Those interested in running in the special election for the state Senate seat that spans Orange County’s coastline can now file to do so.
Candidate filing for the 36th state Senate district is open through Thursday, Jan. 2, at 5 p.m.
Related: Special election dates set for vacant state Senate seat in Orange and Los Angeles counties
Residents of the district can pull and file a declaration of candidacy and submit other relevant documents either at the Orange County Registrar of Voters office in Santa Ana or at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk office in Norwalk.
SD-36 — left open after Janet Nguyen resigned to join the OC Board of Supervisors, representing the First District — stretches from Seal Beach down to San Clemente, jutting inland to include at least portions of Buena Park, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Stanton and Westminster in Orange County. The district also includes Artesia, Cerritos and Hawaiian Gardens in Los Angeles County.
To qualify to run for the seat, a candidate must be a registered voter within SD-36 and eligible to vote for that office at the time nomination papers are pulled and be a U.S. citizen.
Anyone who has served more than 12 years in the legislature — whether in the Assembly, Senate or a combination of both — and was first elected after June 2012 is not eligible due to term limits rules. If someone was elected to the legislature prior to June 2012, they are restricted to two four-year terms in the state Senate and three two-year terms in the Assembly.
The primary for the special election is scheduled for Feb. 25, and the general election will take place on April 29, per a proclamation from the governor.
The Los Angeles elections office is at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk. Orange County’s is at 1300 S. Grand Ave., Building C, in Santa Ana.
Both offices are closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.