Secretary of State Terri Land reminds all candidates seeking judicial, state, county, township or village offices of the filing deadlines for the Aug. 3 primary and Nov. 2 general elections.

“Our democracy depends on citizens who step up and get involved,” Land said.
The deadlines are as follows:

Judicial candidates
Incumbent judicial candidates seeking re-election must file an affidavit of candidacy and an affidavit of identity no later than 5 p.m. Monday, March 22. Judicial incumbents who wish to withdraw from the election must submit a written notice to the filing official no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, March 25.

State, county, township and village offices
• Township and county offices appearing on the office this year include office of county commissioner and those county and township offices vacated for reasons other than recall on or before May 3, 2010.

• Partisan and nonpartisan candidates for the August primary (other than judicial candidates) must file and nominating petition and an affidavit of identity (two copies) no later than 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 11. Candidates for county convention delegate (precinct delegate) must file an affidavit of identity by the same deadline. Republican and Democratic candidates who seek the office of state senator, state representative or a county office may file a $100 filing fee in lieu of a petition. Candidates who wish to withdraw from the election must submit a written notice to the filing official no later than 4 p.m. Friday, May 14.

• Candidates without political party affiliations who seek a partisan office in the November general election must file a qualifying petition and an affidavit of identity no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, July 15. Candidates who wish to withdraw from the election must submit a written notice to the filing official no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, July 19.

• Candidates who seek a village office appearing on the November general election ballot must file a nonpartisan nominating petition and an affidavit of identity no later than 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 10. Village candidates who wish to withdraw from the election must submit a written notice to the filing official no later than 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13.

Candidates for township and village offices file with the township clerk. Candidates for county office file with the county clerk. Candidates for the state Senate, state House of Representatives or the U.S. House of Representatives, whose district is wholly contained in one county, file with the county clerk. Candidates for governor and those state Senate, state House and U.S. House candidates whose district fall in more than one county file at the Bureau of Elections in Lansing.

Affidavit of identity forms can be obtained from any county clerk, local clerk or from the Department of State’s Bureau of Elections in Lansing or visit www.michigan.gov/sos.