The 2026 election starts in December when primary filing opens for 11 county seats.
Filing begins at noon on Monday, Dec. 1, for the sheriff, register of deeds, clerk of court, district attorney, three county commissioner seats, two school board seats and seats for N.C. Senate District 50 and House District 120. The filing deadline is Friday, Dec. 19 at noon.
The filing fees for these offices are as follows.
For the office of the Sheriff, currently held by Brent Holbrooks, $921.25.
For the Register of Deeds office, currently held by Todd Raby, $922.99.
For the Clerk of Court office, currently held by Shawna Lamb, $1,117.26.
For the District Attorney seat, currently held by Ashley Hornsby, $1,673.37.
For the County Commissioner seat for District 1 (Highlands), currently held by John Shearl, $118.44.
For each of the County Commissioner seats for District 2 (Franklin), currently held by Danny Antoine and Gary Shields, $118.44.
For the Senate District 50 seat, currently held by Kevin Corbin, $1,740.
For the House of Representatives District 120 seat, currently held by Karl Gillespie, $1,740.
The deadline to register to vote in the primary is Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. Absentee voting by mail begins on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, with the last day to request a ballot on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Absentee ballots must be returned by 7:30 p.m. on March 3, 2026.
Early voting begins on Thursday, Feb. 12, and ends on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 3 p.m. The primary election will be Tuesday, March 3 with polls open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
Filing for the nonpartisan Macon County Board of Education and Soil & Water District seats will open on June 8.
For information, call the Macon County Board of Elections at 828-349-2034.