A new election season is upon us. The primary elections will be held May 22, and the last day to file nomination papers for the election is rapidly approaching.

Bell County Clerk Debbie Gambrel stated that there is still time to file the necessary paperwork in order to get a name on the ballot. The deadline is 4 p.m. on Jan. 30. Those who want to run for local office need to pick up their paperwork at the clerk’s office in Pineville, located in the Old Courthouse.

Any candidate who wishes to run for federal, state or judicial office needs to file their paperwork with the Secretary of State office in Frankfort.

“Qualifications varies depending on the office sought by each candidate. On the local level, all county offices are filed with the Bell County Clerk’s office and then forwarded to the Secretary of State office. Any candidate running for federal, state, or judicial offices must file directly with Secretary of State. They can be reached at 502-564-3490. I encourage all candidates that are planning on filing for office to get their filing forms filled out correctly and turned in before the filing deadline,” stated Gambrel.

For those interested, a complete list of qualifications and filing fees one needs to meet in order to be eligible to run for election can be found at https://elect.ky.gov/Candidates/Pages/Qualifications-and-Filing-Fees.aspx.