ELKINS — Registered voters interested in running for public office in either county or state positions can officially throw their hats in the ring beginning on Monday, when the filing period for the May 12 West Virginia Primary Election opens.

The filing period runs through Jan. 31. Candidates running for Randolph County positions can file in person at the Randolph County Clerk’s office through that date.

Those running for statewide and legislative offices, state executive committee offices to be filled by voters in more than one county, and judicial offices (excluding magistrates) must file with the Secretary of State’s Office.

“Anyone looking to file can come into the Clerk’s Office, and we have a filing packet here that we will hand to them,” said Randolph County Clerk Brenda Wiseman. “There is paperwork they will have to fill out, and they will have to pay the filing fee for whatever office they are running for.”

One Randolph County Commission seat and three Randolph County Board of Education seats will be up for grabs in the May election. The County Commission seat represents the Tygart District, and is currently occupied by long-time Commissioner Chris See.

The three Randolph County Board of Education seats can be from any of the three districts, Cheat, Elkins or Tygart. The three BOE seats available for the upcoming election are currently held by Dr. Phil Chua, Dr. Sherri Collett and Janie Newlon.

Other offices that residents in Randolph County can file for during the upcoming election include: Conservation District Supervisor; County Executive Committee; and District Executive Committee.

“Some people want to be the first to file and some people want to wait until the end to see who else files before they do it,” Wiseman said. “You can never really predict how it’s going to go from each year to the next. Saturday, Jan. 31st is the last day anyone can file, and we will be open from 9 a.m. until noon on that day.”

Both county and state candidates can file in-person or by mail. Announcements of those filing by mail must be postmarked by the United State Postal Service on or before Jan. 31.

For more information on elections and voting in West Virginia, visit GoVote.com.