It’s not too Early to Start Preparing for the Fall Election

Charles Garrett, general registrar of Bath County, wants everyone to know that even though it is early February, it is not too early to start preparing if you are thinking about being a candidate for the election on November 3rd, 2015.

All positions on the Board of Supervisors, the School Board, and sheriff, Clerk of Court, Treasurer, Commissioner of the Revenue, and a representative to Mountain Soil and Water Conservation District are open for reelection, or for a new candidate.

“For anyone who is interested in being on the ballot in November, now is the time to start your planning.” says Garrett.  “It seems early, but with the paperwork that has to be done, and the signatures you have to collect, and the deadline to have all of that complete is June 9th, so that will sneak up on you faster than you think.”

“The process, it looks kind of daunting when you see all the paper and stuff to start with,” says Garrett. “Most people are familiar with the petition process.  You have to have qualified voters in your district sign a petition. For the district wide races like supervisors and school board, you have to have fifty qualifying voters and by qualifying they have to be a qualified registered voter in your district.  And they have to put their information on the form correctly so when they’re collecting signatures, get extra signatures because you’re going to have a few good-hearted people who want to sign your petition who have forgotten that they aren’t registered to vote.”

“For county wide offices like the constitutional officers, the commissioner, and sheriff, you have to have one hundred twenty-five signatures from any registered voter in the county,” says Garrett.  “There are some other significant rules changes to petitions regarding who can collect signatures that you might want to look into.  The old practice of leaving the petitions on the counters at local stores is no longer legal.”

The phone number for the registrar’s office is 839-7266.  From now until July the office in the courthouse is open part-time.  The days are Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursday and hours are 8:30-4:30, with a closing for lunch from 12-1.

All information for candidates can also be found on the Department of Elections website which is: www.elections.virginia.gov

Story By

Bonnie Ralston

Bonnie Ralston is the Assistant Station Coordinator at WVLS and a Highland County news reporter. She began volunteering at Allegheny Mountain Radio in the fall of 2005. In 2006 she became an AMR employee and worked in Bath County for eight years as the WCHG Station Coordinator and then as the news reporter there. She began working in radio while in college and has stayed connected to radio, in one way or another, for more than thirty years. She grew up in Staunton, Virginia, while spending a lot of time on her family’s farm in Deerfield, Virginia. She enjoys spending time outside, watching old TV shows and movies and tending to her chickens.

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