A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR NONPARTISAN ELECTION OF DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  The title of Subchapter X and Article 25 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
"SUBCHAPTER X. ELECTION OF SUPERIOR AND DISTRICT COURT judges and district attorneys.
Article 25.
Nomination and Election of Superior and District Court Judges and District Attorneys."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑321 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑321.  Applicability.
The nomination and election of superior and district court judges of the General Court of Justice and district attorneys shall be as provided by this Article."
SECTION 3. G.S. 163‑323(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Time for Filing Notice of Candidacy. – Candidates seeking election to the following offices shall file their notice of candidacy with the State Board of Elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the second Monday in February and no later than 12:00 noon on the last business day in February preceding the election:
Judges of the superior courts.
Judges of the district courts.
District attorneys."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 163‑325(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Requirements of Petition; Deadline for Filing. – If the candidate is seeking the office of superior or district court judge, or district attorney, that individual shall file a written petition with the State Board of Elections no later than 12:00 noon on Monday preceding the filing deadline before the primary. The petition shall be signed by ten percent (10%) of the registered voters of the election area in which the office will be voted for. The board of elections shall verify the names on the petition, and if the petition and notice of candidacy are found to be sufficient, the candidate's name shall be printed on the appropriate ballot. Petitions must be presented to the county board of elections for verification at least 15 days before the petition is due to be filed with the State Board of Elections. The State Board of Elections may adopt rules to implement this section and to provide standard petition forms."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 163‑326(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Notification of Local Boards. – No later than 10 days after the time for filing notices of candidacy under the provisions of G.S. 163‑323(b) has expired, the chairman of the State Board of Elections shall certify to the chairman of the county board of elections in each county in the appropriate district the names of candidates for nomination to the offices of superior and district court judge and district attorney who have filed the required notice and paid the required filing fee or presented the required petition to the State Board of Elections, so that their names may be printed on the official judicial ballot."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 163‑327(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Death, Disqualification, or Resignation of Official After Election. – If a person elected to the office of superior or district court judge or district attorney dies, becomes disqualified, or resigns on or after election day and before he has qualified by taking the oath of office, the office shall be deemed vacant and shall be filled as provided by law."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 163‑332(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Ballots to Be Furnished by County Board of Elections. ‑ It shall be the duty of the county board of elections to print official ballots for the following offices to be voted for in the primary:
Superior court judge.
District court judge.
District attorney.
In printing ballots, the county board of elections shall be governed by instructions of the State Board of Elections with regard to width, color, kind of paper, form, and size of type."
SECTION 8.  G.S. 163‑106(c) 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 second Monday in February and no later than 12:00 noon on the last business day in February preceding the primary:
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
All State executive officers
United States Senators
Members of the House of Representatives of the United States

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 second Monday in February and no later than 12:00 noon on the last business day in February preceding the primary:
State Senators
Members of the State House of Representatives
All county offices."
SECTION 9.  G.S. 163‑107(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Fee Schedule. – At the time of filing a notice of candidacy, each candidate shall pay to the board of elections with which he files under the provisions of G.S. 163‑106 a filing fee for the office he seeks in the amount specified in the following tabulation:
Office Sought		Amount of Filing
Governor 		One percent (1%) of the annual 
salary of the office sought 
Lieutenant Governor 		One percent (1%) of the annual 
salary of the office sought 
All State executive offices 		One percent (1%) of the annual 
salary of the office sought 
All Justices and Judges		One percent (1%) of the annual	of			salary of the office sought
	the General Court of Justice other	
	than superior and  district court judge
United States Senator 		One percent (1%) of the annual 
salary of the office sought 
Members of the United States House of 		One percent (1%) of the annual
	Representatives 			salary of the office sought 
State Senator 		One percent (1%) of the annual 
salary of the office sought 
Member of the State House of 		One percent (1%) of the annual
	Representatives 			salary of the office sought
All county offices not compensated by		One percent (1%) of the annual 
	fees 			salary of the office sought 
County commissioners, if compensated		Ten dollars ($10.00) 
	entirely by fees
Members of county board of education,		Five dollars ($5.00) 
	if compensated entirely by fees
Sheriff, if compensated entirely by fees 		Forty dollars ($40.00), plus one percent (1%) of the income of the office above four thousand dollars ($4,000)
Clerk of superior court, if compensated 
	entirely by fees 		Forty dollars ($40.00), plus one percent (1%) of the income of the office above four thousand dollars ($4,000) 
Register of deeds, if compensated 
	entirely by fees 		Forty dollars ($40.00), plus one percent (1%) of the income of the office above four thousand dollars ($4,000) 
Any other county office, if compensated 
	entirely by fees 		Twenty dollars ($20.00), plus one percent (1%) of the income of the office above two thousand dollars ($2,000) 
All county offices compensated partly 
	by salary and partly by fees 		One percent (1%) of the first annual salary to be received (exclusive of fees)"
SECTION 10.  G.S. 163‑111(c)(1) reads as rewritten:
"(1)	A candidate who is apparently entitled to demand a second primary, according to the unofficial results, for one of the offices listed below, and desiring to do so, shall file a request for a second primary in writing or by telegram with the Executive Director of the State Board of Elections no later than 12:00 noon on the seventh day (including Saturdays and Sundays) following the date on which the primary was conducted, and such request shall be subject to the certification of the official results by the State Board of Elections. If the vote certification by the State Board of Elections determines that a candidate who was not originally thought to be eligible to call for a second primary is in fact eligible to call for a second primary, the Executive Director of the State Board of Elections shall immediately notify such candidate and permit him to exercise any options available to him within a 48‑hour period following the notification:
Governor,
Lieutenant Governor,
All State executive officers,
Justice and Judges of the General Court of Justice, other than superior and district court judges,United States Senators,
Members of the United States House of Representatives,
State Senators in multi‑county senatorial districts, and
Members of the State House of Representatives in multi-county representative districts."
SECTION 11.  G.S. 163‑107.1(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	County, Municipal and District Primaries. – If the candidate is seeking one of the offices set forth in G.S. 163‑106(c) but which is not listed in subsection (b) of this section, or a municipal or any other office requiring a partisan primary which is not set forth in G.S. 163‑106(c) or (d), he shall file a written petition with the appropriate board of elections no later than 12:00 noon on Monday preceding the filing deadline before the primary. The petition shall be signed by ten percent (10%) of the registered voters of the election area in which the office will be voted for, who are affiliated with the same political party in whose primary the candidate desires to run, or in the alternative, the petition shall be signed by no less than 200 registered voters regardless of said voter's political party affiliation, whichever requirement is greater. The board of elections shall verify the names on the petition, and if the petition is found to be sufficient, the candidate's name shall be printed on the appropriate primary ballot. Petitions for candidates for member of the U.S. House of Representatives and members of the State House of Representatives from multi-county districts or members of the State Senate from multi-county districts must be presented to the county board of elections for verification at least 15 days before the petition is due to be filed with the State Board of Elections, and such petition must be filed with the State Board of Elections no later than 12:00 noon on Monday preceding the filing deadline. The State Board of Elections may adopt rules to implement this section and to provide standard petition forms."
SECTION 12.  G.S. 163‑114 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑114.  Filling vacancies among party nominees occurring after nomination and before election.
If any person nominated as a candidate of a political party for one of the offices listed below (either in a primary or convention or by virtue of having no opposition in a primary) dies, resigns, or for any reason becomes ineligible or disqualified before the date of the ensuing general election, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment according to the following instructions:
Position 		
President 		Vacancy is to be filled by appointment
Vice President			of national executive committee of political party in which vacancy occurs
Presidential elector or alternate elector 		Vacancy is to be filled by appointment
Any elective State office			of State executive committee of
United States Senator 			political party in which vacancy occurs
A district office, including: 		Appropriate district executive
Member of the United States House of 			committee of political party in
	Representatives 			which vacancy occurs

State Senator in a multi-county 
	senatorial district
Member of State House of 
	Representatives in a multi-county 
	representative district

State Senator in a single-county 		County executive committee of
	senatorial district			political party in which vacancy
Member of State House of			occurs, provided, in the case of 
	Representatives in a single-county			the
	representative district			State Senator or State
Any elective county office			Representative in a single-county
				district where not all the county is located in that district, then in voting, only those members of the county executive committee who reside within the district shall vote
The party executive making a nomination in accordance with the provisions of this section shall certify the name of its nominee to the chairman of the board of elections, State or county, charged with the duty of printing the ballots on which the name is to appear. If at the time a nomination is made under this section the general election ballots have already been printed, the provisions of G.S. 163‑165.3(c) shall apply. If a vacancy occurs in a nomination of a political party and that vacancy arises from a cause other than death and the vacancy in nomination occurs more than 120 days before the general election, the vacancy in nomination may be filled under this section only if the appropriate executive committee certifies the name of the nominee in accordance with this paragraph at least 75 days before the general election.
In a county not all of which is located in one congressional district, in choosing the congressional district executive committee member or members from that area of the county, only the county convention delegates or county executive committee members who reside within the area of the county which is within the congressional district may vote.
In a county which is partly in a multi-county senatorial district or which is partly in a multi-county House of Representatives district, in choosing that county's member or members of the senatorial district executive committee or House of Representatives district executive committee for the multi-county district, only the county convention delegates or county executive committee members who reside within the area of the county which is within that multi-county district may vote."
SECTION 13.  This act becomes effective with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 2003.