Election filing deadline comes noon Friday

With just a few days until the filing deadline for the primary election, some county offices remain uncontested or have not had any candidates express interest in
running.

“It’s starting to fill in,” Monroe County election supervisor Ruth Hickman said. “I still have some holes, though.”

The deadline at noon Friday is for candidates who wish to appear on the May 6 party primary ballots.

Though at least one Republican and one Democrat have declared their intentions to run for many offices, there are other offices that might not receive any filing before the deadline.

The Washington and Polk township boards, for example, have not had any candidates express interest, according to documents obtained from the Monroe County Clerk’s office Tuesday.

Washington Township is north of Bloomington, including the area around Oliver Winery. Polk Township is south of Lake Monroe.

For other offices, only one party has had candidates express interest. Three Democrats have filed for the county sheriff office, but no Republicans.

At the state level, there are still a few vacancies in filings, but those should be filled by the deadline, said Trent Deckard, co-director of the Indiana Election Division.

“There’s been a steady uptick as filing has gone on that definitely lends itself to heightened interest in the campaign,” Deckard said.

“It’s pretty average for a year, but I would say for a non-presidential year it’s definitely a little busier than average.”

In this election cycle, all state and U.S. House of Representatives seats are up for reelection, as well as a number of state and county offices, including secretary of state, county clerk, county prosecuting attorney, sheriff and county council members, among others.

After the primary, political parties are allowed to put forward names for these offices on the November general election ballot, though Hickman said she prefers having candidates run in the primary.

“It’s always nice to have a full ballot,” she said. “It shows people at least have some interest in representing and working with their county and community.”

Follow reporter Michael Auslen on Twitter@MichaelAuslen.