Election season starts in stealth mode

Filing deadline not publicized by clerk, but there is still a chance to run

The slate of candidates for elective office in Howard County is all but set. The filing period ends on Friday, Feb. 4, but the average citizen had no way of easily finding that deadline. The Howard County Clerk’s office failed to publish any election information, leaving just those who are already politically attuned to benefit from that knowledge.

“I don’t have (the voter registration website) updated yet,” admitted Howard County Clerk Debbie Stewart. “We moved, so that was basically the priority, from the first of October until we got moved up here two weeks ago. I have not gotten with IT. I am going to try to get with them and get the dates out there for everybody, and I plan to do advertising as well.”

Howard County Clerk Debbie Stewart accepts candidate paperwork from Jeff Lipinksi, who is running as a Republican for Howard County Commissioner District 1. (Photo/Howard County Republican Party)

The clerk’s offices have relocated to the second floor of the Howard County Courthouse, but Howard County Voter Registration – the place where citizens can cast their absentee votes and acquire all the knowledge they would need about this year’s election – is no longer in the courthouse at all. It now resides in the Jeff Stout Government Building on West Mulberry Street. That’s near the library for those who aren’t up to speed on the government building’s name change.