The filing period for candidates in most local, state and federal 2018 elections begins at noon Monday and ends at noon Feb. 28.

From races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to contests for seats on school boards, voters will mark ballots during primaries and the general election. Primaries will be conducted May 8. The general election is Nov. 6.

On Friday, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued an order that candidates for N.C. Supreme Court and N.C. Court of Appeals will not file for election during the February filing period. Under that order, primaries will not be held for judicial offices in 2018. The court overturned a lower court’s order that had set the filing period for appellate-court candidates during the February filing period.

Barring any further action by the courts, those candidates will file during a special judicial filing period June 18-29.

Locally, Beaufort County voters (sometimes depending on where they live) will vote for candidates seeking to represent Congressional District 1 or Congressional District 3. Those voters also will mark ballots in contests for state Senate District 3 and state House District 79. They will also vote for candidates in the district attorney-contest in the 2^nd Judicial District, the race for clerk of court in Beaufort County and the contest for Beaufort County sheriff.

District attorneys, clerks of court and sheriffs serve four-year terms.

Three of the seven seats on the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners are available this election cycle, as are four seats on the nine-member Beaufort County Board of Education. Commissioners and school board members serve four-year terms.

Kellie Harris Hopkins, elections director for Beaufort County, said she does not know if there will be a rush of people Monday seeking to file as candidates for county and 2^nd Judicial District elections, except, possibly, for the sheriff’s contest. Several candidates for that office likely will file Monday, she said.

The filing period for superior and district court candidates begins at noon June 18 and ends at noon June 29. This year, judicial candidates may file as unaffiliated without having to qualify through the petition process.

The Superior Court (2^nd Judicial District) seat held by Judge Wayland Sermons Jr. is available this election cycle, as are two of the four District Court judgeships in the 2^nd Judicial District. Superior Court judges serve eight-year terms. District Court judges serve four-year terms.

Two seats on the three-member Beaufort County Soil and Water Conservation Board are available this election cycle. The filing period for the election runs from June 11 to July 6.

Once a candidate has filed, the deadline to withdraw a notice of candidacy is Feb. 23.