A handful of candidates qualified for local office during a meeting of the Marengo County Democratic Party on Tuesday.

The event formally kicked off local qualifying and saw five candidates complete paperwork to run for office this summer.

The following candidates qualified Tuesday evening:

•Incumbent Richard Bates for Marengo County Sheriff.

•Phillip Myers for Marengo County Sheriff.

•Incumbent Freddie Armstead for Marengo County Commission, District 1.

•Incumbent Michael Thompson for Marengo County Commission, District 5.

•Incumbent Arthur Hopson for Marengo County Board of Education, District 4.

Those four positions, plus Marengo Couny Commission, District 3; Marengo County Revenue Commissioner; and Marengo County Coroner will all be on June’s ballot.

Marengo County Chairman Billy Coplin reviewed things like qualifying fees, campaign contribution deadlines, ethics forms and other useful information for candidates.

“We want good races,” Coplin said.

The deadline to qualify was moved up to Feb. 7.

The Alabama Republican Party announced that qualifying for statewide races would begin Monday, Jan. 13 at 9 a.m. at the party’s headquarters in Birmingham. Attempts to reach someone with the Marengo County Republican Party were unsuccessful.

Alabama Secretary of State Jim Bennett moved the end of qualifying from April 4 to help comply with federal laws concerning military and overseas voters.

This change will not affect the June 3, 2014 qualifying deadlines for independent candidates and candidates of parties that did not receive more than 20 percent of the entire vote cast in the last general election.