S.L. 1965-738

NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1965 SESSION

CHAPTER 738

HOUSE BILL 624

AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE III, CHAPTER 667, SESSION LAWS OF 1959, RELATING TO ELECTIONS IN THE CITY OF STATESVILLE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. Article III, Chapter 667, Session Laws of 1959, is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"ARTICLE III. ELECTIONS.

"Section 1. Elections. (1) On the first Saturday in April, 1967, and biennially thereafter, there shall be elected a mayor at large, by and from the qualified voters of the entire city and one councilman from each ward, by the qualified voters of the entire city, for a term of two years and until their successors are elected and qualified.

"(2) Any qualified voter may be a candidate for election by means of a write-in campaign, and any voter may write in the name of the person of his choice during the general municipal election.

"(3) Any elector of the City of Statesville desiring to become a candidate for the office of mayor, councilman or any other elective office shall, by 12:00 o'clock noon on the fifteenth day prior to the election day, file with the City Board of Elections notice of such candidacy in writing and in form substantially as follows:

"State of North Carolina

County of Iredell

I, _____________________________________, being duly qualified elector of the City of Statesville, do hereby give notice that I reside at _________________________ in Ward No. ___________, of the City of Statesville; that I am a candidate for the office of ________________________________ to be voted upon at the election to be held on the _________ day of ________________, 19________, and I request that my name be printed upon the official ballots for such office.

(Signed)___________________________________

and he shall, at the time of filing said notice, pay to the said City Board of Elections the sum of five dollars ($5.00) to be turned over to the City Treasurer. Each candidate for councilman must be a resident of the ward for which he seeks election.

"(4) Within one week following the expiration of the time for filing notice of candidacy the chairman of the City Board of Elections shall cause to be published for one day in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Statesville the names of the persons who have filed notices of candidacy as they will appear on the ballot.

"(5) The chairman of the City Board of Elections shall thereupon cause the ballots to be printed, authenticated with a facsimile of his signature. Upon the ballot names of the candidates for mayor shall be placed with a square at the left of each name and above the names of the candidates for mayor shall be printed the words, 'Vote for One.' Following thereunder, the names of the candidates for the office of councilman shall be arranged by wards with a square at the left of each. Above the names of the candidates for councilman shall be printed the instruction to 'Vote for Not More Than One From each Ward.' If a voter shall vote for more than one candidate from each ward, such ballot shall not be counted by the election officials in ascertaining the result of such election. A proper provision shall be made for the names of candidates for each other elective office of the city government. The ballots shall be printed upon plain white paper and shall be headed 'Candidates for Mayor and Councilmen' and added thereto the names of any other elective office or officers as may now or hereafter be provided by law for the City of Statesville at the election. The ballot shall contain no party designation or mark whatever as to any of the candidates and shall provide that no voter may vote for more candidates than the respective offices to be filled.

"(6) The City Board of Elections shall cause to be delivered at each polling place, before the election, a sufficient number of ballots to supply the voters of the precinct.

"(7) The candidate receiving the majority of votes for mayor, the candidate receiving the majority of votes for councilman from each ward and the other candidates, equal in number to the respective offices to be filled, receiving the majority of votes for said office or offices as shown by the canvass by said City Board of Elections shall be declared elected and shall be certified as herein provided. A majority shall be determined as provided in G. S. 163-140. If no candidate for an office receives a majority of the votes cast, a run-off election, subject to the conditions herein, shall be held on the second Tuesday following the election in which only the two candidates who received the highest and next highest number of votes shall participate. Provided, that unless the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes shall, by 12:00 o'clock noon on the third day after the results of the election have been officially declared and the candidate notified by the Election Board, file in writing with the Election Board a request that a run-off election be held. In the event a run-off election is not requested, then the candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected. If a run-off election is ordered, it shall be held on the second Tuesday after the first election, and conducted under the same laws, rules and regulations as provided for the first election, except there shall not be any registration of voters. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes in the run-off election shall be declared elected.

"(8) If, as a result of receiving tie votes, there appears to be elected more candidates than there are offices to be filled, the City Board of Elections shall declare which candidate or candidates shall be elected.

"(9) In all municipal elections the polls shall be open between the hours of 6:30 o'clock A. M. and 6:30 o'clock P. M. Eastern Standard Time.

"(10) All municipal elections shall be held exclusively under the supervision of the City Board of Elections according to the general election laws as the same may now or hereafter be provided, governing elections of State or county officers; provided, however, in no event may absentee ballots be used in municipal elections.

"(11) In all municipal elections the registration of voters shall be conducted exclusively under the supervision of said City Board of Elections and the same shall be held and conducted in all respects under and according to the laws governing the registration and qualifications of voters in county and State elections as may now be provided or hereafter be enacted; provided, that the registration for the general election shall begin at 9:00 o'clock A. M. on the fourth Saturday before the municipal election and end at sunset on the second Saturday before the municipal election, challenge day being on the Saturday next preceding said election, and there shall be no registration for the general election after such second Saturday before the election except that if any person shall give satisfactory evidence to the registrar and judges of election that he has become qualified to register and vote after the time for registration has expired he shall be allowed to register on the day of the municipal election.

"(12) In all municipal elections excepting special bond or tax elections in which a special registration is ordered by the city, said City Board of Elections at the order of the governing body of the City of Statesville, the same city registration books as are now used in city elections with the addition of such names as are properly registered during the said registration period shall be used, and all electors of the City of Statesville properly registered on said city registration books and who are otherwise qualified shall be entitled to vote in said municipal election.

"(13) All special bond or special tax elections shall be held exclusively under the supervision of the City Board of Elections in the manner provided by law for general State and county elections and the registration therefor, whether general or special, shall be conducted by the City Board of Elections with the same registrars, judges, or their duly appointed successors and polling places and at the same hours provided in the case of general State and county elections. All special, special bond, and special tax elections shall in all other respects be governed by the General Statutes and laws of the State of North Carolina applying to such special, special bond or special tax elections.

"(14) The expense of holding said municipal elections and any special, special bond, or special tax elections shall be paid by the City of Statesville and there shall be paid to the City Board of Elections and all other election officials or officers the same rate of pay as in the election of county or State officers or in special county elections.

"(15) It is the intent of this Act that the City Board of Elections shall appoint registrars and judges for all municipal elections, either general or special, and for all other elections, prepare and distribute ballots, supervise the conduct of all such elections, and fix polling places as is now conferred on said board by law governing State and county elections, and said board shall canvass the returns of said elections and certify the results thereof; that it is further the intent and purpose of this Act that only one set of registration books be used in the City of Statesville for all municipal elections, except when special registration books are required for special, special bond or tax elections.

"(16) Immediately upon the closing of the polls in all elections the registrars and judges in each precinct shall count the ballots and ascertain the number of votes cast in such precinct for each of the candidates. When the results of the counting of the ballots have been ascertained, such results shall be embodied in duplicate statements to be prepared by the respective registrars and judges on forms provided by the City Board of Elections and certified to by said officers. One of the statements of the voting in the precinct shall be placed in a sealed envelope and delivered to the registrar or judge selected by them for the purpose of delivering the same to the City Board of Elections at its meeting to be held on the second day after the election. The other duplicate statement shall be mailed by one of the other precinct election officers to the chairman of the City Board of Elections immediately.

"(17) On the second day after such municipal election at 10:00 o'clock A. M. of that day, the said City Board of Elections shall meet at the City Hall in Statesville, North Carolina for the purpose of canvassing the votes cast therein and the preparation of the abstracts thereof. Any registrar or judge appointed to deliver the certified precinct returns who shall fail to deliver such returns at the meeting of the City Board of Elections at the time prescribed shall be guilty of a misdemeanor unless for illness or good cause shown for such failure. In the event any precinct returns have not been received by the City Board of Elections by the time provided or if any returns are incomplete or defective the said City Board of Elections shall have authority to dispatch an officer to the residence of the precinct officials failing to deliver them for the purpose of securing the proper returns for such precinct. The City Board of Elections at their said meeting required to be held as herein set forth in the presence of such electors as choose to attend shall open the returns and canvass and judicially determine the results of the voting in such election, stating the number of legal ballots cast in each precinct for each candidate, the name of each person voted for and the number of votes given to each person for each different office. The City Board of Elections shall make and sign duplicate abstracts thereof and the chairman of the City Board of Elections shall sign an affidavit on each of said duplicate abstracts of the returns of the municipal election that they are true and correct. At or before 9:00 o'clock on the third day after such election, the City Board of Elections shall file one set of the duplicate returns of the registrars and judges and one of the duplicate abstracts of the City Board of Elections with the Clerk of the City of Statesville. Not later than the fourth day after the said municipal election the City Board of Elections shall make and publish in some newspaper of general circulation in the City of Statesville at least once the returns of the election and also post written notice of such results in the Courthouse of Iredell County, North Carolina, at the place where notices are usually posted, in the City Hall of Statesville, North Carolina, at the place where notices are usually posted. If the said City Board of Elections shall deem it necessary it may appoint special counters to assist the registrars and judges in counting the ballots cast in any municipal election in any precinct; such special counters before acting shall be sworn by a member of the City Board of Elections or by the registrar of the precinct to perform their duties honestly and properly.

"Sec. 2. Where any conflict arises between the provisions of this Article and the general laws of the State of North Carolina, the provisions of this Article shall prevail. All questions arising in the administration of the election laws of the city not provided for in this Act shall be governed by the general election laws of the State of North Carolina.

"Sec. 3. Notwithstanding any failure to fully comply with the statutes governing the calling and conduct of municipal elections, all municipal elections, both general and special, heretofore held in the City of Statesville in Iredell County, are hereby validated in all respects, and all municipal officials chosen in any such election are hereby declared duly elected to their respective positions, and all their official acts are hereby confirmed and validated as fully and completely as if there had been full compliance with all requirements of law in respects to any such election."

Sec. 2. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 28th day of May, 1965.