Candidates must file a Notice of Candidacy with the New Hanover County Board of Elections during the Candidate Filing Period.
If paying the filing fee for offices filed at the New Hanover County Board of Elections Office in the form of a check or money order, it must be payable to “New Hanover County.” For offices filed at the North Carolina State Board of Elections office, check ncsbe.gov for specific information regarding check and money order requirements. Business or corporate checks are not accepted.
To see an Excel file of candidates who have filed for office in New Hanover County from 2004 to 2019, click here.
To see a list of candidates who have filed for office for the 2020 Statewide Primary Election, click here.
| 2020 Statewide and County Offices and Filing Fees | |
| Office | Filing Fee |
| North Carolina State Senator | $140 |
| North Carolina State Representative | $140 |
| New Hanover County Commissioner (3 Seats) | $176 |
| New Hanover County Board of Education (3 Seats) | $127 |
| District Court Judge, District 5 | $1,224 |
| New Hanover County Register of Deeds | $962 |
Notice of candidacy signature witness requirements: The Notice of Candidacy must be signed in the presence of the Chairman, or Executive Director of the State or New Hanover County Board of Elections, or a candidate may have his/her signature on the notice of candidacy acknowledged and certified to by any officer authorized to administer an oath, including a notary (G.S. § 163A-972). In signing his or her Notice of Candidacy, the candidate may use a nickname if candidate complies with the requirement specified in G.S. § 163A-972 and which includes submitting an affidavit.
Party affiliation requirements for partisan offices: No person shall be permitted to file as a candidate of any political party in a party primary if the person, at the time of filing his or her notice of candidacy, is registered as an affiliate of a different political party. No person registered as “unaffiliated” (without any party affiliation) shall be eligible to file as a candidate in a primary. No person shall be permitted to file as a candidate in a party primary unless that person has been affiliated with that party for at least 90 days as of the date of that person filing such notice of candidacy (G.S. § 163A-973)
Offices in the Jurisdiction of the State Board of Elections
To see information regarding the offices under the jurisdiction of the NCSBE, please click here.
Candidate Filing Fact Sheets
To view Fact Sheets regarding running for a specific office or as an Unaffiliated/Write-In candidate, please click here.
Additional Candidate Filing Information
For more information on running for office, please click here.
File for these offices at the North Carolina State Board of Elections
File for these offices at the your local county Board of Elections
| 2020 General Election Candidate Filing Begins |
| Monday, December 2, 2019 @ 12:00PM |
| 2020 General Election Candidate Filing Ends |
| Friday, December 20, 2019 @ 12:00 PM |
| 2020 Soil and Water Candidate Filing Begins |
| Monday, June 8, 2020 @ 12:00PM |
| 2020 Soil and Water Candidate Filing Ends |
| Thursday, July 2, 2020 @ 12:00 PM |
