A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for the partisan election of the gaston county board of education.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Section 2 of Chapter 633 of the 1977 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 2. Composition of board of education. Notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑35, the board of education shall consist of nine members. Two members shall be elected by the duly qualified voters of Gaston County without regard to residence in any particular district. Seven members shall be elected by the duly qualified voters of Gaston County from residency districts. All candidates shall be voted on by all eligible voters in the county. Members shall be elected from districts as follows:
(1)	Cherryville Township shall be entitled to one member.
(2)	Crowders Mountain Township shall be entitled to one member.
(3)	Dallas Township shall be entitled to one member.
(4)	Gastonia Township shall be entitled to two members.
(5)	Riverbend Township shall be entitled to one member.
(6)	Southpoint Township shall be entitled to one member."
SECTION 2.  Section 3 of Chapter 633 of the 1977 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 3. Elections. 

Notwithstanding G.S. 115C‑37, the 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. Members shall be elected for four‑year terms. Candidates for election to the board of education shall be nominated at the same time and manner as other county officers. Members shall take office on the first Monday in December of the year of election, and the terms of their predecessors shall expire at that same time. Members shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.
The election of members of the board of education shall be held, conducted and supervised by the board of elections; and except as herein provided, the general election laws and regulations for the nomination and election of county officers, which are set forth in Chapters 115C and 163 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, as amended, shall apply and govern as to the holding of any election for members of the board of education."
SECTION 3.  Section 4 of Chapter 633 of the 1977 Session Laws, as amended by Chapter 331 of the 1979 Session Laws, as amended by Chapter 73 of the 1993 Session Laws, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 4. Ballot; notice of candidacy and residence requirements. Each candidate shall file a notice of candidacy with the board of elections indicating whether the candidate is running as a member at large or from a particular district at a time consistent with deadlines for other county officers. For the district seats, no person shall be eligible to file for, be elected to, or serve on the board of education unless the person is a qualified voter and resident of the district in which the person seeks to be elected."
SECTION 4.(a)  Section 7 of Chapter 633 of the 1977 Session Laws reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 7. Vacancy. All vacancies in the membership of the board of education by death, resignation, or other causes shall be filled in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37.1. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy for a district seat shall reside in the district in which the vacating member was elected to serve."
SECTION 4.(b)  This section becomes effective December 1, 2026.
SECTION 5.  This act does not affect the term of any person elected in 2022 or 2024 to the Gaston County Board of Education. Each member of the Gaston County Board of Education elected in 2022 or 2024, or any member appointed to fill a vacancy for a member elected in 2022 or 2024, shall serve until a successor has been elected and qualified.
SECTION 6.(a)  G.S. 115C‑37.1(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	This section shall apply only to the Hickory City Board of Education and the Newton‑Conover City Board of Education and in the following counties: Alleghany, Ashe, Beaufort, Brunswick, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Carteret, Catawba, Cherokee, Clay, Craven, Dare, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Graham, Harnett, Henderson, Hyde, Iredell, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Polk, Rutherford, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Vance, Washington, and Yancey."
SECTION 6.(b)  This section becomes effective December 1, 2026.
SECTION 7.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.