Deadlines for filing nomination papers have been moved up for some elected county positions

With this 2020 election year, the State of Iowa has moved up the deadline for filing nomination papers for certain county level elected positions that would appear on election ballots for this year’s June primary and/or November general elections. Allamakee County Auditor and Commissioner of Elections Denise Beyer advises that many of the filing deadlines that once were set in August for non-partisan elected positions have now been moved several months earlier to March.

Beyer said she has been in contact with many of the associated agencies most impacted by the deadline change, such as the Soil and Water Conservation office and townships. Her biggest concerns are for those who may want to run on the November ballot as “no party” or under some other non-party political organization for a local/county office, feeling such candidates could miss the much earlier deadline because they may think that deadline is still in August and there is no way to know who may be planning to run for such an elected position in that manner and thus no way to directly reach them.

Printed below are the impacted elected positions and their corresponding filing periods for the 2020 election cycle, most all of which will have a March 2, 2020 beginning date followed by a two- to three-week filing period ending later in March:

• County Level Offices (Partisan candidates for June Primary): Monday, March 2 - Wednesday, March 25, 2020. NOTE: This date/timeframe has not changed.
• County Level Offices (NPPO and Nominated by Petition): Monday, March 2 - Friday, March 20, 2020. NOTE: This deadline used to be in August.
• Township Trustee: Monday, March 2 - Friday, March 20, 2020. NOTE: This deadline used to be in August.
• County Hospital Trustee: Monday, March 2 - Friday, March 20, 2020. NOTE: This does not apply to Allamakee County, as Veterans Memorial Hospital is a city-owned facility.
• Soil and Water Conservation Board: Monday, March 2 - Friday, March 20, 2020. NOTE: This deadline used to be in August.
• County Agricultural Extension: No specific start date but a deadline date of Wednesday, August 26, 2020. County Agricultural Extension is different from the other county level offices because Iowa Code Chapter 176A.8(3)(b) specifically states that the filing deadline is 69 days prior to the General Election and does not refer back to Chapters 44/45 like other offices. NOTE: This deadline has not changed.

The filing deadline for each elected position listed above is 5 p.m. the last day of the filing period outlined for each position. For additional information, contact the Allamakee County Auditor’s Office at 563-568-3522.