GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1995

S	1 

SENATE BILL 683

Short Title:  Judicial Elections.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senator Ballance.

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Referred to:  Judiciary II/Election Laws

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April 13, 1995

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES BY JUDICIAL DISTRICT, AND TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DISTRICT COURT DISTRICTS, SO AS TO INCREASE COMPLIANCE WITH SECTIONS 2 AND 5 OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965 AND TO ENABLE SETTLEMENT OF LITIGATION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  The State of North Carolina has been engaged in extensive litigation concerning election of superior court judges, there is potential litigation concerning election of district court judges, and the State of North Carolina has been unable to receive preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for legislation to add additional district court judges.  This act is designed to eliminate and avoid these problems, and to settle existing litigation.
Sec. 2.  Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 7A-41.2.  Nomination and election of regular superior court judges.
Candidates for the office of regular superior court judge shall be both nominated and elected by the qualified voters of the superior court district  for which the election is sought."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 163-1 is amended in the table by deleting the word "State" in the column entitled "Jurisdiction" under the entry for "Judges of the superior courts", and substituting "Superior Court District".
Sec. 4.  G.S. 163-140(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Kinds of General Election Ballots; Right to Combine. – For purposes of general elections, there shall be seven kinds of official ballots entitled:
(1)	Ballot for presidential electors
(2)	Ballot for United States Senator
(3)	Ballot for member of the United States House of Representatives
(4)	State ballot
(5)	County ballot
(6)	Repealed by Session Laws 1973, c. 793, s. 56.
(7)	Ballot for constitutional amendments and other propositions submitted to the people.
Use of official ballots shall be limited to the purposes indicated by their titles. The printing on all ballots shall be plain and legible but, unless large type is specified by this section, type larger than 10-point shall not be used in printing ballots. All general election ballots shall be prepared in such a way as to leave sufficient blank space beneath each name printed thereon in which a voter may conveniently write the name of any person for whom he may desire to vote.
Unless prohibited by this section, the board of elections, State or county, charged by law with printing ballots may, in its discretion, combine any two or more official ballots. Whenever two or more ballots are combined, the voting instructions for the State ballot set out in subsection (b)(4) of this section shall be used, except that if the two ballots being combined do not contain a multi-seat race, then the second sentence of instruction b. shall not appear on the ballot.
Contests in the general election for seats in the State House of Representatives and State Senate shall be on ballots that are separate from ballots containing non-legislative contests, except where the voting system used makes separation of ballots impractical. State House and State Senate contests shall be on the same ballot, unless one is a single-seat contest and the other a multi-seat contest.
All candidates for superior court shall appear on the same ballot except that the appropriate board of elections may divide the election of superior court judges into two ballots to provide a separate ballot for multi-seat races but only superior court judges shall be on those ballots, and all candidates for the Appellate Division shall appear on the same ballot."
Sec. 5.  G.S. 163-140(b)(4) reads as rewritten:
"(4)	State Ballot: Beneath the title and general instructions set out in this subsection, the ballot for single-seat contests for State officers, and for all State officers where mechanical voting machines are used shall be divided into parallel columns separated by distinct black lines. The State Board of Elections shall assign a separate column to each political party having candidates for State offices and one to unaffiliated candidates, if any. At the head of each party column the party's name shall be printed in large type, and at the head of the column for unaffiliated candidates shall be printed in large type the words 'Unaffiliated Candidates.' Below the party name in each column shall be printed a circle, one-half inch in diameter, around which shall be plainly printed the following instruction: 'For a straight ticket, mark within this circle.' With distinct black lines, the State Board of Elections shall divide the columns into horizontal sections and, in the customary order of office, assign a separate section to each office or group of offices to be filled. On a single line at the top of each section shall be printed a direction as to the number of candidates for whom a vote may be cast. If candidates are to be chosen for different terms to the same office, the term in each instance shall be printed as part of the title of the office.
		The name or names of each political party's candidate or candidates for each office listed on the ballot shall be printed in the appropriate office section of the proper party column, and the names of unaffiliated candidates shall be printed in the appropriate office section of the column headed 'Unaffiliated Candidates.' At the left of each name shall be printed a voting square, and in each column all voting squares shall be arranged in a perpendicular line.
		On the face of the ballot, above the party and unaffiliated column division, the following instructions shall be printed in heavy black type, and the words 'you must also' in instruction c. shall be underlined:
'a.	To vote for all candidates of one party (a straight ticket), make a cross (X) mark in the circle of the party for whose candidates you wish to vote.
b.	You may vote a split ticket by not marking a cross (X) mark in the party circle, but by making a cross (X) mark in the square opposite the name of each candidate for whom you wish to vote.
c.	You may also vote a split ticket by marking a cross (X) mark in the party circle and then making a cross (X) mark in the square opposite the name of any candidate you choose of a different party. In any multi-seat race where a party circle is marked and you vote for candidates of another party, you must also make a cross (X) mark opposite the name of any candidate you choose of the party for which you marked the party circle to assure your vote will count.
d.	If you tear or deface or wrongly mark this ballot, return it and get another.'
		On the bottom of the ballot shall be printed an identified facsimile of the signature of the Chairman of the State Board of Elections. If the State ballot contains no multi-seat race, then the second sentence of instruction b. shall not appear on the ballot."
Sec. 6.  G.S. 163-140(b)(5) reads as rewritten:
"(5)	County Ballot: Beneath the title and general instructions set out in this subsection, the ballot for single-seat contests for county officers (including district attorney for the prosecutorial district in which the county is situated, district judge for the district court district in which the county is situated, regular resident superior court judge for the superior court district in which the county or part thereof is situated, and members of the General Assembly in the senatorial and representative districts in which the county is situated), and for all county offices where mechanical voting machines are used, shall be divided into parallel columns separated by distinct black lines. The county board of elections shall assign a separate column to each political party having candidates for the offices on the ballot and one to unaffiliated candidates, if any. At the head of each party column the party's name shall be printed in large type and at the head of the column for unaffiliated candidates shall be printed in large type the words 'Unaffiliated Candidates.' Below the party name in each column shall be printed a circle, one-half inch in diameter, around which shall be plainly printed the following instruction: 'For a straight ticket, mark within this circle.' With distinct black lines, the county board of elections shall divide the columns into horizontal sections and, in the customary order of office, assign a separate section to each office or group of offices to be filled. On a single line at the top of each section shall be printed the title of the office, and directly below the title shall be printed a direction as to the number of candidates for whom a vote may be cast. If candidates are to be chosen for different terms to the same office, the term in each instance shall be printed as part of the title of the office.
		The name or names of each political party's candidate or candidates for each office listed on the ballot shall be printed in the appropriate office section of the proper party column, and the names of unaffiliated candidates shall be printed in the appropriate office section of the column headed 'Unaffiliated Candidates.' At the left of each name shall be printed a voting square, and in each column all voting squares shall be arranged in a perpendicular line.
		On the face of the ballot, above the party and unaffiliated column division, the following instructions shall be printed in heavy black type, and the words 'you must also' in instruction c. shall be underlined:
'a.	To vote for all candidates of one party (a straight ticket), make a cross (X) mark in the circle of the party for whose candidates you wish to vote.
b.	You may vote a split ticket by not marking a cross (X) mark in the party circle, but by making a cross (X) mark in the square opposite the name of each candidate for whom you wish to vote.
c.	You may also vote a split ticket by marking a cross (X) mark in the party circle and then making a cross (X) mark in the square opposite the name of any candidate you choose of a different party. In any multi-seat race where a party circle is marked and you vote for candidates of another party, you must also make a cross (X) mark opposite the name of any candidate you choose of the party for which you marked the party circle to assure your vote will count.
d.	If you tear or deface or wrongly mark this ballot, return it and get another.'
		On the bottom of the ballot shall be printed an identified facsimile of the signature of the chairman of the county board of elections. If the county ballot contains no multi-seat race, then the second sentence of instruction b. shall not appear on the ballot."
Sec. 7.  G.S. 163-192 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-192. State Board of Elections to prepare abstracts and declare results of primaries and elections.
(a)	After Primary. – At the conclusion of its canvass of the primary election, the State Board of Elections shall prepare separate abstracts of the votes cast:
(1)	For Governor and all State officers, justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeals, and United States Senators.
(2)	For members of the United States House of Representatives for the several congressional districts in the State.
(3)	For district court judges for the several district court districts in the State.
(3a)	For superior court judges for the several superior court districts in the State.
(4)	For district attorney in the several prosecutorial districts in the State.
(5)	For State Senators in the several senatorial districts in the State composed of more than one county.
(6)	For members of the State House of Representatives in the several representative districts in the State composed of more than one county.
Abstracts prepared by the State Board of Elections under this subsection shall state the total number of votes cast for each candidate of each political party for each of the various offices canvassed by the State Board of Elections. They shall also state the name or names of the person or persons whom the State Board of Elections shall ascertain and judicially determine by the count to be nominated for each office.
Abstracts prepared under this subsection shall be signed by the members of the State Board of Elections in their official capacity and shall have the great seal of the State affixed thereto.
(b)	After General Election. – At the conclusion of its canvass of the general election, the State Board of Elections shall prepare abstracts of the votes cast:
(1)	For President and Vice-President of the United States, when an election is held for those offices.
(2)	For Governor and all State officers, justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeals, and United States Senators.
(3)	For members of the United States House of Representatives for the several congressional districts in the State.
(4)	For district court judges for the several district court districts as defined in G.S. 7A-133 in the State.
(4a)	For superior court judges for the several superior court districts in the State.
(5)	For district attorney in the several prosecutorial districts in the State.
(6)	For State Senators in the several senatorial districts in the State composed of more than one county.
(7)	For members of the State House of Representatives in the several representative districts in the State composed of more than one county.
(8)	For and against any constitutional amendments or propositions submitted to the people.
Abstracts prepared by the State Board of Elections under this subsection shall state the names of all persons voted for, the office for which each received votes, and the number of legal ballots cast for each candidate for each office canvassed by the State Board of Elections. They shall also state the name or names of the person or persons whom the State Board of Elections shall ascertain and judicially determine by the count to be elected to each office.
Abstracts prepared under this subsection shall be signed by the members of the State Board of Elections in their official capacity and shall have the great seal of the State affixed thereto.
(c)	Disposition of Abstracts of Returns. – The State Board of Elections shall file with the Secretary of State the original abstracts of returns prepared by it under the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section, and also the duplicate county abstracts transmitted to the State Board of Elections under the provisions of G.S. 163-177.  Upon the request of the Legislative Services Office, the Secretary of State shall submit a copy of the original abstracts to that Office."
Sec. 8.  Article 18 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 7A-200.  District and set of districts defined; senior chief district court judges and their authority.
(a)	In this section:
(1)	'District' means any district court district established by G.S. 7A-133 which consists exclusively of one or more entire counties;
(2)	'Set of districts' means any set of two or more district court districts established under G.S. 7A-133, none of which consists exclusively of one or more entire counties, but both or all of which include territory from the same county or counties and together comprise all of the territory of that county or those counties; and
(3)	'Chief district court judge' means in the case of a set of districts, the senior chief district court judge for those districts, designated by the chief justice from among the chief district court judges for the districts in the set of districts.
(b)	Whenever by law a duty is imposed upon the chief district court judge, it means for a set of districts the senior chief district court judge designated under subsection (a)(3) of this section."
Sec. 9.  Article 14 of Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 7A-149.  Jurisdiction; sessions.
(a)	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, district court judge of a district court district which is in a set of districts as defined by G.S. 7A-200 has jurisdiction in the entire county or counties in which the district is located to the same extent as if the district encompassed the entire county, and has jurisdiction in the entire set of districts to the same extent as if the district encompassed the entire set of districts.
(b)	All sessions of district court shall be for an entire county, whether that county comprises or is located in a district or in a set of districts as defined in G.S. 7A-200, and at each session all matters and proceedings arising anywhere in the county may be heard.
(c)	All clerks of court for a county have jurisdiction over the entire county, notwithstanding that the county may be part of a set of districts."
Sec. 10.  G.S. 7A-133 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-133.  Numbers of judges by districts; numbers of magistrates and additional seats of court, by counties.
(a)	Each district court district shall have the numbers of judges as set forth in the following table:
			District	Judges	County		 

	1	3	Camden		
	Chowan		
Currituck		 
Dare		 
Gates		 
Pasquotank		 
Perquimans		 
2	3	Martin		 
Beaufort		 
Tyrrell		 
Hyde		 
Washington		 
3A	3	Pitt			 
3B	4	Craven 			 
Pamlico		
Carteret		 
4	6	Sampson		 
Duplin		 
Jones		 
Onslow		 
5	6	New Hanover		 
Pender		 
6A	2	Halifax			
6B	3	Northampton		 
Bertie		 
Hertford		 
7 A	2	Nash			
	7B	2	(part of			 
Edgecombe
see subsection (b))
(part of Wilson
see subsection (b))
7C	2	part of Wilson		 
see subsection (b))
part of Edgecombe
see subsection (b))
8	5	Wayne			 
Greene		 
Lenoir			 
9	4	Granville		 
(part of Vance		 
see subsection (b))
		Franklin		 
9A	2	Person		 
Caswell		 
9B	1	Warren
(part of Vance
see subsection (b))
10 A	2	(part of Wake			
see subsection (b))           	
10B	4	(part of Wake
see subsection (b))
10C	3	(part of Wake
see subsection (b))
10D	3	(part of Wake
see subsection (b))
11	6	Harnett			 
Johnston			
	Lee		 
12 A	2	(part of		 
Cumberland see
subsection (b))
12B	2	(part of Cumberland
see subsection (b))
12C	3	(part of Cumberland
see subsection (b))
13	4	Bladen		 
Brunswick		 
Columbus			
	14 A	2	(part of Durham		 
see subsection (b))
14B	3	(part of Durham
see subsection (b))
15A	3	Alamance			 
15B	3	Orange			 
Chatham			 
16A	2	Scotland		 
Hoke		 
16B	5	Robeson			
	17A	2	Rockingham			
17B	3	Stokes		 
Surry			 
18 A	2	(part of Guilford			 
see subsection (b))
18B	9	(part of Guilford
see subsection (b)
19A	3	Cabarrus			 
19B	3	Montgomery		 
Randolph			 
19C	3	Rowan		 
20	6	Stanly		 
Union		 
Anson		 
Richmond			 
Moore			
21 A	2	(part of Forsyth			 
see subsection (b)
21B	2	(part of Forsyth
see subsection (b)
21C	2	(part of Forsyth
see subsection (b)
21D	1	(part of Forsyth
see subsection (b)
22	7	Alexander		 
Davidson			 
Davie		 
Iredell			 
23	3	Alleghany		 
Ashe		 
Wilkes		 
Yadkin		 
24	3	Avery		 
Madison		 
Mitchell		 
Watauga		 
Yancey		 
25	7	Burke		 
Caldwell		 
Catawba			 
26 A	4	(part of			
Mecklenburg
see subsection (b)
26B	5	(part of Mecklenburg
see subsection (b)
26C	5	(part of Mecklenburg
see subsection (b)
27A	5	Gaston		 
27B	4	Cleveland		 
Lincoln		 
28	5	Buncombe		 
29	4	Henderson		 
McDowell		 
Polk		 
Rutherford		 
Transylvania		 
30	4	Cherokee		 
Clay		 
Graham		 
Haywood			 
Jackson		 
Macon		 
Swain		.
(b)	For district court districts of less than a whole county, or with part or all of one county with part of another, the composition of the district is as follows:
(1)	District Court District 7B is the same as Superior Court District 7B.
(2)	District Court District 7C is the same as Superior Court District 7C.
(3)	District Court District 7B is the same as Superior Court District 7B.
(4)	District Court District 9 consists of Franklin and Granville Counties and the remainder of Vance County not in District Court District 9B.
(5)	District Court District 9B consists of Warren County and Middleburg, Townsville and Williamsboro Precincts of Vance County.
(6)	District Court District 10A is the same as Superior Court District 10A.
(7)	District Court District 10B is the same as Superior Court District 10B.
(8)	District Court District 10C is the same as Superior Court District 10C.
(9)	District Court District 10D is the same as Superior Court District 10D.
(10)	District Court District 12A is the same as Superior Court District 12A.
(11)	District Court District 12B is the same as Superior Court District 12B.
(12)	District Court District 12C is the same as Superior Court District 12C.
(13)	District Court District 14A is the same as Superior Court District 14A.
(14)	District Court District 14B is the same as Superior Court District 14B.
(15)	District Court District 18A is the same as Superior Court District 18A.
(16)	District Court District 18B is remainder of Guilford County not in District Court District 18A.
(17)	District Court District 21A is the same as Superior Court District 21B.
(18)	District Court District 21B is the same as Superior Court District 21B.
(19)	District Court District 21C is the same as Superior Court District 21C.
(20)	District Court District 21D is the same as Superior Court District 21D.
(21)	District Court District 26A is the same as Superior Court District 26A.
(22)	District Court District 26B is the same as Superior Court District 26B.
(23)	District Court District 26C is the same as Superior Court District 26C.
Precinct boundaries as used in this section for Vance County are those shown on maps on file with the Legislative Services Office on May 1, 1991, and for other counties are those reported by the United States Bureau of the Census under Public Law 94-171 for the 1990 Census in the IVTD Version of the TIGER files.
(c)	Each county shall have the numbers of magistrates and additional seats of district court, as set forth in the following table:
Additional
Magistrates	Seats of
County	Min.-Max.	Court         

Camden	1	2
Chowan	2	3
Currituck	1	2
Dare	3	8
Gates	2	3
Pasquotank	3	4
Perquimans	2	3
	Martin	5	8
Beaufort	4	8
Tyrrell	1	3
Hyde	2	4
Washington	3	4
	Pitt	10	12	Farmville
Ayden
	Craven	7	10	Havelock
Pamlico	2	3
Carteret	5	8
	Sampson	6	8
Duplin	9	11
Jones	2	3
Onslow	8	14
	New Hanover	6 	11
Pender	4	6
	Halifax	9	14   	Roanoke
Rapids,
Scotland Neck
	Northampton	5	6
Bertie	4	5
Hertford	5	6
	Nash	7	10	Rocky Mount
Edgecombe	4	6	Rocky Mount
Wilson	4	6
	Wayne	5	11	Mount Olive
Greene	2	4
Lenoir	4	10	La Grange
	Granville	3	7
Vance	3	5
Warren	3	4
Franklin	3	6
	Person	3	4
Caswell	2	5
	Wake	12	20	Apex,
Wendell,
      	Fuquay-
Varina,
Wake Forest
	Harnett	7	11	Dunn
Johnston	10	12    	Benson,
	Clayton
and Selma
Lee	4	6
	Cumberland	10	17
	Bladen	4	6
Brunswick	4	7
Columbus	6	8	Tabor City
	Durham	8	12
	Alamance	7	10	Burlington
	Orange	4	11	Chapel Hill
Chatham	3	8	Siler City
	Scotland	3	5
Hoke	4	5
	Robeson	8	16	Fairmont,
Maxton,
Pembroke,
Red Springs,
Rowland,
St. Pauls
	Rockingham	4	9	Reidsville,
Eden,
Madison
	Stokes	2	5
Surry	5	8	Mt. Airy
	Guilford	20	26	High Point
	Cabarrus	5	9	Kannapolis
	Montgomery	2	4
Randolph	5	8	Liberty
	Rowan	5	10
Stanly	5	6
Union	4	6
Anson	4	5
Richmond	5	6	Hamlet
Moore	5	8	Southern
Pines
Forsyth	3	15	Kernersville
Alexander	2	3
Davidson	7	10	Thomasville
Davie	2	3
Iredell	4	9	Mooresville
Alleghany	1	2
Ashe	3	4
Wilkes	4	6
Yadkin	3	5
Avery	3	4
Madison	4	5
Mitchell	3	4
Watauga	4	6
Yancey	2	4
	Burke	4	7
Caldwell	4	7
Catawba	6	10	Hickory
	Mecklenburg	15	26
	Gaston	11	20
	Cleveland	5	8
Lincoln	4	6
	Buncombe	6	15
	Henderson	4	6
McDowell	3	5
Polk	3	4
Rutherford	6	8
Transylvania	2	4
	Cherokee	3	4
Clay	1	2
Graham	2	3
Haywood	5	7	Canton
Jackson	3	4
Macon	3	4
Swain	2	3."
Sec. 11.  (a)	The total number of judges shown for existing law for District Court Districts 12 and 18 include those authorized by Section 200.6 of Chapter 321 of the 1993 Session Laws which have not yet been approved under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
(b)	Section 10 of this act does not affect the right of any judge to finish the term of office for which elected.
Sec. 12.  (a)	G.S. 7A-142 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-142.  Vacancies in office.
A vacancy in the office of district judge shall be filled for the unexpired term by appointment of the Governor.  The Governor may appoint any resident of the district court district who is duly authorized to practice law in the district  after considering nominations submitted by the bar of the judicial district as defined in G.S. 84-19 and any nominations submitted by other interested persons or organizations.  If the district court district is comprised of counties in more than one judicial district, the nominees shall be submitted jointly by the bars of those judicial districts, but only those members who reside in the district court district shall participate in the selection of the nominees.  The district bar shall submit to the Governor the names of not fewer than three persons who are residents of the district court district who are duly authorized to practice law in the district; provided that if there are not three persons who are available, the bar shall submit the names of two persons who meet the qualifications of this sentence. If the district bar fails to submit nominations within 30 days from the date the vacancy occurs, the Governor may appoint to fill the vacancy without waiting for nominations."
(b)	This section is effective upon ratification and applies to all district court vacancies occurring on or after that date.
Sec. 13.  The provisions of this act are severable.  If any provision of this act is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity does not affect other provisions of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision.
Sec. 14.  This act is effective upon ratification.