The Macon County Election Commission met December 11th to certify the nominating petitions of all candidates who met the Dec. 11 deadline for filing their candidacy. For candidates who have a change of heart or want to withdraw their name from the list of certified candidates, the withdrawal deadline is noon, Thursday, December 18th.

After that, candidates for the two open positions in Macon County, County Road Supervisor and County Property Assessor, will be voted on in the February Republican Primary or the August Democratic Caucus. As of today's date, the candidates for these positions in Macon County are as follows:

Republican candidates will be voted on in February primary, scheduled for Feb. 10, 2004. Republican candidates for Road Supervisor are Leraly Jones, William R. Gregory, Raymond Tuck and Glenn Ray. Republican candidates for Assessor of Property are Ricky Shoulders and Randall Goodman.

Independent candidates will be voted on with the Democratic candidates in the Democratic Caucus on Aug. 5, 2004. The Independent candidate for Road Supervisor is James L. Blanford. The Independent candidate for the Assessor of Property is Malcolm Lane.

Charles "Chop" Porter is the Democratic candidate for Road Supervisor. Sherri Serra is the Democratic candidate for Assessor of Property.

According to Diane Cline, Macon County's Administrator of Elections, there is a new state law regarding write-in candidates. Namely, "Write-in candidates must notify the Election Commission in writing twenty days before the election in order for their ballots to be counted."

Cline also suggests that anyone who has changed residences or changed their address since the last election would speed up the process by going into the election office to change their address. "It will make things a lot easier," she said, "and a lot more efficient." The deadline for changing your address is thirty days before the election.

The deadline for voter registration, likewise, is thirty days prior to election day.