GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 525

Short Title:  Party Alignment Rotated.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Representatives Morris; Arnold, Barbee, Berry, Cansler, Capps, Carpenter, Clary, Creech, Davis, Eddins, Gulley, Hall, Hardy, Ives, Kiser, McComas, McMahan, Mitchell, Neely, Nichols, Rayfield, Reynolds, Sexton, Starnes, and Wood.

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Referred to:  Election Law and Campaign Reform.

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March 17, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ROTATE PARTY ALIGNMENT ON THE BALLOT.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 163-140.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163-140.1.  Political party alignment on ballots.
All ballots printed for use in general elections in the State, district, county or any other political subdivision, shall be aligned with the number of political party columns required pursuant to instructions contained in G.S. 163-140(b)	and the columns shall be assigned in order, beginning with the left column, to the political parties entitled to ballot position provided such political parties reflect at least five percent (5%) of the total statewide voter registration, according to the latest statistical report published by the State Board of Elections so that such parties rotate order each two years, and if there are more than two eligible parties, then the order among those parties shall be determined by lot, with no party being eligible for the left column for two years after it has had that column.  Political parties having less than five percent (5%) of the total statewide voter registration, but otherwise eligible for ballot position shall be assigned column alignment to the right of all other qualified political parties.  The State Board of Elections shall be responsible for implementing the procedures required by this section and shall issue instructions to those counties using voting machines so as to accomplish the effect of this section whether such counties utilize voting machines that list party columns in a horizontal or vertical alignment.  Every county board of elections shall follow the column alignment prescribed by the State Board of Elections."
Section 2.  This act becomes effective January 1, 1998.  Rotation as required by this act begins in 1998, with the party that had the second to the left column in 1996 and 1997 having the left column in 1998 and 1999.