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PARKERSBURG — As Election Day draws closer, representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties in Wood County shared their insights into their respective approaches to non-partisan races and campaign regulations.

Democratic Chairman Jeff Fox said the party does not actively campaign for its candidates in non-partisan races, such as for the Board of Education. Instead, he said the party maintains a list of Democratic candidates but leaves the campaigning up to the individual candidates.

“The only person that can win a campaign is a candidate themselves,” Fox said.

He emphasized the importance of door-to-door campaigning over billboards and events, and said the party provides training sessions to educate candidates on campaign finance reporting and signage laws. He said the party advises candidates to seek permission from private property owners before placing campaign signs, rather than putting them on public land.

“Even though there’s a philosophy out there that you should put your signs anywhere and everywhere, because someone might drive by it and see it, I’m not a big supporter of just a shotgun approach to signs,” Fox said. “I think you keep the signs near your territory, and then that coupled with the door to door, is how a candidate wins.”

Republican Party Executive Committee Chair Scot Heckert said that each county committee has the flexibility to determine how to handle non-partisan races.

He said the committee voted to allow non-partisan candidates to place campaign materials in Republican headquarters if they supported the state and national Republican tickets. He said this was a change from the previous policy, which had excluded non-partisan candidates.

Both party chairs said they follow state and city regulations on campaign signs and how they’re distributed. Heckert said this included regulations like signs being placed within 100 feet of any voting location, getting permission to place signs and not putting them on state right-of-ways or easements. He said the city also has an ordinance prohibiting campaign signs 30 days before an election, except on private property.

Fox said there are training sessions for new Democratic candidates. He said they educate candidates on campaign finance reporting requirements, such as submitting reports to the appropriate government offices like the city clerk, county clerk, or Secretary of State’s office. He said the training also covers guidance around campaign signage, emphasizing the importance of getting permission from property owners before placing signs.

“We get everyone up to speed on that and and then, as a general rule of thumb, I like to tell candidates that, yes, signs are important, but so is permission for signage,” Fox said.

He said traditionally, Wood County has had smooth elections, with voters being “trusting of our process here in Wood County.” He said reports he’s getting from people who have voted early this year indicate they’ve had a “pleasant experience” with the process. He said that spreading out the vote over a few weeks through early voting helps prevent the polls from being overwhelmed on Election Day.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com