Candidate filings begin this Wednesday for the 2010 elections.

The filing period ends at noon on Feb. 19 for candidates in the May 4 primary. Candidates for non-federal and state offices file in the Voter Registration Office in the County Administration Center, Valparaiso.

In 2010, voters will cast ballots on offices from the federal level to township boards.

Federal offices up for election this year in Indiana will be the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Evan Bayh and all U.S. House seats. Most of Porter County is in the 1st Congressional district represented by Pete Visclosky, though Jackson and Pine townships are included in the 2nd district represented by Joe Donnelly.

Statewide offices on the ballot in 2010 will be secretary of state, state auditor and state treasurer, along with all state representative seats and half of the state senate seats. Duneland’s state senator seat, the 4th district seat held by Karen Tallian, will be on the ballot this year. So, too, will the House seats in districts 3, 4 and 10 held by Charlie Brown, Ed Soliday and Charles Moseley respectively.

County offices on the ballot this year are as follows: Prosecuting attorney; judge of Superior Court III; county clerk; county assessor; county auditor; second district county commissioner; county coroner; county recorder; county sheriff; and all four district seats on the Porter County Council. The district seats are those voted only by the voters in the respective districts.

Township seats are also on the ballot this year for township trustees and three township board members in each of Porter County’s 12 townships.

Voters in Boone, Porter and Union townships will also vote for school board candidates; Duneland’s school board election, for three of the five board seats, will not be on the ballot until November.

Other positions on the ballot in Porter County include two seats on the Kouts Town Council, Democrat precinct committee members, and delegates to the state convention for both the Democrats and Republicans.

Voter registration for the May primary ends on April 5, which is also the first day that absentee voting begins.

Posted 1/18/2010