A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for prompt release of election results after the close of the polls on election day.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163-182.2(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules for the initial counting of official ballots. All election officials shall be governed by those rules. In promulgating those rules, the State Board shall adhere to the following guidelines:
 (1)	For each voting system used, the rules shall specify the role of precinct officials and of the county board of elections in the initial counting of official ballots.
(2)	The rules shall provide for accurate unofficial reporting of the results from the precinct to the county board of elections with reasonable speed on the night of the election.
(3)	The rules shall provide for the prompt and secure transmission of official ballots from the voting place to the county board of elections.
(4)	The rules shall provide for the public release of unofficial election results promptly after the closing of all polls. The rules shall provide for release of partial results as soon as they are available after the polls are closed rather than holding back available results until all results are in.
The State Board shall direct the county boards of elections in the application of the principles and rules in individual circumstances."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to all primaries and elections held on or after that date.