Update: The North Carolina Supreme Court suspended candidate filing for all offices for the 2022 primary election. Read Supreme Court Suspends All Candidate Filing, Moves 2022 Primary to May 17.
10:39 a.m: Candidate filing for the 2022 statewide primary and rescheduled municipal elections begins at noon on Monday, December 6, and ends at noon on Friday, December 17.
Depending on the office sought, candidates will file their Notices of Candidacy with either their county board of elections or the State Board of Elections.
Primary candidates for the following offices will file with the State Board of Elections:
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House of Representatives
- N.C. Supreme Court Justice
- Judge of the N.C. Court of Appeals
- Superior Court judge
- District Court judge
- District attorney
Primary candidates for the following offices file with their county board of elections:
- N.C. Senate
- N.C. House of Representatives
- All county and municipal offices
New in 2021: Candidates filing with the State Board will file at the Exposition Center on the N.C. State Fairgrounds, located at 4285 Trinity Road, Raleigh, N.C.
Candidates, guests, and members of the media should enter the Fairgrounds through Gate 9 on Trinity Road; they should exit through Gate 5 onto Youth Center Road. (See Fairgrounds map.)
State-level candidate filing typically takes place at the State Board of Elections office. But due to space constraints at the board office and the pandemic, filing was moved to the Fairgrounds for 2021. Parking is available next to the Exposition Center.
For candidates filing with the State Board, the following hours apply:
On the first day of filing, December 6, filing will be open from noon to 5 p.m. On the last day of filing, December 17, filing will be open from 8 a.m. to noon. On all other business days of the filing period, candidates may file from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(For filing hours and address for a specific county board, candidates may consult the county board search tool to locate county board contact information.)
“Choosing to run for an elected office is a major decision,” said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the State Board. “We want filing to be a smooth and customer-friendly process for all candidates, and we have strived to create an efficient and safe environment for everyone.”
The December filing period applies to the following:
- Candidates seeking party nominations in the statewide primary. Candidates are not permitted to run in a party primary unless they have been affiliated with that party for at least 90 days as of the date of filing a notice of candidacy. Find the deadline for establishing party affiliation, sorted by the filing date, at 2022 Primary Candidate Party Affiliation Deadlines.
- Candidates seeking office in municipalities that finalized their electoral districts by Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. (Ahoskie, Cary, Charlotte, Clinton, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Enfield, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Hickory, Jacksonville, Kings Mountain, Laurinburg, Long View, Lumberton, Mooresville, Mount Olive, New Bern, Plymouth, Roanoke Rapids, Rocky Mount, Sanford, Smithfield, St. Pauls, Statesville, and Tarboro, as well as the Lexington City Schools Board of Education.)
Candidates in municipalities with rescheduled elections file during two periods. To see if you would file in December or January, find your contest in the Local Candidate Tool.
Candidates can find more information at Running for Office.
Filing fees are required for all offices, unless a candidate has submitted a valid petition in lieu of paying a filing fee, and the petition has been certified. For more information, visit Filing Fees.
Once filed, the deadline for a candidate to withdraw a Notice of Candidacy is 5 p.m. Tuesday, December 14.
The 2022 general election is Tuesday, November 8.
The State Board will post updated candidate lists twice daily here: Candidate Lists.
For media:
Candidate filing is a public process and members of the media are welcome to attend. Those who wish to cover candidates as they file at the Exposition Center on the Fairgrounds should RSVP to Patrick Gannon at patrick.gannon@ncsbe.gov. Please contact your county board of elections office about local filing.
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