GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	2
HOUSE BILL 1184
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/24/01

Short Title:	2nd Primary at 25%.	()	
Sponsors:	     	
Referred to:	     	
April 12, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REDUCE THE THRESHOLD FOR A STATEWIDE SECOND PRIMARY TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT. 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 163‑111(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Nomination Determined by Substantial Plurality; Definition of Substantial Plurality. – Except as otherwise provided in this section, nominations in primary elections shall be determined by a substantial plurality of the votes cast. A substantial plurality within the meaning of this section shall be determined as follows:
(1)	If a nominee for a single office is to be selected, and there is more than one person seeking nomination, the substantial plurality shall be ascertained by multiplying the total vote cast for all aspirants by forty percent  (40%), provided that in primaries for offices with a statewide electorate, the percentage is twenty-five percent (25%). Any excess of the sum so ascertained shall be a substantial plurality, and the aspirant who obtains a substantial plurality shall be declared the nominee. If two candidates receive a substantial plurality, the candidate receiving the highest vote shall be declared the nominee.
(2)	If nominees for two or more offices (constituting a group) are to be selected, and there are more persons seeking nomination than there are offices, the substantial plurality shall be ascertained by dividing the total vote cast for all aspirants by the number of positions to be filled, and by multiplying the result by forty percent  (40%), provided that in primaries for offices with a statewide electorate, the percentage is twenty-five percent (25%). Any excess of the sum so ascertained shall be a substantial plurality, and the aspirants who obtain a substantial plurality shall be declared the nominees. If more candidates obtain a substantial plurality than there are positions to be filled, those having the highest vote (equal to the number of positions to be filled) shall be declared the nominees."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2002, and applies to all primary elections for statewide offices held on or after that date.