A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to abolish the second primary.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑111 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑111.  Determination of primary results.
																
(g)	Nominations in primary elections shall be determined as follows:
(1)	When more than one person is seeking election to a single office, the candidate who receives the highest number of votes shall be declared the nominee.
(2)	When more persons are seeking nomination to two or more offices (constituting a group) than there are offices to be filled, those candidates receiving the highest numbers of votes, equal in number to the number of offices to be filled, shall be declared the nominees.
(h)	When more than one person is seeking election to a single office, and two or more candidates receiving the highest numbers of votes each receive the same number of votes, the proper party executive committee shall, from among those candidates receiving the same numbers of votes, select the party nominee in accordance with G.S. 163‑114.
(i)	When more persons are seeking nomination to two or more offices (constituting a group) than there are offices to be filled, and two or more candidates receiving the lowest numbers of votes necessary for nomination each receive the same number of votes, the proper party executive committee shall, from among those candidates receiving the same numbers of votes, select the party nominee in accordance with G.S. 163‑114.
(j)	This section prevails over any local act."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑82.6(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	Instances When Person May Register and Vote on Election Day. – If a person has become qualified to register and vote between the twenty‑fifth day before an election and election day, then that person may apply to register on election day by submitting an application form described in G.S. 163‑82.3(a) or (b) to:
(1)	A member of the county board of elections;
(2)	The county director of elections; or
(3)	The chief judge or a judge of the precinct in which the person is eligible to vote,
and, if the application is approved, that person may vote the same day. The official in subdivisions (1) through (3) of this subsection to whom the application is submitted shall decide whether the applicant is eligible to vote. The applicant shall present to the official written or documentary evidence that the applicant is the person he represents himself to be. The official, if in doubt as to the right of the applicant to register, may require other evidence satisfactory to that official as to the applicant's qualifications. If the official determines that the person is eligible, the person shall be permitted to vote in the election and the county board shall add the person's name to the list of registered voters. If the official denies the application, the person shall be permitted to vote a challenged ballot under the provisions of G.S. 163‑88.1, and may appeal the denial to the full county board of elections. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules for the county boards of elections to follow in hearing appeals for denial of election day applications to register. "
SECTION 3.  G.S. 163‑82.17(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Registrant's Duty to Report. – Any registrant who desires to have the record of his party affiliation or unaffiliated status changed on the registration list shall, no later than the last day for making application to register under G.S. 163‑82.6 before the election, indicate the change on an application form as described in G.S. 163‑82.3 or on a voter registration card described in G.S. 163‑82.8. No registrant shall be permitted to change party affiliation or unaffiliated status for a  primary or special or general election after the deadline for registration applications for that election as set out in G.S. 163‑82.6."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 163‑226(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	The Term "Election". – As used in this Subchapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the term "election" includes a general, primary, runoff election, bond election, referendum, or special election."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 163‑227.1 is repealed.
SECTION 6.  G.S. 163‑255 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑255.  Absentee voting at office of board of elections.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes, any person eligible to vote an absentee ballot pursuant to G.S. 163‑245 shall be permitted to vote an absentee ballot pursuant to G.S. 163‑227.2 if the person has not already voted an absentee ballot which has been returned to the board of elections, and if he will not be in the county on the day of the primary or election.
In the event an absentee application or ballot has already been mailed to such person applying to vote pursuant to G.S. 163‑227.2, the board of elections shall void the application and ballot unless the voted absentee ballot has been received by the board of elections. Such person shall be eligible to vote pursuant to G.S. 163‑227.2 no later than 5:00 P.M. on the day next preceding the primary or election."
SECTION 7. G.S. 163‑227.3(b) is repealed.
SECTION 8.  G.S. 163‑278.6(8) reads as rewritten:
"(8)	The term 'election' means any general or special election, a primary, a run‑off election, or an election to fill a vacancy. The term 'election' shall not include any local or statewide referendum."
SECTION 9.  G.S. 163‑278.13(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	For the purposes of this section, the term 'an election' means any  primary or general election in which the candidate or political committee may be involved, without regard to whether the candidate is opposed or unopposed in the  election."
SECTION 10.  G.S. 163‑278.13B(d) is repealed.
SECTION 11.  G.S. 163‑278.40B(2)  reads as rewritten:
"(2)	Pre‑election Report. – The treasurer shall file a report 10 days prior to the  election."
SECTION 12.  G.S. 163‑279(a)(2) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Primaries and elections for offices filled by election of the people in cities, towns, incorporated villages, and special districts shall be held in 2005 and every two or four years thereafter as provided by municipal charter on the following days:
(1)	If the election is nonpartisan and decided by simple plurality, the election shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
(2)	If the election is partisan, the election shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November and the primary shall be held on the fourth Tuesday before the election.
(3)	If the election is nonpartisan and the nonpartisan primary method of election is used, the election shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November and the nonpartisan primary shall be held on the fourth Tuesday before the election.
(4)	If the election is nonpartisan and the election and runoff election method of election is used, the election shall be held on the fourth Tuesday before the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, and the runoff election, if required, shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November."
SECTION 13.  G.S. 163‑291 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑291.  Partisan primaries and elections.
The nomination of candidates for office in cities, towns, villages, and special districts whose elections are conducted on a partisan basis shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter applicable to the nomination of county officers, and the terms "county board of elections," "chairman of the county board of elections," "county officers," and similar terms shall be construed with respect to municipal elections to mean the appropriate municipal officers and candidates, except that:
(1)	The dates of primary and election shall be as provided in G.S. 163‑279.
(2)	A candidate seeking party nomination for municipal or district office shall file his notice of candidacy with the board of elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Friday in July and no later than 12:00 noon on the first Friday in August preceding the election, except:
a.	In 2001 a candidate seeking party nomination for municipal or district office in any city which elects members of its governing board on a district basis, or requires that candidates reside in a district in order to run, shall file his notice of candidacy with the board of elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the fourth Monday in July and no later than 12:00 noon on the second Friday in August preceding the election; and
b.	In 2002 if the election is held then under G.S. 160A‑23.1, a candidate seeking party nomination for municipal or district office shall file his notice of candidacy with the board of elections at the same time as notices of candidacy for county officers are required to be filed under G.S. 163‑106.
		No person may file a notice of candidacy for more than one municipal office at the same election. If a person has filed a notice of candidacy for one office with the county board of elections under this section, then a notice of candidacy may not later be filed for any other municipal office for that election unless the notice of candidacy for the first office is withdrawn first.
(3)	The filing fee for municipal and district primaries shall be fixed by the governing board not later than the day before candidates are permitted to begin filing notices of candidacy. There shall be a minimum filing fee of five dollars ($5.00). The governing board shall have the authority to set the filing fee at not less than five dollars ($5.00) nor more than one percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought unless one percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought is less than five dollars ($5.00), in which case the minimum filing fee of five dollars ($5.00) will be charged. The fee shall be paid to the board of elections at the time notice of candidacy is filed.
(4)	The municipal ballot may not be combined with any other ballot.
(5)	The canvass of the primary shall be held on the seventh day following the primary. In accepting the filing of complaints concerning the conduct of an election, a board of elections shall be subject to the rules concerning Sundays and holidays set forth in G.S. 103‑5.
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SECTION 14.  G.S. 115C‑37 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(j)	The election of any county board of education held at the time of the primary, whether under this section, a local act, or any merger plan adopted under Article 7 of this Chapter, shall be determined by a plurality under G.S. 163‑292. No runoff election shall be held."
SECTION 15.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to all elections held on or after that date.