Candidates should note Feb. 4 filing deadline

Candidates planning to run in the May 5 primary/special election are reminded that the filing deadline for partisan candidates is Wednesday, Feb. 4. 

Three county offices will be on the ballot in Carroll County. Those include county commissioner, with the term beginning Jan. 1 and currently held by Donald Leggett; county auditor, currently held by Staci Brady; and judge of the Carroll County Common Pleas Court, probate/juvenile division, currently held by Sean R. H. Smith, who is not seeking re-election. 

In addition to the county offices, both the Democratic and Republican parties will have openings in their respective central and executive committees in each of the county’s 23 precincts. Those precincts include Augusta, Malvern, Minerva, Brown A, Brown B, Brown C, Mohawk, Carrollton A, Carrollton B, Center, East, Fox, Harrison A, Harrison B, Lee, Loudon, Leavittsville, Monroe, Orange, Perry, Rose, Union and Washington. 

Numerous state and federal offices will also appear on the ballot. Voters will elect a United States senator to fill an unexpired term ending Jan. 3, 2029. Two justices of the Ohio Supreme Court will be chosen for full six-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and Jan. 2, 2027, respectively. Voters will also select a governor and lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor of state, secretary of state and treasurer of state, each to full four-year terms beginning Jan. 11, 2027. 

Also up for election are a representative to Congress from Ohio’s 6th District for a full two-year term beginning Jan. 3, 2027; a state senator from the 33rd District for a full four-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2027; and a state representative from the 79th District for a full two-year term beginning Jan. 1, 2027. Seats on the Court of Appeals, 7th District, will also be filled, with two full six-year terms beginning Feb. 10, 2027, and Feb. 11, 2027. 

Party offices on the ballot include Democratic and Republican members of the state central committee, with positions for both a man and a woman from each party. Those four-year terms will begin May 23, 2026. 

The Feb. 4 deadline also applies to the filing of questions and issues for the May ballot. Write-in candidates have until Monday, Feb. 23, to file, while nonpartisan candidates may submit petitions through May 4, according to Carroll County Director of Elections Deloris Kean. 

Voters wishing to request a ballot application form may do so now through Tuesday, April 28. Requests can be made by contacting the Carroll County Board of Elections online at boe.ohio.gov/carroll or by calling 330-627-2610, Kean said.