AN ACT changing the date on which primary elections are held.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑1(b), as amended by Section 2 of S.L. 2017‑3, reads as rewritten:
"(b)	On Tuesday next after the first Monday in March preceding each general election to be held in November for the officers referred to in subsection (a) of this section, there shall be held in all election precincts within the territory for which the officers are to be elected a primary election for the purpose of nominating candidates for each political party in the State for those offices."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑106(c), as amended by Section 21(a) of S.L. 2016‑125 and Section 5 of S.L. 2017‑3, reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Time for Filing Notice of Candidacy. – Candidates seeking party primary nominations for the following offices shall file their notice of candidacy with the State Board of Elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Monday in December and no later than 12:00 noon on the third Friday in December preceding the primary:
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
All State executive officers
Justices of the Supreme Court
Judges of the Court of Appeals
Judges of the superior court
Judges of the district court
United States Senators
Members of the House of Representatives of the United States
District attorneys
Candidates seeking party primary nominations for the following offices shall file their notice of candidacy with the county board of elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Monday in December and no later than 12:00 noon on the third Friday in December preceding the primary:
State Senators
Members of the State House of Representatives
All county offices."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 163‑213.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑213.2.  Primary to be held; date; qualifications and registration of voters.
On the Tuesday after the first Monday in March, 2020, and every four years thereafter, the voters of this State shall be given an opportunity to express their preference for the person to be the presidential candidate of their political party.
Any person otherwise qualified who will become qualified by age to vote in the general election held in the same year of the presidential preference primary shall be entitled to register and vote in the presidential preference primary. Such persons may register not earlier than 60 days nor later than the last day for making application to register under G.S. 163‑82.6 prior to the said primary. In addition, persons who will become qualified by age to register and vote in the general election for which the primary is held, who do not register during the special period may register to vote after such period as if they were qualified on the basis of age, but until they are qualified by age to vote, they may vote only in primary elections."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective January 1, 2019, applies to even-year elections held on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 13th day of June, 2018.

	s/	 Philip E. Berger
	 President Pro Tempore of the Senate

	s/	 Tim Moore
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	_____________________________________
		 Roy Cooper
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2018