GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

1985 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 61

HOUSE BILL 88

 

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA TO PROVIDE THAT FUTURE GOVERNORS AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNORS MAY NOT SUCCEED THEMSELVES, AND TO MAKE A CONFORMING CHANGE TO THE GENERAL STATUTES.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  Article III of the Constitution of North Carolina is amended by rewriting the last sentence of subsection (2) of Section 2 to read: "No person elected to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor shall be eligible for election to the next succeeding term of the same office, except that a person elected to the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor in 1984 shall be eligible for election to the same office in 1988."

Sec. 2.  The amendment set forth in Section 1 of this act shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the State at the next general election in November of 1986, which election shall be conducted under the laws then governing elections in the State.  At that election, each qualified voter who desires to vote shall be provided a ballot on which shall be printed the following:

"@ FOR @ AGAINST A constitutional amendment prohibiting future Governors and Lieutenant Governors from succeeding themselves, except that the present Governor and Lieutenant Governor may be re-elected in the 1988 General Election."

Those qualified voters favoring the amendment shall vote by marking an "X" or a check mark in the square beside the word "FOR", and those qualified voters opposed to the amendment shall vote by marking an "X" or a check mark in the square beside the word "AGAINST".

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, voting machines may be used in accordance with rules and regulations prescribed by the State Board of Elections.

Sec. 3.  If a majority of votes cast thereon are in favor of the constitutional amendment, the State Board of Elections shall certify the amendment to the Secretary of State who shall enroll the amendment so certified among the permanent records of his office.  The constitutional amendment shall become effective upon certification.

Sec. 4.  G.S. 143-13 is amended by deleting "other than when a Governor is elected for a second successive term".

Sec. 5.  Section 4 of this act shall take effect only upon approval of the voters of the constitutional amendment set forth in Section 1 of this act.  If the constitutional amendment proposed in that section is approved by the voters, Section 4 of this act shall become effective July 1, 1992.

Sec. 6.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 5th day of April, 1985.