A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to revise the judicial divisions; align the superior court, District Court, AND prosecutorial Districts in certain judicial districts; to clarify listing of judicial seats on the BALLOT; AND TO LIMIT ROTATION OF SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES TO SIX MONTHS PER YEAR.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 7A‑41(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The counties of the State are organized into judicial divisions and superior court districts, and each superior court district has the counties, and the number of regular resident superior court judges set forth in the following table, and for districts of less than a whole county, as set out in subsection (b) of this section:
	Superior
Judicial	Court	No. of Resident
Division	District	Counties	Judges
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––‑
First	1	Camden, Chowan,	2
	Currituck,
	Dare, Gates,
	Pasquotank,
	Perquimans
First	2	Beaufort, Hyde,	1
	Martin,
	Tyrrell, Washington
First	3A	Pitt	2
First	3B	Carteret, Craven,	3
	Pamlico
Second	4A	Duplin, Jones,	1
	Sampson
Second	4B	Onslow	1
Second	5A	(part of New Hanover,	1
	part of Pender
	see subsection (b))
	5B	(part of New Hanover,	1
	part of Pender
	see subsection (b))
	5C	(part of New Hanover,	1
	see subsection (b))
First	6A	Halifax	1
First	6B	Bertie, Hertford,	1
	Northampton
First	7A	Nash	1
First	7B	(part of Wilson,	1
	part of Edgecombe,
	see subsection (b))
First	7C	(part of Wilson,	1
	part of Edgecombe,
	see subsection (b))
First	8A	Lenoir and Greene	1
First	8B	Wayne	1

Third	9	Franklin, Granville,	2
	Person, Vance, Warren
Third	10A	(part of Wake,	1
	see subsection (b))
Third	10B	(part of Wake,	2
	see subsection (b))
Third	10C	(part of Wake,	1
	see subsection (b))
Third	10D	(part of Wake,	1
	see subsection (b))
Third	11A	Harnett,	1
	Lee
Third	11B	Johnston	1
Second	12A	(part of Cumberland,	1
	see subsection (b))
Second	12B	(part of Cumberland,	1
	see subsection (b))
Second	12C	(part of Cumberland,	2
	see subsection (b))
Second	13A	Bladen, Columbus	1
Second	13B	Brunswick	1
Third	14A	(part of Durham,	1
	see subsection (b))
Third	14B	(part of Durham,	3
	see subsection (b))
Third	15A	Alamance	2
Third	15B	Orange, Chatham	2
Second	16A	Anson, Richmond,	2
	Scotland,
Second	16B	Robeson	2
Third	17A	Caswell, Rockingham	3
Fourth	17B	Stokes, Surry	2
Third	18A	(part of Guilford,	1
	see subsection (b))
Third	18B	(part of Guilford,	1
	see subsection (b))
Third	18C	(part of Guilford,	1
	see subsection (b))
Third	18D	(part of Guilford,	1
	see subsection (b))
Third	18E	(part of Guilford,	1
	see subsection (b))
Fourth	19A	Cabarrus	2
Third	19B	Montgomery, Randolph	1
Fourth	19C	Rowan	1
Third	19D	Hoke, Moore	2
Fourth	20A	Stanly	1
Fourth	20B	Union	2
Fourth	21A	(part of Forsyth,	1
	see subsection (b))
Fourth	21B	(part of Forsyth,	1
	see subsection (b))
Fourth	21C	(part of Forsyth,	1
	see subsection (b))
Fourth	21D	(part of Forsyth,	1
	see subsection (b))
Fourth	22A	Alexander, Iredell	2
Fourth	22B	Davidson, Davie	2
Fourth	23	Alleghany, Ashe,	1
	Wilkes, Yadkin
Fifth	24	Avery, Madison,	2
	Mitchell,
	Watauga, Yancey
Fifth	25A	Burke, Caldwell	2
Fifth	25B	Catawba	2
Fourth	26A	(part of Mecklenburg,	2
	see subsection (b))
Fourth	26B	(part of Mecklenburg,	3
	see subsection (b))
Fourth	26C	(part of Mecklenburg,	2
	see subsection (b))
Fifth	27A	Gaston	2
Fifth	27B	Cleveland, Lincoln	2
Fifth	28	Buncombe	2
Fifth	29A	McDowell,	1
	Rutherford
Fifth	29B	Henderson, Polk,	1
	Transylvania
Fifth	30A	Cherokee, Clay,	1
	Graham, Macon,
	Swain
Fifth	30B	Haywood, Jackson	1."
SECTION 1.(b)  The additional judge in District 19D, as established by Section 1(a) of this act, shall take office on January 1, 2021, with an election in 2020 to be held accordingly.
SECTION 1.(c)  The additional judge in District 19A, as established by Section 1(a) of this act, shall take office on January 1, 2021, with an election in 2020 to be held accordingly.
SECTION 1.(d)  Except as otherwise provided, this section becomes effective July 1, 2018.
SECTION 2.(a)  G.S. 7A‑133 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑133.  Numbers of judges by districts; numbers of magistrates and additional seats of court, by counties.
(a)	Each district court district shall have the numbers of judges as set forth in the following table:
District	Judges	County
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
1	5	Camden
	Chowan
	Currituck
	Dare
	Gates
	Pasquotank
	Perquimans
2	4	Martin
	Beaufort
	Tyrrell
	Hyde
	Washington
3A	5	Pitt
3B	6	Craven
	Pamlico
	Carteret
4	8	Sampson
	Duplin
	Jones
	Onslow
5	9	New Hanover
	Pender
6	4	Northampton
	Bertie
	Hertford
	Halifax
7	7	Nash
	Edgecombe
	Wilson
8	6	Wayne
	Greene
	Lenoir
9	5	Granville
	(part of Vance
	see subsection (b))
	Franklin
	Person
9B	2	Warren
	(part of Vance
	see subsection (b))
10	19	Wake
11	11	Harnett
	Johnston
	Lee
12	10	Cumberland
13	6	Bladen
	Brunswick
	Columbus
14	7	Durham
15A	4	Alamance
15B	5	Orange
	Chatham
16A	4	Scotland
	
	Anson
	Richmond
16B	5	Robeson
17A	4	Caswell
	Rockingham
17B	4	Stokes
	Surry
18	14	Guilford
19A	6	Cabarrus
19B	4	Montgomery
	
	Randolph
19C	5	Rowan
19D	5	Hoke, Moore
20A	2	Stanly
20B	1	(part of Union
	see subsection (b))
20C	2	(part of Union
	see subsection (b))
20D	1	Union
21	11	Forsyth
22A	5	Alexander
	Iredell
22B	6	Davidson
	Davie
23	4	Alleghany
	Ashe
	Wilkes
	Yadkin
24	4	Avery
	Madison
	Mitchell
	Watauga
	Yancey
25	10	Burke
	Caldwell
	Catawba
26	21	Mecklenburg
27A	7	Gaston
27B	6	Cleveland
	Lincoln
28	7	Buncombe
29A	4	McDowell
	Rutherford
29B	4	Henderson
	Polk
	Transylvania
30	6	Cherokee
	Clay
	Graham
	Haywood
	Jackson
	Macon
	Swain.
…
(b5)	The qualified voters of District 25 shall elect all judges established for District 25 in subsection (a) of this section, but only persons who reside in Catawba County may be candidates for five of the judgeships and only persons who reside in Burke or Caldwell County may be candidates for the remaining judgeships.
(b6)	The qualified voters of District 16A shall elect all judges established for District 16A in subsection (a) of this section, but only persons who reside in Richmond County may be candidates for two of the judgeships, only persons who reside in Anson County may be candidates for one of the judgeships, and only persons who reside in Scotland County may be candidates for the remaining judgeship.
…."
SECTION 2.(b)  Notwithstanding G.S. 7A‑133(b5), as enacted by this act, upon each of the first three district court judgeship vacancies occurring in District Court District 25 due to death, resignation, removal, or retirement of a person who is a resident of Catawba County holding a judgeship on the effective date of this section shall be filled according to law. However, at the next general election held for that judgeship, only persons who reside in Burke or Caldwell County may be candidates for that district court judgeship and any primary associated with that general election shall also be held accordingly.
SECTION 2.(c)  Upon each of the first three district court judgeship vacancies occurring in District Court District 25 due to the death, resignation, removal, or retirement of a person who is a resident of Catawba County holding a judgeship on the effective date of this section, the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide written notice of the vacancy to the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. The State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement shall ensure that only persons who reside in Burke or Caldwell County may file as candidates for that district court judgeship at the next general election held for that judgeship.
SECTION 2.(d)  The additional judge in District 25, as established by this act, shall take office on January 1, 2021, with an election in 2020 to be held accordingly.
SECTION 2.(e)  The additional judge in District 19A, as established by this act, shall take office on January 1, 2021, with an election in 2020 to be held accordingly.
SECTION 2.(f)  The additional judge in District 29A, as established by this act, shall take office on January 1, 2021, with an election in 2020 to be held accordingly.
SECTION 3.(a)  G.S. 7A‑60 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑60.  District attorneys and prosecutorial districts.
(a)	The State shall be divided into prosecutorial districts, as shown in subsection (a1) of this section. There shall be a district attorney for each prosecutorial district, as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section who shall be a resident of the prosecutorial district for which elected. A vacancy in the office of district attorney shall be filled as provided in Article IV, Sec. 19 of the Constitution.
…
(a1)	(Effective January 1, 2019) The counties of the State are organized into prosecutorial districts, and each district has the counties and the number of full‑time assistant district attorneys set forth in the following table:
	No. of Full‑Time
Prosecutorial	Asst. District
District	Counties	Attorneys
1	Camden, Chowan, Currituck,	11
	Dare, Gates, Pasquotank,
	Perquimans
2	Beaufort, Hyde, Martin,	8
	Tyrrell, Washington
3	Pitt	12
4	Carteret, Craven, Pamlico	13
5	Duplin, Jones, Onslow, Sampson	19
6	New Hanover, Pender	19
7	Bertie, Halifax, Hertford,	11
	Northampton
8	Edgecombe, Nash, Wilson	19
9	Greene, Lenoir, Wayne	14
10	Franklin, Granville, Person	13
	Vance, Warren
11	Wake	42
12	Harnett, Lee	11
13	Johnston	10
14	Cumberland	25
15	Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus	14
16	Durham	18
17	Alamance	12
18	Orange, Chatham	10
		
20	Robeson	12
21	Anson, Richmond, Scotland	9
22	Caswell, Rockingham	10
23	Stokes, Surry	8
24	Guilford	34
25	Cabarrus	9
26	Montgomery, Randolph	10
27	Rowan	9
28	Hoke, Moore	9
29	Stanly	5
30	Union	11
31	Forsyth	27
32	Alexander, Iredell	12
33	Davidson, Davie	12
34	Alleghany, Ashe, Wilkes, Yadkin	9
35	Avery, Madison, Mitchell,	8
	Watauga, Yancey
		
36A	Burke, Caldwell	10
36B	Catawba	10
37	Mecklenburg	58
38	Gaston	15
39	Cleveland, Lincoln	12
40	Buncombe	14
41	McDowell, Rutherford	8
42	Henderson, Polk, Transylvania	9
43	Cherokee, Clay, Graham,	12
	Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain.
…."
SECTION 3.(b)  The office and term of the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 19 formerly consisting of Hoke and Scotland Counties is terminated upon the expiration of the current term, December 31, 2020. Effective January 1, 2021, District 19 formerly consisting of Hoke and Scotland Counties is reassigned as provided in this section. All open investigations and pending cases for Prosecutorial District 19 formerly consisting of Hoke and Scotland Counties shall be transferred to either District 21 or District 28, as enacted by this section. Hoke County is added to District 28, as enacted by this section, and the total number of ADAs in that district is nine. Scotland County is added to District 21, and the total number of ADAs in that district is nine.
SECTION 3.(c)  The office and term of the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 36 formerly consisting of Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties is terminated upon the expiration of the term expiring December 31, 2022. Effective January 1, 2023, District 36 formerly consisting of Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties is reassigned as provided in this section. All open investigations and pending cases for Prosecutorial District 36 formerly consisting of Burke, Caldwell, and Catawba Counties shall be transferred to either District 36A or District 36B, as enacted by this section. Burke and Caldwell Counties are added to District 36A, as enacted by this section, and the total number of ADAs in that district is 10. Catawba County is added to District 36B, and the total number of ADAs in that district is 10.
SECTION 4.(a)  G.S. 163A‑1112(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Except as provided in this section, each official ballot shall contain all the following elements:
(1)	The heading prescribed by the State Board. The heading shall include the term "Official Ballot".
(2)	The title of each office to be voted on and the number of votes allowed in each ballot item.
(3)	The names of the candidates as they appear on their notice of candidacy filed pursuant to G.S. 163A‑972, 163A‑973, 163A‑974, 163A‑975, 163A‑976, 163A‑977, and 163A‑978, or on petition forms filed in accordance with G.S. 163A‑1005. 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. 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. The State Board shall establish a review procedure that local boards of elections shall follow to ensure that candidates' names appear on the official ballot in accordance with this subdivision.
(4)	Party designations in partisan ballot items.
(5)	A means by which the voter may cast write‑in votes, as provided in G.S. 163A‑1006. No space for write‑ins is required unless a write‑in candidate has qualified under G.S. 163A‑1006 or unless the ballot item is exempt from G.S. 163A‑1006.
(6)	Instructions to voters, unless the State Board 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.
(8)	The designation of vacancy sought, if there are two or more vacancies for the office of Justice or judge of the courts. The designation shall not be the name or names of any incumbent or other individual but shall be designated as determined by the State Board."
SECTION 4.(b)  G.S. 163A‑975 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163A‑975.  Notice of candidacy for certain offices to indicate vacancy.
In any primary in which there are two or more vacancies for associate justices for the Supreme Court, two or more vacancies for the Court of Appeals, two or more vacancies for superior or district court judge, or two vacancies for United States Senator from North Carolina, each candidate shall, at the time of filing notice of candidacy, file with the State Board a written statement designating the vacancy to which the candidate seeks nomination. The designation shall not be the name or names of any incumbent or other individual but shall be designated as determined by the State Board. A person seeking election for a specialized district judgeship established under G.S. 7A‑147 shall, at the time of filing notice of candidacy, file with the State Board a written statement designating the specialized judgeship to which the person seeks nomination. Votes cast for a candidate shall be effective only for nomination to the vacancy for which the candidate has given notice of candidacy as provided in this section."
SECTION 4.(c)  This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.
SECTION 4.5.  G.S. 7A‑47.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A‑47.3.  Rotation and assignment; sessions.
(a)	To effect the intent of Article IV, Section 11 of the North Carolina Constitution, each regular resident superior court judge may, upon each rotation, be assigned to hold the courts either of one of the districts or of one of the sets of districts in that judge's judicial division.
(b)	All sessions of superior court shall be for an entire county, whether that county comprises or is located in a district or in a set of districts and at each session all matters and proceedings arising anywhere in the county shall be heard.
(c)	In making assignment of the Judges of the Superior Court, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall strive to allow each regular resident superior court judge to be assigned to the district or set of districts from which that regular resident superior court judge was elected or appointed no less than one half of the calendar year.
(d)	For purposes of this section, "district or set of districts" shall have the same meaning as in G.S. 7A‑41.1(a)."
SECTION 5.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.