A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require the board of elections to notify each candidate before the ballot is printed how that candidate's name will appear on the ballot.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑165.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑165.5.  Contents of official ballots.
Each official ballot shall contain all the following elements:
(1)	The heading prescribed by the State Board of Elections. The heading shall include the term "Official Ballot".
(2)	The title of each office to be voted on and the number of seats to be filled in each ballot item.
(3)	The names of the candidates as they appear on their notice of candidacy filed pursuant to G.S. 163‑106 or G.S. 163‑323, or on petition forms filed in accordance with G.S. 163‑122. No title, appendage, or appellation indicating rank, status, or position shall be printed on the official ballot in connection with the candidate's name. Candidates, however, may use the title Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms. Nicknames shall be permitted on an official ballot if used in the notice of candidacy or qualifying petition, but the nickname shall appear according to standards adopted by the State Board of Elections. Those standards shall allow the presentation of legitimate nicknames in ways that do not mislead the voter or unduly advertise the candidacy. In the case of candidates for presidential elector, the official ballot shall not contain the names of the candidates for elector but instead shall contain the nominees for President and Vice President which the candidates for elector represent. Before any ballot is printed, programmed, or otherwise prepared to be used for voting, every candidate on the ballot shall be notified how that candidate's name shall appear on the ballot. The State Board of Elections shall adopt procedures to administer the process. 
(4)	Party designations in partisan ballot items.
(5)	A means by which the voter may cast write‑in votes, as provided in G.S. 163‑123.
(6)	Instructions to voters, unless the State Board of Elections allows instructions to be placed elsewhere than on the official ballot.
(7)	The printed title and facsimile signature of the chair of the county board of elections."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.