GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

S	1 

SENATE BILL 78

Short Title:  Primary Date Changed.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Winner of Buncombe, Kaplan; Martin of Guilford and Seymour.
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Referred to:  Constitution and Election Laws.
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February 8, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CHANGE THE DATE OF THE PRIMARY TO THE FIRST TUESDAY IN SEPTEMBER.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 163-1(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	On the first Tuesday in September preceding each general election to be held in November for the officers referred to in subsection (a) of this section, there shall be held in all election precincts within the territory for which the officers are to be elected a primary election for the purpose of nominating candidates for each political party in the State for those offices."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 163-96(a)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(2)	Any group of voters which shall have filed with the State Board of Elections petitions for the formulation of a new political party which are signed by registered and qualified voters in this State equal in number to two percent (2%) of the total number of voters who voted in the most recent general election for Governor. Also the petition must be signed by at least 200 registered voters from each of four congressional districts in North Carolina. To be effective, the petitioners must file their petitions with the State Board of Elections before 12:00 noon on the first day of August preceding the day on which is to be held the first general State election in which the new political party desires to participate. The State Board of Elections shall forthwith determine the sufficiency of petitions filed with it and shall immediately communicate its determination to the State chairman of the proposed new political party."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 163-98 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-98. General election participation by new political party.
In the first general election following the date on which a new political party qualifies under the provisions of G.S. 163-96, it shall be entitled to have the names of its candidates for State, congressional, and national offices printed on the official ballots, but it shall not be entitled to have the names of candidates for other offices printed on State, district, or county ballots at that election.
For the first general election following the date on which it qualifies under G.S. 163-96, a new political party shall select its candidates by party convention. Following adjournment of the nominating convention, but not later than the first day of September prior to the general election, the president of the convention shall certify to the State Board of Elections the names of persons chosen in the convention as the new party's candidates for State, congressional, and national offices in the ensuing general election. The State Board of Elections shall print names thus certified on the appropriate ballots as the nominees of the new party."
Sec. 4. G.S. 163-106(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Time for Filing Notice of Candidacy. – Candidates seeking party primary nominations for the following offices shall file their notice of candidacy with the State Board of Elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the last Monday in June and no later than 12:00 noon on the third Monday thereafter preceding the primary:
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
All State executive officers
Justices of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Court of Appeals
Judges of the superior courts
Judges of the district courts
United States Senators
Members of the House of Representatives of the United States
District attorneys
Candidates seeking party primary nominations for the following offices shall file their notice of candidacy with the county board of elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the last Monday in June and no later than 12:00 noon on the third Monday thereafter preceding the primary:
State Senators
Members of the State House of Representatives
All county offices."
Sec. 5.  G.S. 163-111(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Date of Second Primary; Procedures. – If a second primary is required under the provisions of this section, the appropriate board of elections, State or county, shall order that it be held three weeks after the first primary.
There shall be no registration of voters between the dates of the first and second primaries. Persons whose qualifications to register and vote mature after the day of the first primary and before the day of the second primary may register on the day of the second primary and, when thus registered, shall be entitled to vote in the second primary. The second primary is a continuation of the first primary and any voter who files a proper and timely affidavit of transfer of precinct, under the provisions of G.S. 163-72(c), before the first primary may vote in the second primary without having to refile the affidavit of transfer if he is otherwise qualified to vote in the second primary. Subject to this provision for registration, the second primary shall be held under the laws, rules, and regulations provided for the first primary."
Sec. 6.  G.S. 163-114 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-114. Filling vacancies among party nominees occurring after nomination and before election.
If any person nominated as a candidate of a political party for one of the offices listed below (either in a primary or convention or by virtue of having no opposition in a primary) dies, resigns, or for any reason becomes ineligible or disqualified before the date of the ensuing general election, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment according to the following instructions:

Position                     	|	Vacancy is to be filled by
	Any elective State office    	|	  appointment of State
	United States Senator        	  executive committee of
                             	|	  political party in which
	                             	|	  vacancy occurs

A district office, including:	|
Member of the United States  	|
  House of Representatives   	|
Judge of superior court	|
Judge of district court      	| 	Appropriate district executive
District Attorney            	|	  committee of political party
State Senator in a multi-    	| 	  in which vacancy occurs
  county senatorial district 	|
Member of State House of     	|
  Representatives in a multi-	|
  county representative      	|
  district                   	|

State Senator in a single-   	| 	County executive committee
  county senatorial district 	| 	  of political party in which
Member of State House of     	|	  vacancy occurs, provided, in
  Representatives in a       	|	  the case of the State
  single-county              	|	  Senator or State
  representative district    	|	  Representative in a
Any elective county office   	| 	 single-county district where
	  	 not all the county is
	  	 located in that district,
  	 then in voting, only those
  	 members of the county
  	 executive committee who
	  	 reside within the
  	 district shall vote

Judge of Superior Court in a	|	County executive committee
  single-county superior    	|	  of political party in
  court district where the 	|	  which vacancy occurs;
  district is the whole  	|	  provided, in the case of
  county or part of the 	  a superior court judge in a
  county	  single-county district where
	  not all the county is
	  located in that district,
	  then in voting, only those
  	  members of the county
  	  executive committee who
	  reside within the
  district shall vote

Judge of Superior Court in a	|	Appropriate district
  multi-county superior   	|	  executive committee of
  court district             	|	  political party in which
	  vacancy occurs.
The party executive making a nomination in accordance with the provisions of this section shall certify the name of its nominee to the chairman of the board of elections, State or county, charged with the duty of printing the ballots on which the name is to appear. If at the time a nomination is made under this section the general election ballots have already been printed, the provisions of G.S. 163-139 shall apply. 
In a county which is partly in a multi-county superior court district, in choosing that county's member or members of the superior court district executive committee for the multi-county district, only the county convention delegates or county executive committee members who reside within the area of the county which is within that multi-county district may vote.
In a county not all of which is located in one congressional district, in choosing the congressional district executive committee member or members from that area of the county, only the county convention delegates or county executive committee members who reside within the area of the county which is within the congressional district may vote.
In a county which is partly in a multi-county senatorial district or which is partly in a multi-county House of Representatives district, in choosing that county's member or members of the senatorial district executive committee or House of Representatives district executive committee for the multi-county district, only the county convention delegates or county executive committee members who reside within the area of the county which is within that multi-county district may vote."
Sec. 7.  G.S. 163-122(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Procedure for Having Name Printed on Ballot as Unaffiliated Candidate. – Any qualified voter who seeks to have his name printed on the general election ballot as an unaffiliated candidate shall:
(1)	If the office is a statewide office, file written petitions with the State Board of Elections supporting his candidacy for a specified office.  These petitions must be filed with the State Board of Elections on or before 12:00 noon on the last Friday in August preceding the general election and must be signed by qualified voters of the State equal in number to two percent (2%) of the total number of registered voters in the State as reflected by the most recent statistical report issued by the State Board of Elections.  Each petition shall be presented to the chairman of the board of elections of the county in which the signatures were obtained.  The chairman shall examine the names on the petition and place a check mark on the petition by the name of each signer who is qualified and registered to vote in his county and shall attach to the petition his signed certificate.  Said certificates shall state that the signatures on the petition have been checked against the registration records and shall indicate the number of signers to be qualified and registered to vote in his county.  The chairman shall return each petition, together with the certificate required in this section, to the person who presented it to him for checking.  Verification by the chairman of the county board of elections shall be completed within two weeks from the date such petitions are presented and a fee of five cents (5¢) for each name appearing on the petition has been received.
(2)	If the office is a district office comprised of two or more counties, file written petitions with the State Board of Elections supporting his candidacy for a specified office.  These petitions must be filed with the State Board of Elections on or before 12:00 noon on the last Friday in August preceding the general election and must be signed by qualified voters of the district equal in number to four percent (4%) of the total number of registered voters in the district as reflected by the latest statistical report issued by the State Board of Elections.  Each petition shall be presented to the chairman of the board of elections of the county in which the signatures were obtained.  The chairman shall examine the names on the petition and the procedure for certification shall be the same as specified in (1) above.
(3)	If the office is a county office or a single county legislative district, file written petitions with the chairman or supervisor of the county board of elections supporting his candidacy for a specified county office.  These petitions must be filed with the county board of elections on or before 12:00 noon on the last Friday in August preceding the general election and must be signed by qualified voters of the county equal in number to four percent (4%) of the total number of registered voters in the county as reflected by the most recent statistical report issued by the State Board of Elections, except if the office is for a district consisting of less than the entire county and only the voters in that district vote for that office, the petitions must be signed by qualified voters of the district equal in number to four percent (4%) of the total number of voters in the district according to the most recent figures certified by the State Board of Elections.  Each petition shall be presented to the chairman or supervisor of the county board of elections.  The chairman shall examine, or cause to be examined, the names on the petition and the procedure for certification shall be the same as specified in (1) above.
(4)	If the office is a partisan municipal office, file written petitions with the chairman or supervisor of the county board of elections in the county wherein the municipality is located supporting his candidacy for a specified municipal office.  These petitions must be filed with the county board of elections on or before the time and date specified in G.S. 163-296 and must be signed by the number of qualified voters specified in G.S. 163-296.  The procedure for certification shall be the same as specified in (1) above.
Upon compliance with the provisions of (1), (2), (3), or (4) of this subsection, the board of elections with which the petitions and affidavit have been timely filed shall cause the unaffiliated candidate's name to be printed on the general election ballots in accordance with G.S. 163-140.
An individual whose name appeared on the ballot in a primary election preliminary to the general election shall not be eligible to have his name placed on the general election ballot as an unaffiliated candidate for the same office in that year."
Sec. 8.  G.S. 163-22(k) reads as rewritten:
"(k)	Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Articles 13, 20, or 21 of Chapter 163 the State Board of Elections shall be authorized, by one or more resolutions adopted prior the first day of the election year, to reduce the time by which ballots and absentee ballots are required to be printed and distributed for the primary and general election, and the dates on which county boards of elections are to meet to approve absentee ballot applications from the dates provided by law to a lesser number of days which will be the maximum amount of time that is administratively feasible given the date of the primary being on the first Tuesday in September. In such resolution, the State Board of Elections may also provide special forms of absentee ballots which may be required for federal office under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 YSC 1973ff-1 et. seq.) which may be required because of the primary date."
Sec. 9.  This act is effective upon ratification.