The candidate withdrawal period for Johnson County Council races has been extended to noon Feb. 25.
Beth Boyce, Johnson County GOP chair, won a petition Friday in Morgan County court to order the county’s Johnson County Board of Commissioners, auditor and clerk to move the withdrawal deadline back to noon Feb. 25. The petition is a follow up to last week’s decision to give the county permission to conduct the Johnson County redistricting process during an election year.
The commissioners are expected to approve new council districts at a special meeting at 10 a.m. Feb. 22. So, the court granted the petitions to move back both deadlines to accommodate the redistricting process.
The withdrawal deadline had to be moved because the new district map could impact eligibility for existing candidates, said Bill Barrett, an attorney representing the county.
Whether adding or removing candidates, the ballot needs to be finalized quickly to give the clerk’s office time to prepare new ballots and test machines before early voting begins in April, Barrett said.
The commissioners are working to finalize the new districts by noon Feb. 17. The public will be able to review the new districts prior to the Feb. 22 meeting, or may submit their own redistricting proposals by the same deadline.
The public may send written public comments to the commissioners by 9:30 a.m. on the day of the meeting, or comment in-person or via Zoom during the meeting.
