Candidate filing week for this year’s local elections will be May 15 to 19. Across Washington state, nearly 3,400 local offices will be up for election this year, including over 100 mayorships, many city and county council positions and port, hospital, water, fire, and parks and recreation districts.
Those wishing to run for a local office must file with the elections department of the county in which the position resides.
In Lewis County, candidates should file with the Lewis County Auditor’s Office, either online, in person or by mail. For Thurston County residents, candidate filing is completed through the Thurston County Auditor’s Office.
Candidates seeking to file online in Lewis County can do so by going to https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov and selecting “Online Candidate Filing.” Those filing online must pay their filing fee online with a credit card.
Those wishing to file in person can do so at the Lewis County Auditor’s Office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during filing week. Candidates will be required to file using the online filing system at a customer kiosk. Assistance will be provided as needed.
Candidates filing by male may do so beginning May 1 as long as the declaration is received by May 19 at 4:30 p.m. Filings submitted by mail will be held for processing until May 15, when filing opens for all candidates.
Should candidates wish to withdraw from the race they may do so by submitting a signed request by Monday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m. Filing fees are not refundable.
To see which offices are open for candidate filing, current incumbents and filing fees, go to https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/candidate-filing-information/ and select “Offices Open for Election.”
To be eligible to file for office, a candidate must be a registered voter of the district and meet the residency requirements for the office they are filing for, pay the filing fee and provide an email address. A candidate’s name will not appear on any official list as a candidate for office until their Declaration of Candidacy is approved and their filing fee is paid.
Up to date candidate filings can be viewed by going to https://elections.lewiscountywa.gov/candidate-filing-information/ and selecting “Candidates Who Have Filed.”
The order in which candidates will be listed on the ballot will be determined by a lot drawing on May 19 at 4:30 p.m. in the Election Department of the auditor’s office. The candidate with the most votes in the Primary Election will be listed first on the General Election ballot. Under state law, if there is not a primary, the lot drawing conducted at the end of filing week will be the order on the ballot.
