By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
While the August primary election is still a few months away, the deadline for those running for office to submit paperwork is this Friday, June 1.
In Ellis County, the First District County Commission position is up for election. The seat is currently held by Republican incumbent Marcy McClelland. As of Tuesday, two people — Butch Schlyer and Chris Rorabaugh — have filed to fill that seat.
According to County Election Officer and Clerk Donna Maskus, those interested in running for the county commission seat as either a Democrat or Republican must pay a $50 state filing fee and can either file by petition or pay 1-percent of a commissioner’s yearly salary.
If a candidate chooses to pay the filing fee, it is $197.76 plus the $50 for a total of $247.76.
A party candidate can also collect signatures from 3-percent of registered voters in that district. For a Republican, that is 79 signatures and 40 for a Democrat.
Independent candidates can only file by petition. They have to collected 67 signatures from registered voters in the district and pay the $50 state fee. The deadline to file as an Independent is Monday, August 6.
There are also three seats up for election on the Ellis City Council. Those candidates can pay the $20 filing fee or file by petition and collect signatures from 41 registered voters from within the city of Ellis.
The Ellis City Council election only appears on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.
Also up for election in Ellis County Precinct Committeemen and Committeewomen. There is no filing fee and these positions are elected in the August primary.
The position of Township Clerk is also up for election in November. The filing fee is $1 or a candidate must get signatures from 3-percent of registered voters in the township. There are 12 townships in Ellis County.
At the state level, there are a number of seats up for election. They include governor, secretary of state, attorney general and all 125 state representatives.
Anyone interested in filing for local office must do so at the Ellis County Administrative Center at 718 Main St. in Hays by noon on Friday, June 1.
To file for statewide office, candidates must submit the paperwork to the Kansas Secretary of State’s office.