Filing ends at noon on Friday

Filing ends at noon on Friday.

In years past, some candidates waited until the last minute to turn their paperwork into the State Board of Elections in order to gain the element of surprise on their opponents.

Executive Director Gary Bartlett says that former Congressional candidate Vernon Robinson was famous for last-minute filing, but his favorite story involves four District Court judges from Cumberland County who all showed up in person on the last day of filing.

Each of the four was determined to file for a Superior Court post if any of the others did, Bartlett recalls. But none of them would make the first move. As the minutes ticked towards noon, they sat in the lobby in a standoff until finally one stood up.

With blogs and e-mail keeping political activists in touch, Bartlett said it's increasingly hard to keep a lid on a candidacy until filing day.

"Now that we're in the open information age, the surprise element has pretty much gone out the window," he said.