Deadline for Independent Candidates Approaching

The Kentucky Secretary of State’s office is reminding those seeking to run for partisan offices as independents that they must file paperwork by next Monday.Individuals must file statement-of-candidacy forms on April 2 in order to be on the ballot for the fall election.Secretary of state spokeswoman Lynn Sowards Zellen says there is no fee to file this round of paperwork, and it’s hard to tell at this time if independents are flocking to run this year."We have had certainly some people call interested in obtaining the statement-of-candidacy form, but the form is also available online so we can’t really predict how many people will have filed through this method," she says.Independents also have to file petitions of nomination in August. The petitions carry a $200 filing fee. Candidates for federal offices, nonpartisan offices, and certain city offices are exempt from the requirement.Zellen says independent candidates and groups should contact the secretary of state's office or their local county clerk for the proper paperwork.