Chapter 163

(a) Unless otherwise provided by law, elections for the officers listed in the tabulation contained in this section shall be conducted in all election precincts of the territorial units specified in the column headed "Jurisdiction" on the dates indicated in the column headed "Dat…

Any vacancy occurring in the office of district attorney for causes other than expiration of term shall be filled by appointment of the Governor. An appointee shall hold his place until the next election for members of the General Assembly that is held more than 60 days after the…

Unless otherwise provided in this Chapter, primary elections shall be conducted as far as practicable in accordance with the general election laws of this State. All provisions of this Chapter and of other laws governing elections, not inconsistent with this Article and other pro…

The expense of printing and distributing the poll and registration books and blanks to be furnished by the State, and the per diem and expenses of the State Board of Elections while engaged in the discharge of primary election duties imposed by law upon that Board, shall be paid …

(a) Notice and Pledge. - No one shall be voted for in a primary election without having filed a notice of candidacy with the appropriate board of elections, State or county, as required by this section and G.S. 163-106.1, 163-106.2, 163-106.3, 163-106.5, and 163-106.6. To this en…

No person shall be permitted to file as a candidate in a party primary unless that person has been affiliated with that party for at least 90 days as of the date of that person filing such notice of candidacy. A person registered as "unaffiliated" shall be ineligible to file as a…

(a) Candidates seeking party primary nominations for the following offices shall file their notice of candidacy with the State Board no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Monday in December and no later than 12:00 noon on the third Friday in December preceding the primary: Gove…

In any primary in which there are two or more vacancies for associate justices for the Supreme Court, two or more vacancies for the Court of Appeals, two or more vacancies for superior or district court judge, or two vacancies for United States Senator from North Carolina, each c…

Any person who has filed notice of candidacy for an office shall have the right to withdraw it at any time prior to the close of business on the third business day prior to the date on which the right to file for that office expires under the terms of G.S. 163-106.2. If a candida…

(a) Candidates required to file their notice of candidacy with the State Board of Elections under G.S. 163-106.2 shall file along with their notice a certificate signed by the chairman of the board of elections or the director of elections of the county in which they are register…

No person may file a notice of candidacy for more than one office described in G.S. 163-106.2 for any one election. If a person has filed a notice of candidacy with a board of elections under G.S. 163-106 for one office, then a notice of candidacy may not later be filed for any o…

(a) Fee Schedule. - At the time of filing a notice of candidacy, each candidate shall pay to the board of elections with which the candidate files under the provisions of G.S. 163-106, 163-106.1, 163-106.2, 163-106.3, 163-106.4, 163-106.5, and 163-106.6, a filing fee for the offi…

(a) Any qualified voter who seeks nomination in the party primary of the political party with which he affiliates may, in lieu of payment of any filing fee required for the office he seeks, file a written petition requesting him to be a candidate for a specified office with the a…

(a) Within three days after the time for filing notices of candidacy with the State Board of Elections under the provisions of G.S. 163-106.2 has expired, the chairman or secretary of that Board shall certify to the Secretary of State the name, address, and party affiliation of e…

Chapter 826, Session Laws of 1957; Chapter 484, Session Laws of 1961; Chapter 621, Session Laws of 1959; Chapter 894, Session Laws of 1945; Chapter 442, Session Laws of 1955; Chapter 103, Public-Local Laws of 1941; Chapter 439, Session Laws of 1955; Chapter 238, Session Laws of 1…

(a) If a vacancy shall occur in the General Assembly by death, resignation, or otherwise than by expiration of term, the Governor shall immediately appoint for the unexpired part of the term the person recommended by the political party executive committee provided by this sectio…

If a nominee for a single office is to be selected and only one candidate of a political party files for that office, or if nominees for two or more offices (constituting a group) are to be selected, and only the number of candidates equal to the number of the positions to be fil…

(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 o…

(a) Death of One of Two Candidates within 30 Days after the Filing Period Closes. - If at the time the filing period closes, only two persons have filed notice of candidacy for nomination by a political party to a single office, and one of the candidates dies within 30 days after…

A person who has been declared the nominee of a political party for a specified office under the provisions of G.S. 163-182.15 or G.S. 163-110, shall not be permitted to resign as a candidate unless, prior to the first day on which military and overseas absentee ballots are trans…

(a) 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 ens…

(a) If a vacancy occurs in the office of the clerk of superior court, otherwise than by expiration of the term, or if the people fail to elect, the vacancy shall be filled as provided in Sec. 9(3) of Article IV of the North Carolina Constitution. If the vacancy occurs after the t…

Unaffiliated voters shall be allowed to vote in one primary of the voter's choosing, subject to the provisions of G.S. 163-59, 163-111, and 163-166.7. Each unaffiliated voter may vote in the primary of that party by announcing that intention under G.S. 163-166.7(a). (1993 (Reg. S…

Whenever there shall be a vacancy in the office of United States Senator from this State, whether caused by death, resignation, or otherwise than by expiration of term, the Governor shall appoint to fill the vacancy until an election shall be held to fill the office. If the Senat…

(a) Procedure for Having Name Printed on Ballot as Unaffiliated Candidate. - Any qualified voter who seeks to have the voter's 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 …

(a) Procedure for Qualifying as a Write-In Candidate. - Any qualified voter who seeks to have write-in votes for him counted in a general election shall file a declaration of intent in accordance with subsection (b) of this section and petition(s) in accordance with subsection (c…

(a) No individual is eligible to have that individual's name on the general election ballot for two separate offices, unless one of the offices is for the remainder of the unexpired term for an office that requires an election to fill the unexpired portion of the term. (b) This s…

As used in this Article, the following terms mean: (1) Board. - State Board of Elections. (2) Candidate. - A person having filed a notice of candidacy under the appropriate statute for any elective office in this State. (3) Challenger. - Any qualified voter registered in the same…

(a) When. - A challenge to a candidate may be filed under this Article with the board of elections receiving the notice of the candidacy or petition no later than 10 business days after the close of the filing period for notice of candidacy or petition. (b) How. - The challenge m…

Upon filing of a challenge, a panel shall hear the challenge, as follows: (1) Single county. - If the district for the office subject to the challenge covers territory in all or part of only one county, the panel shall be the county board of elections of that county. (2) Multicou…

(a) The panel conducting a hearing under this Article shall do all of the following: (1) Within five business days after the challenge is filed, designate and announce the time of the hearing and the facility where the hearing will be held. The hearing shall be held at a location…

(a) The burden of proof shall be upon the candidate, who must show by a preponderance of the evidence of the record as a whole that he or she is qualified to be a candidate for the office. (b) If the challenge is based upon a question of residency, the candidate must show all of …

(a) Appeals from Single or Multicounty Panel. - The decision of a panel created under G.S. 163-127.3(1) or G.S. 163-127.3(2) may be appealed as of right to the State Board by any of the following: (1) The challenger. (2) A candidate adversely affected by the panel's decision. App…

(a) Each county shall be divided into a convenient number of precincts for the purpose of voting. Upon a resolution adopted by the county board of elections and approved by the Executive Director of the State Board of Elections voters from a given precinct may be temporarily tran…

(a) At the voting place in each precinct established under G.S. 163-128, the county board of elections shall provide or procure by lease or otherwise a suitable structure or part of a structure in which registration and voting may be conducted. To this end, the county board of el…

(a) Special Election. - If at any time after expiration of any Congress and before another election, or if at any time after an election, there shall be a vacancy in this State's representation in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, the Governor shall issu…

A county board of elections by unanimous vote may, upon approval of a request submitted in writing to the State Board of Elections, establish a plan whereby elderly or disabled voters in a precinct may vote at designated sites within the precinct other than the regular voting pla…

A county board of elections, by unanimous vote of all its members, may establish a voting place for a precinct that is located outside that precinct. The county board's proposal is subject to approval by the Executive Director of the State Board of Elections. The county board sha…

A county board of elections, by unanimous vote of all its members, may propose to designate two voting places to be used temporarily for the same precinct. The temporary designation of a voting place shall continue only for the term of office of the county board of elections maki…

(a) The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules to assure that any disabled or elderly voter assigned to an inaccessible polling place, upon advance request of such voter, will be assigned to an accessible polling place. Such rules should allow the request to be made in a…

(a) Participation. - The State of North Carolina shall participate in the 2020 Census Redistricting Data Program, conducted pursuant to P.L. 94-171, of the United States Bureau of the Census, so that the State will receive 2020 Census data by voting districts. (b) Reporting of Vo…

(a) No county board of elections may change any precinct boundary unless approved by the Executive Director of the State Board. (b) To be used by the Executive Director and the county boards of elections in changing precinct boundaries in accordance with this section, the State B…

No county board of elections shall assign to any precinct a name that has been used after January 1, 1999, for a precinct comprising different territory. That requirement does not apply to a precinct change made under G.S. 163-132.3(a)(3). The county board of elections shall subm…

The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections may promulgate directives concerning its duties and those of the county boards of elections under this Article. (1985, c. 757, s. 205(a); 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1074, s. 2; 2001-319, s. 11; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1…

The Office of State Budget and Management, the Department of Transportation and county and municipal planning departments shall cooperate and assist the Legislative Services Office, the Executive Director of the State Board of Elections and the county boards of elections in the i…

(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of any local act, a county board of elections need not have the approval of any other county board or commission to make precinct boundary changes required by this Article. (b) Precinct boundaries established, retained or changed under this Arti…

The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections shall retain the maps and written descriptions which he approves pursuant to G.S. 163-132.3. (1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 927, s. 1; 2001-319, s. 11; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)

Census data by voting tabulation district. The State shall request the U.S. Bureau of the Census for each decennial census to provide summaries of census data by voting tabulation district and shall participate in any U.S. Bureau of the Census' program to effectuate this provisio…

(a) Each county board of elections shall maintain voting data by voting precinct so that precinct returns for each item on the ballot shall include the votes cast by all residents of that voting precinct who voted, regardless of where that voter cast his or her ballot. The county…

In addition to the definitions stated below, the definitions set forth in Article 15A of this Chapter also apply to this Part. As used in this Part: (1) "Ballot" means an instrument on which a voter indicates that voter's choice for a ballot item so that it may be recorded as a v…