GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
S	1
SENATE BILL 372

 
 
Short Title:	Later Primary.	()	
Sponsors:	Senators Thomas;  Albertson, Ballance, Ballantine, Bingham, Carter, Cunningham, Dalton, Forrester, Foxx, Hagan, Harris, Hartsell, Kerr, Metcalf, Rand, Robinson, Swindell, Warren, and Weinstein.	
Referred to:	Judiciary II.	
March 8, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide for a later primary date so as to reduce the length of campaigns, and to place the presidential primary close to those of other southern states.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 163-1(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	On  the first Tuesday in August 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. 163-111(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Date of Second Primary; Procedures. – If a second primary is required under the provisions of this section, the appropriate board of elections, State or county, shall order that it be held four weeks after the first  primary, except if the second primary would fall on the day after Labor Day, it shall instead be held five weeks after the first primary.
There shall be no registration of voters between the dates of the first and second primaries. Persons whose qualifications to register and vote mature after the day of the first primary and before the day of the second primary may register on the day of the second primary and, when thus registered, shall be entitled to vote in the second primary. The second primary is a continuation of the first primary and any voter who files a proper and timely affidavit of transfer of precinct, under the provisions of G.S. 163-72(c), before the first primary may vote in the second primary without having to refile the affidavit of transfer if he is otherwise qualified to vote in the second primary. Subject to this provision for registration, the second primary shall be held under the laws, rules, and regulations provided for the first primary."
SECTION 3. 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  first Monday in May and no later than 12:00 noon on the  last Friday in May preceding the primary:
Governor
Lieutenant Governor
All State executive officers
Justices of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Court of Appeals
Judges of the district courts
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  May and no later than 12:00 noon on the  last Friday in May preceding the primary:
State Senators
Members of the State House of Representatives
All county offices."
SECTION 4. 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  first Monday in May and no later than 12:00 noon on the  last Friday in May preceding the election:
Judges of the superior courts."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 163‑98 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑98.  General election participation by new political party.
In the first general election following the date on which a new political party qualifies under the provisions of G.S. 163-96, it shall be entitled to have the names of its candidates for State, congressional, and national offices printed on the official ballots, but it shall not be entitled to have the names of candidates for other offices printed on State, district, or county ballots at that election.
For the first general election following the date on which it qualifies under G.S. 163-96, a new political party shall select its candidates by party convention. Following adjournment of the nominating convention, but not later than the  day of the primary election under G.S. 163-1(b), the president of the convention shall certify to the State Board of Elections the names of persons chosen in the convention as the new party's candidates for offices in the ensuing general election. The State Board of Elections shall print names thus certified on the appropriate ballots as the nominees of the new party."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 163-122(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Procedure for Having Name Printed on Ballot as Unaffiliated Candidate. – Any qualified voter who seeks to have his name printed on the general election ballot as an unaffiliated candidate shall:
(1)	If the office is a statewide office, file written petitions with the State Board of Elections supporting his candidacy for a specified office. These petitions must be filed with the State Board of Elections on or before 12:00 noon on the last Friday in  August preceding the general election and must be signed by qualified voters of the State equal in number to two percent (2%) of the total number of registered voters in the State as reflected by the most recent statistical report issued by the State Board of Elections. Each petition shall be presented to the chairman of the board of elections of the county in which the signatures were obtained. The chairman shall examine the names on the petition and place a check mark on the petition by the name of each signer who is qualified and registered to vote in his county and shall attach to the petition his signed certificate. Said certificates shall state that the signatures on the petition have been checked against the registration records and shall indicate the number of signers to be qualified and registered to vote in his county. The chairman shall return each petition, together with the certificate required in this section, to the person who presented it to him for checking. Verification by the chairman of the county board of elections shall be completed within two weeks from the date such petitions are presented and a fee of five cents (5¢) for each name appearing on the petition has been received.
(2)	If the office is a district office comprised of two or more counties, file written petitions with the State Board of Elections supporting his candidacy for a specified office. These petitions must be filed with the State Board of Elections on or before 12:00 noon on the last Friday in  August preceding the general election and must be signed by qualified voters of the district equal in number to four percent (4%) of the total number of registered voters in the district as reflected by the latest statistical report issued by the State Board of Elections. Each petition shall be presented to the chairman of the board of elections of the county in which the signatures were obtained. The chairman shall examine the names on the petition and the procedure for certification shall be the same as specified in (1) above.
(3)	If the office is a county office or a single county legislative district, file written petitions with the chairman or director of the county board of elections supporting his candidacy for a specified county office. These petitions must be filed with the county board of elections on or before 12:00 noon on the last Friday in  August preceding the general election and must be signed by qualified voters of the county equal in number to four percent (4%) of the total number of registered voters in the county as reflected by the most recent statistical report issued by the State Board of Elections, except if the office is for a district consisting of less than the entire county and only the voters in that district vote for that office, the petitions must be signed by qualified voters of the district equal in number to four percent (4%) of the total number of voters in the district according to the most recent figures certified by the State Board of Elections. Each petition shall be presented to the chairman or director of the county board of elections. The chairman shall examine, or cause to be examined, the names on the petition and the procedure for certification shall be the same as specified in (1) above.
(4)	If the office is a partisan municipal office, file written petitions with the chairman or director of the county board of elections in the county wherein the municipality is located supporting his candidacy for a specified municipal office. These petitions must be filed with the county board of elections on or before the time and date specified in G.S. 163-296 and must be signed by the number of qualified voters specified in G.S. 163-296. The procedure for certification shall be the same as specified in (1) above.
Upon compliance with the provisions of (1), (2), (3), or (4) of this subsection, the board of elections with which the petitions and affidavit have been timely filed shall cause the unaffiliated candidate's name to be printed on the general election ballots in accordance with G.S. 163-140.
An individual whose name appeared on the ballot in a primary election preliminary to the general election shall not be eligible to have his name placed on the general election ballot as an unaffiliated candidate for the same office in that year."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 163‑123(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Petitions for Write-in Candidacy. – An applicant for write‑in candidacy shall:
(1)	If the office is a statewide office, file written petitions with the State Board of Elections supporting his candidacy for a specified office. These petitions shall be filed on or before noon on the  last Friday in August. They shall be signed by 500 qualified voters of the State. Before being filed with the State Board of Elections, each petition shall be presented to the board of elections of the county in which the signatures were obtained. A petition presented to a county board of elections shall contain only names of voters registered in that county. The chairman of the county board of elections shall examine the names on the petition and place a check mark by the name of each signer who is qualified and registered to vote in his county. The chairman of the county board shall attach to the petition his signed certificate. On his certificate the chairman shall state that the signatures on the petition have been checked against the registration records and shall indicate the number of signers who are qualified and registered to vote in his county and eligible to vote for that office. The chairman shall return each petition, together with the certificate required in this section, to the person who presented it to him for checking. The chairman of the county board shall complete the verification within two weeks from the date the petition is presented. At the time of submitting the petition, a fee of five cents (5¢) shall be paid for each name appearing on the petition.
(2)	If the office is a district office comprising all or part of two or more counties, file written petitions with the State Board of Elections supporting his candidacy for a specified office. These petitions must be filed with the State Board of Elections on or before noon on the  last Friday in August and must be signed by 250 qualified voters. Before being filed with the State Board of Elections, each petition shall be presented to the board of elections of the county in which the signatures were obtained. A petition presented to a county board of elections shall contain only names of voters registered in that county who are eligible to vote for that office. The chairman of the county board shall examine the names on the petition and the procedure for certification shall be the same as specified in subdivision (1).
(3)	If the office is a county office, or is a school administrative unit office elected on a partisan basis, or is a legislative district consisting of a single county or a portion of a county, file written petitions with the county board of elections supporting his candidacy for a specified office. A petition presented to a county board of elections shall contain only names of voters registered in that county. These petitions must be filed on or before noon on the  last Friday in August and must be signed by 100 qualified voters who are eligible to vote for the office, unless fewer than 5,000 persons are eligible to vote for the office as shown by the most recent records of the appropriate board of elections. If fewer than 5,000 persons are eligible to vote for the office, an applicant's petition must be signed by not less than one percent (1%) of those registered voters. Before being filed with the county board of elections, each petition shall be presented to the county board of elections for examination. The chairman of the county board of elections shall examine the names on the petition and the procedure for certification shall be the same as specified in subdivision (1)."
SECTION 8.  Article 20 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 163-226.4.  Special deadlines for general election.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Article or Article 21 of this Chapter, the State Board of Elections shall provide that absentee ballots shall be available for the primary or general election at the earliest time practicable and may provide an alternative schedule for meetings of the county boards of elections under G.S. 163-230 to accommodate the revised schedule."
SECTION 9.  If any members of any county board of education are elected at the primary election and take office under a local act in July after the primary, they shall instead take office on the same day in October after the primary, and the terms of any such member which would otherwise expire in July 2002 or July 2004 are extended accordingly.
SECTION 10.  G.S. 163-213.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑213.2.  Primary to be held; date; qualifications and registration of voters.
On the second Tuesday in  March 2004, 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 twenty-fifth day 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 11.  This act becomes effective January 1, 2002.