Candidate filing week for November election begins Monday

Are you interested in serving your community? Now’s your chance.

The window to file as a candidate for public office in Washington state officially opens on Monday, May 6, and will run through 5 p.m. on May 10. To file, a candidate must be a registered voter of the district, meet the residency requirements for the office they are filing for, pay a filing fee and provide an email address.

Interested residents can declare for more than 400 federal, state, judicial, legislative, county and other offices throughout the state. This year’s ballot will include all statewide offices, all congressional seats, a seat in the U.S. Senate and a majority of the seats in the Washington Legislature.

The ballot will also include two Lewis County commissioner positions, Lewis County Superior Court judicial seats and Republican and Democratic precinct committee officers.

A filing fee is not required to run for precinct committee officers.

For the first time this year, candidates for superior court and all legislative districts must file with the Office of the Secretary of State. To see a full list of open offices, incumbents and

the filing fee required, go to https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/candidate-filing-information/ .

To file, candidates can go to https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/candidate-filing-information/ and select “online candidate filing.” Candidates can also file in person at the Lewis County Auditor’s office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The auditor’s office is located on the second floor of the historic courthouse at 351 NW North St. in Chehalis.

To withdraw, a signed request must be received by Monday, May 13, at 4:30 p.m. Filing fees are not refundable.

The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5. A top-two primary will be held on Aug. 6 to decide which two candidates advance to the general election in each race with three or more candidates.

For information specific to Lewis County, visit https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/ .