In 17 years of voting at this polling place, nevr took longer than 5 minutes...today it took 1 hr and 5 minutes!(Creative Commons)The time is coming for Indiana residents to declare their run for office in the primary election.Jan. 7 is the first day major party candidates can declare for the May el ection. The period closes at noon on Friday, Feb. 6.January also opens the period for independent or minor party candidates to file petition signatures to be on the ballot in the general election.This year’s primary ballots will include state offices and U.S. congressional seats.Clark and Floyd County residents can also cast votes for county officials, including sheriff, prosecutor and clerk. Some county council and commissioners' seats are also up for election.This year’s election follows state senators voting down a redistricting plan pushed by the White House.Trump pressed Indiana and other states to change their congressional districts outside of the usual timeframe to give Republicans an advantage in the midterms this year.Local electionsThis year’s election is also the first county sheriff’s race since the investigation into former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel. Indiana State Police started looking into allegations against Noel months after his second term ended, after current Sheriff Scottie Maples’ office provided information on possible criminal activity. Noel has since been convicted of 27 felonies, including theft and tax evasion.Maples is now seeking a second term. Democrat Ed Byers, who ran unsuccessfully against Maples in 2022, and Democrat Tim Deeringer have filed paperwork for exploratory committees, which means they can take donations and raise money to determine if they want to run.Republican Brian Dixon has filed paperwork for an exploratory committee for the county surveyor’s seat.Angela Cornett, election administrator at Clark County voter registration, said in early December there had already been a lot of interest from new candidates.“I believe this will be a very contested race on both sides,” she said.In Floyd County, Republican incumbent Sheriff Steve Bush and Republican Prosecutor Chris Lane have launched re-election campaigns.Jason Kerberg has filed exploratory paperwork to run as a Republican for the sheriff’s office in the primary.In Floyd Superior 3, longtime Judge Maria Granger, a Democrat, said she won’t be seeking reelection. Republicans Coy Travis and Max McCrite have announced their run for the bench, along with Democrat Christina Knavely.Floyd County Clerk Danita Burks said she expects a good turnout this year: The county races always bring people out, and the sheriff’s and judge’s races should be a good showing.Burks said she believes there will be a lot of interest in the school board races in the fall. A recent change to state law allows school board candidates to declare a party affiliation, though they still don’t run in a primary.“From what I've seen in seven-and-a-half years, whenever there's an opening with the school board, it's kind of like all eyes get focused over there, and they should,” she said. “That's our future.”Voters can register to vote or update their registration at indianavoters.com.The last day to register to vote in the primary election is April 6.Election Day is Tuesday, May 5.Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County. ...read more read less