It’s official. We have a full ballot for the special election on May 24 to fill the open Ward 3 position on the Selma City Council.

And when we say we have a full ballot, we mean it.

A total of eight Ward 3 residents qualified by Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline to be on the ballot to replace Dr. Monica Newton, who moved to Georgia with her family.

The qualified candidates are: Tom Headley, Greg Bjelke, Karl Lewis, Sherrette Spicer, David Cothran, Gwen Brown, Pam West and Garfield Clarke.

West and Clark qualified on Friday to round out the ballot.

Selma City Clerk Ivy Harrison said now the candidates face another required deadline in the next one to five days.

“The candidates are now required a campaign finance form with the Dallas County Probate Judge’s office this week,” Harrison said.

The finance form will document all money raised and spent by the candidates thus far, including campaign contributions and expenses such as flyers and yard signs.

The special election is set for Tuesday, May 24, but with so many candidates it is very unlikely any one candidate will garner a majority of votes cast.

If there is not a candidate who receives 50 percent of the vote, plus one vote, than the two candidates who received the most votes will meet in a runoff election set for Tuesday, July 5.

City officials are continuing to work the expense of the special election into the city’s very tight 2011 budget.

During the last city council meeting, Selma Mayor George Evans, believed the city would be “fine” but would report to the council the financial report at the next council meeting, set for Tuesday, April 12.