North Carolina’s 2016 state and local elections officially start today.

Today marks the first day of filing for the 2016 primary elections. A wide swath of positions will be on Rowan County ballots, including seats in Congress and governor. Voting in the primary elections will be March 15.

Positions on Rowan ballots in March will include governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, N.C. Senate districts 34 and 25, N.C. House districts 76 and 77, two spots on the Rowan County Board of Commissioners, Kannapolis Board of Education Area 2 and district court judge.

Candidates in statewide races file for election in Raleigh. Candidates for county commissioner, district court judge and Kannapolis Board of Education file at the Rowan County Board of Elections, 130 West Innes St. Candidates for state legislature file in their home county.

In Rowan, filing starts at noon today and ends at noon on Dec. 21.

Filing takes place earlier than ever this election season. Hoping to make North Carolina a player in the process of deciding presidential nominees, state lawmakers moved 2016’s primaries to March. Traditionally, North Carolina held its primaries in May.

Although filing starts today, local races are already taking shape. Rowan County’s seats in the N.C. House, so far, are the most compelling. Both incumbents have announced a bid for re-election and have declared opposition. Both challengers are making their first bid for elected office

State Rep. Harry Warren, a Republican from Salisbury, will face 22-year-old Andrew Poston. Warren, the current 77th District representative, is running for his fourth term in the N.C. House. Poston will face Warren in the Republican primary.

State Rep. Carl Ford, R-76, is running for his third term in the N.C. House. Catawba College student Holden Sides, a 21-year-old Democrat, says he will run for Ford’s seat. Because of party affiliation, the pair won’t face off until November 2016.

County commissioners Mike Caskey and Craig Pierce, whose terms both end in 2016, say they plan to run for re-election. Both are running for a second term. With a simple addition to his well-known van, former commissioners chairman Jim Sides has fueled speculation about whether he would run for a another term. Earlier this year Sides — who lost his seat in 2014 — added “Do you miss me yet” and “2016?” as decals on his white van.

The 2016 primary elections will be followed by the Nov. 8, 2016 general election, when other, non-partisan local positions will be added to ballots. The most notable non-partisan race in 2016 is the Rowan-Salisbury School Board, where current Chairman Josh Wagner and members Chuck Hughes and Susan Cox have expiring terms in 2016.

For questions about local elections in 2016, call the Rowan County Board of Elections at 704-216-8140

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246.