Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Poston and Julian open their campaign committees on Thursday afternoon. 

By Josh Bergeron

josh.bergeron@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Two Rowan residents who announced their intent to run for school board may have missed a campaign finance deadline.

During the public comment portion of an April 25 Rowan-Salisbury School Board meeting, Rowan residents Michael Julian and Andrew Poston both announced their intent to run for the school board in 2016. Julian and Poston also spoke about their candidacy during an April 15 rally at the Rowan County fairgrounds and have publicly posted about their candidacy on Facebook. The NC Board of Elections, however, requires candidates to set up a campaign committee within 10 days of making a public announcement.

Wednesday was the 10th day.

Rowan County Elections Specialist Laura Russell said there’s no specific penalty for not setting up a campaign committee in time. Poston contends he wasn’t able to file on the day he announced his candidacy, which he says would make Thursday the 10th day.Julian and Poston also won’t be prevented from running from office.

Both filed paperwork to open a political committee on Thursday.

Julian said he intends to run against current Chairman Josh Wagner for the Rowan-Salisbury School Board’s District 3 seat. Poston said he intends to run against board member Susan Cox for the District 7 seat. Julian and Poston have opposed a plan to close schools in rural Rowan.

Filing officially starts on July 22 and ends Aug. 19, Russell said. In addition to filing as a statement of candidacy, Julian, Poston and anyone else who runs for the Rowan-Salisbury School Board must set up a campaign committee in order to receive or spend money as a candidate.

Poston has a campaign committee from when he ran against Rep. Harry Warren in the Republican primary for the 77th District. However, he must also set up a separate committee to run for school board.

Russell said she has talked to Poston about an address change, but not about setting up a campaign committee.

Contact reporter Josh Bergeron at 704-797-4246