GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

S	1 

SENATE BILL 232

Short Title:  Election Cycle.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senator Perdue.
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Referred to:  Constitution.
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March 14, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION TO CHANGE THE ELECTION OF THE GOVERNOR, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, AND THE REST OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE TO THE NONPRESIDENTIAL EVEN-NUMBERED YEAR, WITH SIX-YEAR TRANSITIONAL TERMS TO BE FILLED BY THE 1992 ELECTIONS. 
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Section 2(1) of Article III of the  Constitution of North Carolina reads as rewritten:
"(1)	Election and term.   The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State in 1992 at the places and on the day prescribed by law.  Their term of office shall be six years and shall commence on the first day of January next after their election and continue until their successors are elected and qualified. For the purpose of the last sentence of Section 2(2) of this Article, the term commencing January 1, 1993, shall be considered consecutive to the preceding and subsequent terms. The Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State in 1998 and every four years thereafter, at the same time and places as members of the General Assembly are elected.  Their term of office shall be four years and shall commence on the first day of January next after their election and continue until their successors are elected and qualified. For the purpose of the last sentence of subsection (2) of this section, the term commencing January 1, 1993, shall be consecutive to the term commencing January 1, 1989, but no person serving the term commencing January 1, 1993, may serve the term commencing January 1, 1999."
Sec. 2.  Section 7(1) of Article III of the Constitution of North Carolina reads as rewritten:
"(1)	Officers.  A Secretary of State, an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Superintendent of Public Instruction, an Attorney General, a Commissioner of Agriculture, a Commissioner of Labor, and a Commissioner of Insurance shall be elected by the qualified  voters of the State in 1992, at the places and on the day prescribed by law. Their term of office shall be six years and shall commence on the first day of January next after their election and continue until their successors are elected and qualified.  A Secretary of State, an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Superintendent of Public Instruction, an Attorney General, a Commissioner of Agriculture, a Commissioner of Labor, and a Commissioner of Insurance shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State in 1998 and every four years thereafter, at the same time and places as members of the General Assembly are elected.  Their term of office shall be four years and shall commence on the first day of January next after their election and continue until their successors are elected and qualified."
Sec. 3.  The amendments set forth in Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the State at the statewide general election to be held in November of 1992, which shall be conducted under the laws then governing elections in the State.
Sec. 4.  At that election, each qualified voter desiring to vote shall be provided a ballot on which shall be printed the following:
"[]	FOR constitutional amendments to elect the Governor and other executive officers in nonpresidential even-numbered years beginning in 1998.
[]	AGAINST constitutional amendments to elect the Governor and other executive officers in nonpresidential even-numbered years beginning in 1998."
Those qualified voters favoring the amendment shall vote by marking an "X”or a check mark in the square beside the statement beginning "FOR", and those qualified voters opposed to the amendment shall vote by marking an "X”or a check mark in the square beside the statement beginning "AGAINST".
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, voting machines may be used in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the State Board of Elections.
Sec. 5.  If a majority of votes cast are in favor of the constitutional amendments set out in Sections 1 and 2 of this act, then the State Board of Elections shall certify the amendments set out in Sections 1 and 2 of this act to the Secretary of State who shall enroll the amendment so certified among the permanent records of his office.  The constitutional amendments proposed by Sections 1 and 2 of this act become effective for terms of office beginning January 1, 1993, and shall also apply to the 1992 elections.
Sec. 6. This act is effective upon ratification.