PICKENS COUNTY — While the race for the presidency continues to draw national attention, don’t forget that a number of state and county offices are up for election this year as well.

Filing for the Republican and Democratic primaries will open at noon on Wednesday, March 16 and close at noon on Friday, March 30, 2012, according to elections officials.

The 2012 Republican and Democratic Primaries will be held on June 12, 2012. A run-off, if necessary, will be held on June 26. All candidates seeking a political party’s nomination to run in the November 6, 2012 General Election must file with the appropriate party official during the appropriate filing period. If only one candidate files for a particular office with a particular party, that candidate becomes the party’s nominee. When more than one candidate files for a particular office with a particular party, the nominee is chosen by primary or convention.

The Republican and Democratic parties nominate by primary elections that are conducted by the State and county election commissions.

The positions of auditor, clerk of court, coroner, county council (Seats 3, 4, 5 and 6), S.C. House, S.C. Senate, Sheriff and Treasurer will be elected this year.

Persons wishing to file for those positions must file with the executive committee of the Pickens County Republican or Democratic Party.

Candidates filing as Democrats will file at Six Mile Town Hall, located at 106 S. Main Street in Six Mile. The office will be open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday, March 16 through Friday March, 30. For more information or to schedule another appointment time, call 864-650-2012.

Candidates filing as Republicans must contact Pickens County Republican Party Chairman Philip Bowers at 864-868-2789.

An authorized representative of the Pickens County Republican Party will be accepting candidate filings for four hours during the final 72 hours of the candidate filing period at 119 S. Main Street in Six Mile.

Those times will be 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. Thursday, March 29, and 8 a.m. – noon, Friday, March 30.

At the time of filing, each candidate must complete a Statement of Intention of Candidacy Form, pay the filing fee, present proof that they have filed their Statement of Economics Interests form online at the SC State Ethics Commission website (http://ethics.sc.gov), and complete any additional forms as necessary by state law or party rules. The filing fee is one percent of the annual salary of the office multiplied by the number of years in the term of office or $100, whichever is greater. This fee is applied to funding the party’s primary. Names of candidates who fail to file the proper forms during the appropriate filing period will not appear on the ballot.

Persons wishing to file for federal or statewide office must file with the state executive committee of the political party of the candidate’s choice.