Information for Candidates

Candidate Filing for 2025

Candidate filing for the Municipal 2025 Elections will open on Monday, July 7th 2025 at 8:00am and will run through Friday, July 18th 2025 at 12:00pm . (Candidates running in the 2025 municipal election will start appearing here as they file, once filing has started).

Requirements to run for office:

Candidate must be 21 years old by the general election.
Candidate must be a registered voter at the time they file for office. If the candidate is not already resgistered to vote, they must register to vote prior to filing a notice of candidacy for any contest.
A candidate must reside within the municipality, district, or ward for the office in which they are running.
If you are running for a partisan position, you must be registered with that party 90 days prior to your filing date. This means you must be registered with your party no later than April 18th, 2025. If you are not affiliated with a party, you must complete petitions in order to run for a partisan office.
A candidate may not file for more than one office in the same election.
Candidate must open a campaign committee (Please see below).

2025 Filing fees: You must have payment at the time you file. Filing fees can be paid in Personal check, Campaign Check, or Money order made out to the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections. You may ONLY pay in cash if the fee is less than $50.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections published the Campaign Finance Manual. They also published a Candidates Guide and a Municipal Candidates Guide.

For any other questions regarding candidate filing, please contact our office.

Opening up a Campaign Commitee

All candidates must open a Campaign Finance Committee. Please see the North Carolina State Board of Elections Campaign Finance Manual for further information.

The State Board of Elections and County Boards of Elections regulate contributions and expenditures in primaries and elections for North Carolina offices. The Federal Election Commission regulates contributions and expenditures in primaries and elections for federal offices.

A committee must be open within 10 days of the following one of these options:

Announcing your candidacy
Accepting your first donation
Spending any money on your candidacy
Filing to run for office

The following forms need to be completed to open a Campaign Finance Committee. These forms can be mailed, or hand delivered to our office by the Candidate or Treasurer:

Each committee must have a treasurer. A candidate may be their own treasurer, or one can be assigned by the candidate. A candidates spouse may not be their treasurer. If a candidate is running for the first time or have assigned a new treasurer, please know it is mandatory for the candidate or their treasurer to complete treasurer training.

Treasurer Training:

All treasurers must complete treasurer training within 3 months of appointment and once every 4 years. There is an online training module available for treasurer training through the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

For Candidates and Treasurers that would prefer to sign up for an in-person or live webinar Treasurer Training session, The North Carolina State Board of Elections will be hosting these. Please check their website for the dates and times of these trainings.

If you or your Treasurer have any questions or need assistance with the NC Learning Center website, please contact [email protected].

Candidate Checklist

It is important to follow the guidelines listed below in order for your committee to run smoothly:

1. Read the Candidate or Municipal Election Guide.

2. Read the Campaign Finance Manual

3. Download the reporting software.

4. Open your committee and file your first report.

5. Sign up for mandatory training.

6. Check your reporting schedule .

7. Study sign regulations.

8. Get to know the demographics of your district.

Campaign Sign Regulations

The General Assembly of North Carolina passed Senate Bill 315 in August of 2011 that permits campaign signs in the right-of-way. Signs are permitted during the period beginning on the 30th day before the beginning date of "one-stop" early voting and ending the 10th day after the primary or election day. No campaign sign should exceed six square feet in area or 42" in height.

It is a class 3 misdemeanor for a person to steal, deface, vandalize or unlawfully remove a political sign that is lawfully placed.

Ordinances from state and local municipalities:

State: Littering statutes, Report Violations
Charlotte: Sign Ordinance, Report Violations
Cornelius: Sign Ordinance, Report Violations
Davidson: Sign Ordinance, Report Violations
Huntersville: Sign Ordinance, Report Violations
Matthews: Sign Ordinance, Report Violations
Mint Hill: Sign Ordinance, Report Violations
Pineville: Sign Ordinance, Report Violations
Stallings: Sign Ordinance, Report Violation

Information for Candidates

Opening up a Campaign Commitee

Candidate Checklist

Campaign Sign Regulations

Additional NCSBE Candidate and Constituent Resources