Applications on website during inclement weather

Polk County Sheriff Donald Hill (D), Polk clerk of superior court Pam Hyder (D) and board of education chair Geoff Tennant (Columbus) were the first to file for elections at noon on Monday, Feb. 10.

Candidates have until noon on Friday, Feb. 28 to file for this year’s November election.

If the county closes for inclement weather this week, candidates can still download and fill out the application to file and bring the application into the Polk County Board of Elections Office once it reopens.

To download the file go to www.polknc.org under departments/board of elections, which will take the user to the state board of election website where all forms are available for download.

Also check the county’s website for updates on when county offices may be closed this week.

Polk County has three open commissioner seats this year, the sheriff, clerk of court and four seats open on the Polk County Board of Education.

Other open seats up for election include representatives for the U.S. Congress 10th district, 47th state senate, 113 state house, 29-B district attorney, supreme court chief justice, supreme court associate justice, court of appeals, 29-B superior court judge and two seats on the Polk soil and water district.

County commissioner seats open this year include the seats of Ray Gasperson (D), Keith Holbert (R) and Ted Owens (R).

The sheriff and clerk of court are also up for reelection.

Open Polk County Board of Education seats include the seats of Tennant (Columbus), Sherry Page (Green Creek), James Cowan (Tryon) and Judy Jackson (Coopers Gap).

Candidates who wish to file may do so at the Polk County Board of Elections Office, located on the second floor of the Womack building on Courthouse Street in Columbus, which is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Candidates for state and federal offices, including for U.S. Senator, U.S. House of Representatives, district attorneys, justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the court of appeals, judges of the superior court and judges of the district courts must file with the state board of elections in Raleigh.

Anyone with questions regarding filing can call the Polk County Board of Elections Office at 828-894-8181.