Candidate filing opens this month for individuals who want to run for one of the nearly 180 city, school board, tax district and other local government positions that will go up for election this year across Whitman County.
Filing by mail opened this week and online filing runs from 9 a.m. May 17 through 4 p.m. May 21. Most positions do not require filing fees and a 2019 Whitman County Watch analysis of local election data found 80 percent of races in the previous decade went uncontested.
Two of the three Port of Whitman commissioner positions will be up for election as well as eight town or city mayor positions and dozens of council positions.
School boards also have many seats with races this year in addition to scores of fire, hospital and cemetery tax district commissioner seats.
See a full list of local open offices here. Update: See who has so far filed to run here.
The Whitman County Elections Office has put together a 10-page candidate filing guide covering many of the deadlines and requirements for filing for office. Read it here.
Auditor Sandy Jamison noted the county will produce a local voters guide with information on candidates for the first time this year. Candidates must provide their photos and campaign information by May 28.
To run for office, an individual must be registered to vote and must reside the city or district they hope to serve. A person may only run for one position per election.
Filing fees are based on the salary or compensation for the position. Unpaid positions have no filing fee. Offices that receive less than $1,000 a year in compensation require a $10 filing fee. Positions that pay more than $1,000 a year have a filing fee equal to 1 percent of the annual compensation.
Filing fees are listed with the local offices here.
Whitman County has struggled in many years to find enough people to fill local taxing district or other boards. If a seat does not attract any candidates, a three-day special filing period will be held from May 24-26.
Positions that draw more than two candidates will go to a primary election in August. The General Election is Nov. 2.
The Washington Secretary of State’s office also has a filing guide you can read here as well as a Frequently Asked Questions page.