Don’t look now, but we are just three months away from the end of filing period for the 2020 elections. That’s right – all candidates for elections that are more than a year away have to decide within three months if they are running.
That goes for local, state and national candidates. The filing period is Dec. 2-20, which means the filing starts less than a month after Andrews’ town elections take place this year.
The primary is Tuesday, March 3. With the way elections have gone in Cherokee County over the last few years, the winners of local seats could well be decided before the NCAA finishes its conference basketball tournaments, let alone the Big Dance.
At some point starting four years ago, North Carolina decided it would start chasing New Hampshire and Iowa to have an early primary, presumably to “have a voice” in the picking of presidential candidates. However, all that does is hurt local races, which have to be contested for all intents and purposes in the previous winter to the actual election.
Local folks who want to serve on school board, board of commissioners or in state seats have to decide almost a year before they would theoretically be sworn in, which can change the minds of interested candidates. No one is going to be thinking about 2020 elections when Christmas shopping is cranking up, but they better be if they want a spot on the ballot.
First, the country should have one national primary date to decide the nominees for president. The staggered primaries are simply a way for parties to rig the outcome (see Sanders, Bernie, 2016 for reference) as they get a focus group on who folks are feeling for the nomination.
The party leaders and lobbyists are not unlike bookies, who shift the money to one candidate or another depending on how early returns are looking. Meanwhile, states that vote later – as North Carolina once did – feel like they are left out of the democratic process, assuming one still exists.
All this does is hurt local races, as citizens nor candidates are ready to discuss serious local issues this early in the year. This early primary will likely lead to a less-informed electorate and low turnout, especially if President Donald Trump has no serious Republican challenger.
The elephant in the room – pun intended – is whether any Democrats will take the plunge in county races, where they have failed to elect anyone to a major seat in multiple cycles.
The politicization of the Cherokee County Board of Education resulted in a total domination of Republican candidates on all boards, akin to Lewis Carroll’s Queen of Hearts painting all her roses red.
If no Democrats mount a serious challenge, all local races for 2020 will be decided less than a month after this season’s Super Bowl is played.
So if you are interested in serving a local office, it is best to start thinking about it now. After all, who knows how soon you will have to file when the 2024 election rolls around? It might be good to plan ahead.
OUR VIEW: March madness affects local races
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