And they're off!

The political race towards November officially begins Monday.
People seeking county, state and national offices may begin filing their notice of candidacy at noon at the Burke County Board of Elections' office in the Foothills Higher Education Center, 2128 S. Sterling.
The filing period for party-affiliated candidates will end at noon Feb. 26. Unaffiliated candidates can file up until June 25 and write-in candidates until Aug. 4, because they don't have primaries.
The first primary election is set for May 4. Runoffs, if needed, will be on June 22. The general election will be on Nov. 2.
Almost anyone 21 or older can run for office, according to David Beam, director of elections for the Burke County Board of Elections.
"Basically, if they're an American citizen and eligible to vote, they're eligible to run," he said. "That does not restrict the public's choice in any way."
The one notable exception is candidates for judicial office, who must be qualified to practice law in North Carolina.
Whether a candidate is a registered voter in Burke County is one of the first things the board of elections' staff will check, Beam said, along with the party in which the candidate is registered. A Democrat can only run for a Democratic candidacy, a Republican for a GOP nomination and an unaffiliated person for neither. Party affiliations must be declared at least 90 days before filing.
The board of elections' staff also will verify a candidate's address and get the candidate's contact information including a telephone number. Candidates, except for the U.S. House of Representatives, must live in the political district they intend to represent. General Assembly members and sheriffs must have been a resident in the district (or the county) for at least one year prior to the November election.
The minimum age for county offices is 21. A member of the N.C. House must be at least 21 years old, a state senator or U.S. House member at least 25 and a U.S. senator at least 30 before Nov. 2.
Candidates must disclose whether they've ever been convicted of a felony.
"The felony conviction is not a bar to office," Beam noted. "You must declare it; it's illegal not to. And you must have rights of citizenship restored, which normally occurs when the sentence imposed by the court is fulfilled."
Each candidate must pay a filing fee, generally 1 percent of the base salary for the office being sought. That can be as much as $1,740 for Congress and $207 for the N.C. General Assembly
"For local offices that ranges from $824 for clerk of court down to as little as $70 for the county commissioners," Beam said (see sidebar chart). Bring a check or cash, he added, because the board of elections doesn't accept debit or credit cards.
Though there are "very, few very" rules about who can be a candidate, Beam said there are "a multitude" concerning campaign finances.
That, too, is one of the things the board of elections will check when candidates register — whether they've arranged to report their campaign finances.
Candidates for the General Assembly or judicial office must also file a "statement of economic interest" that lists income and financial assets and liabilities such as mortgages, stocks, business ownership and even credit-card debts for themselves and their household.
"In general, anyone who expects to spend more than $1,000 is required to file campaign-finance reports, open a committee, appoint a treasurer — or act as his or her own treasurer — and file periodic reports detailing what they've received and spent," Beam said. Details and filing schedules are included in a campaign-finance manual the board of elections gives to each candidate.
"We also can answer any questions they have," he continued, "or people can visit the State Board of Elections' Web site if they have any questions about running for office. There's some good information there."
The state board's Web address is http://www.sboe.state.nc.us.

Sidebar
Paying to run
If you want to run for political office, you have to pay for the privilege.
The filing fee is 1 percent of the base salary for that office.
Here's the fee schedule for some political seats the voters will fill in November:
Burke County commissioner (two seats open): $70.68
Burke County sheriff: $616.02
Burke County clerk of courts: $824.01
N.C. Senate District 44: $207
N.C. House District 85: $207
N.C. House District 86: $207
District Attorney: $1,193