It is once again filing time for municipal elections in North Carolina.

Elections offices in Bertie, Hertford and Northampton counties will be closed on Friday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day, but will reopen Monday morning when filing will officially begin.

Municipal filing was set to begin at 12 noon on Friday, but the local offices will be closed on that day due to the holiday.

Candidates seeking to file for office may begin doing so on Monday at the board of elections office in their respective counties. Prospective candidates must be 21 years of age, a qualified voter in the county and a resident of the municipality or municipal district.

Filing is slated to continue until 12 noon Friday, July 17.

The 2009 election will be the first for municipal voters who were recently annexed into the town of Ahoskie. Hertford County Board of Elections Supervisor Sheila Privott said anyone already registered in those areas were free to file for candidacy and to vote in the upcoming election.

“Those who were annexed are eligible to register, vote or file for office,” she said. “If they wish to vote, they do not have to do anything except show up on Election Day and cast their ballot.”

There are eight municipalities in Bertie County, six of which will have a mayoral election. All of them will have council elections.

Hertford County has six municipalities, all of which will have elections for mayor and town board members while Northampton County’s eight municipalities will have six mayor elections and eight commissioner elections.

The following seats are open in Bertie County:

Town of Askewville – Mayor (John Pierce), three commissioners (Kay Brantley, Rodney F. Thomas and Michael B. Baker);

Town of Aulander – Three Commissioners (Henry G. Spruill, Mary Jane Tayloe and Dennis B. Wilder Sr.);

Town of Colerain – Three Commissioners (Bill Harrell, Duncan Hughes and Carroll Northcott);

Town of Kelford – Mayor (Bailey N. Parker), five commissioners (James H. Bland, Harvey Wayne Bland, Frank Harris, Tierce Ruffin and Wade T. Emory)

Town of Lewiston Woodville – Mayor (Carl Lee), two commissioners (Dayle Vaughan – Lewiston District and Martha Thompson – Woodville District);

Town of Powellsville – Mayor (Thomas E. Asbell), three commissioners (James L. Peele, Joseph T. Watford and Ernest Rawls Carter Jr.);

Town of Roxobel – Mayor (Gary T. Johnson), four commissioners (Henry C. Boschen, Carroll Minton, Sammy R. Pruden and Robert J. McKay); and

Town of Windsor – Mayor (Robert B. Spivey) and two commissioners (O. Wint Hale and James F. Hoggard).

The following seats are open in Hertford County:

Town of Ahoskie – Mayor (Linda L. Blackburn), three commissioners (O.S. “Buck” Suiter Jr. – at large, Malcolm Copeland – Ward A and Ronald Gatling – Ward B);

Town of Cofield – Mayor (Hermea Pugh Sr.), five commissioners (Anthony Archer, Nettie C. Brickers, Stephen Lassiter, Darrell Partlow and Lee Watford Jr.);

Town of Como – Mayor (Irvin Lee Stephens Sr.), four commissioners (Kevin Higbee, Susan Kennington, Stephen Pearce and Ann Spruill);

Town of Harellsville – Mayor (Robert D. Dantz), five commissioners (Deborah A. Baker, Jo M. Liles, Coleman Taylor, Mary L. Thompson and Roy Worrells Jr.);

Town of Murfreesboro – Mayor (Lynn Johnson), five commissioners (Molly Eubank, Lloyd Hill, Gloria Odum, Bill Theodorakis and Sara Whitley Wallace); and

Town of Winton – Mayor (Calvin S. Hall), five commissioners (Ernest Green, Charles B. Jones, Wesley Liverman, Will Liverman and William McCoy Pierce).

The following seats are open in Northampton County:

Town of Conway – Mayor (Brian E. Bolton), five commissioners (Alan C. Harris, William R. Joyner, Phil A. Matthews, Gail C. Wade and James A. Woodard Jr.);

Town of Garysburg – Mayor (Roy L. Bell), five commissioners (Lola Ausby, Jearline Brown, James Mayor, Darryl Whittle and Iris Williams);

Town of Gaston – Mayor (John Acree), two commissioners (Louise Bailey and Michael Phelps);

Town of Jackson – three commissioners (James W. Boone Jr., Karin J. Clements and Mary Anne Crawley);

Town of Lasker – Mayor (Dick Collier), three commissioners (Charles M. Daughtry Jr., Robbin Gibson and Brenda J. Whitley);

Town of Seaboard – Mayor (Melvin F. Broadnax), three commissioners (William Gallimore, Edward Henderson and Bobbie Moss);

Town of Severn – Mayor (George McGee), five commissioners (Frank Ferguson, Harold Garris, Troy Holloman, Ellie Martin and Parker Watson);

Town of Rich Square – Mayor (Doris Risper), five commissioners –

(Linwood C. Bryant, Charles Eason, Raymond Joyner, J. Dudley Vick and Reginald White); and

Town of Woodland – two commissioners (Les Clark and David Cooper).