GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

S	2 

SENATE BILL 232
Constitution Committee Substitute Adopted 4/11/91

Short Title:  Election Cycle.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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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. 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."
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 a statewide general election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November of 1991, 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, Lieutenant Governor, and other members of the Council of State in nonpresidential even-numbered years beginning in 1998.
[]	AGAINST constitutional amendments to elect the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and other members of the Council of State 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 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 amendments 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. The table in G.S. 163-1 is amended for the offices of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Labor, and Commissioner of Insurance by rewriting the entries under the column "DATE OF ELECTION”to read "Tuesday next after the first Monday in November 1992, and Tuesday next after the first Monday in November 1998, and every four years thereafter”and by adding at the end of the column "TERM OF OFFICE”the phrase "except six years, from first day of January next after the 1992 election".
Sec. 7.  Section 6 of this act becomes effective beginning with the 1992 election, but only becomes effective if the constitutional amendments proposed by Sections 1 and 2 of this act are approved by the voters.
Sec. 8. This act is effective upon ratification.