A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to change the election year for the city of winston‑salem and THE ELECTION METHOD for the winston‑salem/forsyth county board of education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 163‑279(b), which is applicable only to the City of Winston‑Salem, is repealed.
SECTION 1.(b)  Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Section 12A of Chapter 232 of the Private Laws of 1927, as amended by Chapter 53, Session Laws of 1965, read as rewritten:
"1. Election of Mayor The time for election of mayor shall be as provided in Section 12J. The mayor shall be a resident of the City of Winston‑Salem. All persons voting for mayor shall cast their ballot in the respective wards in which said voters reside, and the person receiving the highest number of the aggregate of the votes of all the wards for the office of mayor shall be declared elected.  Except as provided in Section 12J, the mayor shall serve for terms of four years commencing on the first Monday in December following the election.
2. Election of City Council. The time for election of city council members shall be as provided in Section 12J. There shall be elected eight council members for the City of Winston‑Salem, who shall hold their office until their successors are qualified, of whom one shall be elected from North Ward, one from Northeast Ward, one from East Ward, One from Southeast Ward, one from South Ward, one from Southeast Ward, one from West Ward, and one from Northwest Ward. Each council member shall be a resident of the ward in which elected, and shall be elected by the qualified voters of the council member's ward only. Except as provided in Section 12J, city council members shall serve for terms of four years commencing on the first Monday on December following the election."
SECTION 1.(c)  Section 12B of Chapter 232 of the Private Laws of 1927, as amended by Chapter 13, Session Laws of 1965, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 12B. Primary elections.
1. Generally. Primary elections to nominate candidates of each qualified political party for mayor and for members of the city council shall be held as needed and shall be conducted in the same manner and pursuant to the same statutes, rules, and regulations as other primary elections for local offices conducted under the provisions of Article 23 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, except that to the extent such statutes, rules , and regulations differ from or conflict with the provisions of the Charter of the City of Winston‑Salem, the latter shall control. A "qualified political party" shall be one which was qualified as a political party at the preceding gubernatorial election as defined by General Statute 163‑96. The persons receiving the highest number of votes of their respective parties shall be deemed to be the nominees of their said respective parties and for said offices; provided, that no one shall participate in such election except duly qualified voters who affiliate with the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote. In the event of a tie vote between two or more candidates, all of whom received the same highest vote for party nomination, the city executive committee or other duly constituted administrative body of the political party of said candidates shall determine which shall be the nominee.
2. Time of holding. The time for holding primaries shall be as provided in Section 12J.3. Notice of candidacy to be filed; pledge. Every candidate for selection as the nominee of any political party for the office of mayor or member of the city council shall file with the secretary of the board of elections by twelve o'clock Noon on or before the Friday preceding the sixth Saturday before such primary election is to be held a notice of the candidate's candidacy and pledge in the following form, the blanks being properly filled in and the same signed by the candidate:
	'I hereby file my notice as a candidate for the nomination as …………………………………………. In the primary election to be held on the …….. day of …………………………, …………… I affiliate with the ……………………. party, and I hereby pledge myself to abide by the results of said primary, and to support in the next general municipal election all candidates nominated by the ………………………………….party.'"
SECTION 1.(d)   The Charter of the City of Winston‑Salem, being Chapter 232 of the Private Laws of 1927, is amended by adding a new section to read:
"Sec. 12J. Time of Election; Terms. 
(a)	In 2013, the primary and election for mayor and council members shall be held on the dates provided in G.S. 163‑279(a)(2).
(b)	The terms of the mayor and council members of the City of Winston‑Salem elected in 2013 expire at the organizational meeting after the 2016 regular municipal election.
(c)	 Notwithstanding G.S. 163‑279, in 2016 and quadrennially thereafter, primaries and elections for mayor and city council shall be held at the same time as for county officers as provided in G.S. 163‑1."
SECTION 2.(a)  Section 2(a)(5)(iii) of Chapter 112, Session Laws of 1961, as amended by Chapter 466, Session Laws of 1985, by Section 2 of Chapter 696 of the 1991 Session Laws, and by S.L. 2009‑72, reads as rewritten:
"(iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 115C‑37, the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education shall be elected on a partisan basis at the time of the general election in each even‑numbered year as terms expire. Except as provided by this act, the election shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapters 115C and 163 of the General Statutes. Candidates for election to the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education shall be nominated at the same time and in the same manner as other county officers. Each candidate for the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education shall, at the time of filing notice of candidacy, certify in writing the exact location of that candidate's residence and that the candidate is a bona fide resident thereof."
SECTION 2.(b)  Section 2(a)(5)(ii) of Chapter 112, Session Laws of 1961, as rewritten by Chapter 466, Session Laws of 1985 and Chapter 696 of the 1991 Session Laws, and by S.L. 2009‑72, reads as rewritten:
"(ii)	Effective on the first Monday in December 1986, the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education shall be composed of nine members. In the 2010 election, nine persons shall be elected to the Winston‑Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education for four‑year terms. The terms of those elected in 2010 for two‑year terms shall instead expire on the first Monday in December of 2014. In 2014:
(1)	Two persons shall be elected from District 1.
(2)	Four persons shall be elected from District 2.(3)	Three members shall be elected at large from all of Forsyth County.
Successors to those elected in 2014 shall serve four‑year terms.
For an at‑large seat, any qualified voter of Forsyth County is eligible to vote. For the district seats, only residents of the district shall be eligible to be candidates and only qualified voters of the district shall be eligible to vote.
The districts as established for the purpose of this subparagraph are for the 2010 election those established under G.S. 115C‑37(i), which are subject to change for the election in 2014 after the return of the 2010 census."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2011.