Feb 18, 2025 By Mike Jones 3 min read

The municipal election season is officially underway as candidates in local, county and state races can begin circulating their nominating petitions today to gather enough signatures to get on the primary ballot this spring.

Candidates and their supporters will be out and about over the next three weeks soliciting signatures from registered voters in each party as the campaign begins in earnest for the May 20 primary election.

Various municipal government and school board races will be on the ballot in this off-year election, along with county courthouse and statewide judicial races that could have local connections.

While the primaries are still closed to the two major parties – meaning registered independents can’t vote unless there is a referendum on the ballot – candidates in judicial and school board races can “cross-file” and secure nominating petitions for the Republican and Democratic tickets to run in both primaries. That means there should be numerous competitive races up and down the ballot.

The decision by President Judge Lou Dayich to retire when his term ends in January opens a seat on the bench at the Greene County Courthouse, which is expected to bring a slew of candidates vying for the 10-year term.

In Washington County, Judge John DiSalle has filed paperwork to run for retention in the November general election when voters will decide whether to keep him for another 10-year term or reject that.

But there will likely be another judge from Washington County on the primary ballot. Washington County Court of Common Pleas Judge Brandon Neuman announced last month that he intends to run for state Superior Court and has already secured the statewide endorsement from the Pennsylvania Democratic Party during its winter committee meeting.

In addition to local and school board races, there will also be various district magistrate races and administrative courthouse row office positions on the ballot.

Candidates and their supporters have until March 11 to circulate their nominating petitions and submit them to their local county elections office, or to the state Department of State for statewide offices. Registered voters can also file objections to the petitions if errors are found within the signatures or paperwork, which can force a candidate’s removal from the ballot.

The last day to register for the upcoming primary, change party affiliation or update residential information is May 5. People have until May 13 to apply for an absentee ballot, although elections offices have already been sending out information for “annual mail-in” voters to file their application to formally request such ballots.