GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 623

Short Title:  Cooleemee Recall.	(Local)

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Sponsors: Representative Howard (By Request).

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Referred to:  Local and Regional Government II.

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March 26, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR RECALL ELECTIONS IN THE TOWN OF COOLEEMEE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  The Charter of the Town of Cooleemee, being Chapter 424 of the Session Laws of 1985, is amended by adding a new section to read:
"Sec. 3.8.  Recall.  (a) The voters of the town have the power, which shall be known as the recall power, to remove from office any member of the Board of Commissioners or Mayor.
(b)	In each recall there shall be named a petitioners committee of five members who shall be qualified voters of the town and signers of the petition.  The petition committee shall be responsible for circulation of the petition and for its assembling and filing in proper form.  The committee may also amend or withdraw its petition as provided in this section.
(c)	Voters seeking the recall of any member of the Board of Commissioners, or the Mayor, shall proceed by way of a recall petition addressed to the Commission identifying the Commission member or Mayor concerned, requesting the removal of that person from office and stating the grounds alleged for the removal.  With respect to any Commissioner or Mayor elected at large, any recall petition must be filed with the Town Clerk and must be signed by qualified voters of the town equal in number to at least thirty percent (30%) of the qualified voters of the town who voted at the last preceding election of the town Commission members.  No petition to recall an officer may be filed within six months after the officer's election.
(d)	The signatures to a petition shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil and need not to all be affixed to one paper, but all papers of a petition shall be of uniform size and style and shall be assembled as one instrument for filing with the Town Clerk.  Each signature shall be followed by the address of the signer.  Petitions or petition papers which reasonably comply with theses requirements shall be accepted by the Clerk without delay upon presentation and their filing shall be completed by acceptance.  Noncomplying petitions or papers may be rejected by the Clerk until they are brought into reasonable compliance.
(e)	The Clerk shall not accept any petition until it indicates:  (i) by name and address, the five petitioners who constitute the petitioners' committee for that petition or (ii) the address to which all notices for the petitioners' committee are to be sent.
Any petition shall be certified or determined insufficient which is validly signed by less than the required number of qualified voters of the town.
(f)	No signature on a petition paper shall be counted in support of the petition involved if that paper has not contained throughout its circulation a copy of the recall petition identifying the elected official concerned and stating the grounds alleged for removal.
(g)	No signature on a petition paper shall be counted in support of the petition involved if that paper, at the time of filing, does not have attached to it an affidavit executed by the circulator of that paper to the effect:  (i) that he personally circulated the paper; (ii) that each signature on the paper was affixed in his presence; (iii) that he believes each signature to be the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be; (iv) that a copy of the recall petition was attached to or contained in accompanying paper throughout its circulation; and (v) that each signer of the accompanying paper had an opportunity before signing to read the full text.
(h)	Upon receipt of a petition that complies with the above requirements and its verification, the Town Clerk will immediately forward the petition to the Davie County Board of Elections.
(i)	Within 15 days the Davie County Board of Elections shall certify registered voters, and return the petition to the Town Clerk.  Within five days after the return of the petition papers by the Board of Elections, the Clerk shall complete a certificate as to whether the petition is sufficient.  If sufficient, the Clerk shall certify that fact to the next Town Board meeting, and that certificate shall be a final determination as to the sufficiency of the petition.
(j)	When the Town Board has been presented with, or has, a recall petition which has been finally determined sufficient, the Town Board shall there upon fix a date no sooner than 40 days nor later than 90 days to hold a special recall election.  If a general election is scheduled during this period, the recall election will occur as part of that general election.
(k)	The ballots used in a recall election, if a paper ballot is used, shall contain the following instructions: 'PLACE A CROSS (X) IN ONE OF THE SQUARES BELOW.'  Below the instruction shall appear, in the order indicated, the following proposition:
'[ ] FOR   [ ] AGAINST
THE RECALL OF (Name of Official)'
If a majority of such votes be for the recall of the Commissioner or Mayor designated on the ballot, that person is removed from office.
(l)	If a Commissioner or a Mayor in regard to whom a sufficient recall petition is submitted to the Town Board shall resign before the election, and the resignation is accepted by the Town Board or if the person is removed as a result of the recall election, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment of the Town Board until a special election can be held.  The Town Board shall set a date no sooner than 60 days and no later than 90 days to hold a special election to fill the unexpired term.  If a general election is scheduled during this period, the special election will occur as part of that general election."
Section 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to persons holding office on that date.