Qualifying Is March 3-7

Qualifying for elected offices will take place next week, Monday, March 3 through Friday, March 7.

The office of Probate Court will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday for those wanting to qualify for local races, and 8 a.m. to noon on Friday. (The office is open until 5 p.m., but qualifying closes at noon.)

Persons wanting to qualify to run for County Commission, Districts 2 or 4, will qualify in the Probate Court, even though in the past that has been done with the individual parties. Neither the Democratic nor Republican party will have a representative available for qualifying so it will all be done in Probate Court. The qualifying fee for county commission is $216.

School Board Districts 1, 3, and 5 are also up for election, and those are non-partisan races. The qualifying fee for school board is $108.

Qualifying fees are based on the salary paid by the post.

Candidates for the state House of Representatives and Senate will qualify with the Secretary of State in Atlanta. Rep. Susan Holmes has announced her intentions to seek re-election.

In addition to those races, the race for the 10th district Congressional race is expected to be wide open with about eight persons who have announced intentions to run. Those persons will qualify in Atlanta, as will those candidates wishing to replace Sen. Saxby Chambliss who announced some time ago he is not seeking re-election.

Jasperites, like voters across the state, will also have the opportunity to cast their votes for numerous other statewide races.

The primaries and non-partisan elections are set for May 20. After the runoff on July 22, partisan candidates will set their sights on the November 4 general election.