(1) Candidates for office in a special election shall qualify as required in regular elections but shall file qualifying petitions no later than twelve o'clock (12:00) noon prevailing time on the sixth Thursday before the day of the election to have their names printed on the ballots. Party nominations shall be made under §§ 2-5-101(g) and 2-13-204 subject to the deadline in the preceding sentence.
(2) In counties having a population in excess of six hundred thousand (600,000), according to the federal census of 1970 or any subsequent federal census, when a special election is being held in conjunction with either a municipal, August primary or general election, the time of qualifying for candidates to the office for which the special election is being held shall conform and be governed by the same time and the same date prescribed for the municipal, August primary or general election; but in no way shall the time for qualifying specified by this subsection (b) be less than the qualifying time prescribed for the special election.