidate is not considered to have filed their mailed notice of candidacy until the appropriate board of elections receives it, provided it was before the end of the filing period.

Upcoming Filing Periods for 2022 Elections

Individuals seeking to become a candidate during the following local filing periods will file with their county board of elections.

Soil and Water Districts

The candidate filing period for soil and water conservation district supervisors begins at noon on Monday, June 13, 2022, and ends at noon on Friday, July 1. Candidates whose notices of candidacy are accepted will be on their county’s ballot for the Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor contest during the general election on November 8.

Other Local Offices

The candidate filing period for even-numbered year municipal elections begins at noon on Friday, July 1, 2022, and ends at noon on Friday, July 15, 2022. Several counties also will hold candidate filing for their board of education. In some instances, a different filing period may apply to your county’s local elections.

To find the specific candidate filing period for your local elections, visit the Local Candidate Tool. To learn about office types in local government, visit City and County Elective Offices | UNC School of Government.

2022 Election Dates

There are two election dates remaining in 2022*:

1. Municipal and local second primary elections (where applicable): Tuesday, July 26, 2022.**
2. Statewide general election: Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.

* There is a possibility of a December 6 runoff election for board of education in Nash and Edgecombe Counties.

**A specific municipality’s election schedule depends on the method of elections used in that town or city (e.g., partisan primary, nonpartisan primary, nonpartisan plurality, or nonpartisan elections and runoff). See N.C. Session Law 2021-56. Election dates for each municipality will be updated at the Local Voter Tool.