NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1963 SESSION

CHAPTER 4
SENATE BILL 18

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 163 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF ELECTIONS IN MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS APPLICABLE ONLY TO DAVIDSON COUNTY AND THE CITY OF THOMASVILLE AND TO AMEND CHAPTER 196 OF THE PRIVATE LAWS, 1929, AS AMENDED BY CHAPTER 248 OF THE SESSION LAWS OF 1949 AND CHAPTER 15 OF THE SESSION LAWS OF 1961, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE ELECTION OFFICIALS FOR THE CITY OF THOMASVILLE BY THE DAVIDSON COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS, THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE CITY OF THOMASVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY ELECTION BOOKS, AND THE CREATING OF A CENTRAL REGISTRATION SYSTEM, JOINT PRECINCTS AND POLLING PLACES USING THE SAME REGISTRATION BOOKS FOR THE VOTERS OF THE CITY OF THOMASVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. That all of Sections 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Chapter 196 of the Private Laws of 1929, as amended by Chapter 248 of the Session Laws of 1949 and Chapter 15 of the Session Laws of 1961, are further amended by striking out said Sections and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"A.	TO HOLD GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION. The general municipal election shall take place on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, 1963, and biennially thereafter on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May.
"At the first election to be held on the first Tuesday in May, 1963, a mayor and one councilman at large shall be elected, who shall hold office for a term of two years or until their successors are elected and qualified, one councilman from ward one and one councilman from ward three shall be elected who shall hold office for a term of four years or until their successors are elected and qualified and one councilman from ward two and one councilman from ward four, who shall hold office for a term of two years or until their successors are elected and qualified. At the election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, 1965, a mayor and one councilman at large shall be elected who shall hold office for a term of two years or until their successors are elected and qualified, and one councilman from ward two and one councilman from ward four, who shall hold office for a term of four years, or until their successors are elected and qualified.
"B.	ELIGIBILITY OF MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEN. Any qualified elector in this State shall be eligible for mayor or city councilman, provided he shall have resided in the corporate limits twelve months, and for city councilman also in the ward from which he is elected four months next preceding day of election. The councilman at large shall have resided in the corporate limits of the city for twelve months next preceding the day of election.
"C.	VOTING QUALIFICATIONS. All persons entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly, and who have been residents of the city and ward in which they offer to vote four months next preceding the day of election, and who shall have registered and qualified as provided in the general laws of North Carolina relative to municipal elections, shall be allowed to vote for mayor and city councilmen from each of the four wards of the City of Thomasville, and for one councilman at large of the City of Thomasville, and no person not a resident of the said city and ward from which he offers to vote shall be an elector of the city. But if any duly qualified elector shall have moved from one ward of the city to another within the four months next preceding any election, he shall be entitled to vote in the said election in the ward from which he shall have moved.
"D.	NOTICE OF CANDIDACY. The City of Thomasville shall be nonpolitical, and the name of each candidate for nomination in such election shall be filed with the City Clerk not later than the third Tuesday before the first Monday in May preceding the election. Such notice of candidacy shall set forth:
"(a)	The name of the candidate;
"(b)	The age of the candidate;
"(c)	The address of the candidate and the street and number of his residence;
"(d)	The length of his residence at such street address;
"(e)	The office for which he seeks nomination, whether councilman or mayor, and, if as councilman, from which ward.
"Such notices may be filed by the candidate or any qualified voter of the city, but must be accompanied with the sum of ten dollars ($10.00), filing fee, if the office is councilman, and the sum of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00), if the office sought is mayor, to be used as expenses for the conduct of the election."
Sec. 2. The registrars and judges within the corporate limits of the City of Thomasville shall be appointed by the Davidson County Board of Elections in each precinct.
The registration books and election records of the City of Thomasville shall be consolidated and combined with the registration books and election records of the Davidson County Board of Elections so that there shall be only one registration book for each precinct within the City of Thomasville.
Sec. 3. (a) The Davidson County Board of Elections having already established a permanent registration system with the precincts located in the City of Thomasville coterminous with the corporate boundaries of the City of Thomasville, such registration system shall be a permanent public record of registration and qualification to vote in any general, special, primary or other election held for the City of Thomasville, and to that end those registered voters on the Davidson County registration books living in the corporate limits of the City of Thomasville shall be entitled to vote in any and all elections held for municipal purposes.
(b)	Those who register in ensuing city or county elections, whether it be in the primary or general election or special elections, shall be entitled to vote either in all city elections or all county, primary or general elections thereafter held.
(c)	During elections for the City of Thomasville, the Davidson County Board of Elections shall retain custody of all books and shall handle all election machinery where registration books are concerned.
Sec. 4. The expense of conducting all municipal elections shall be paid for by the City of Thomasville.
Sec. 5. The registrars, judges, clerks and special election clerks shall be compensated for their services in such amounts as may be fixed in the discretion of the Davidson County Board of Elections, or with the approval of the City Council of the City of Thomasville and the Davidson County Board of Commissioners.
Sec. 6. The Davidson County Board of Elections, together with the registrars and the special registration clerks appointed by it, shall be the only authority authorized to register electors in Davidson County, including those within the City of Thomasville, and the registration or transfer of registration of electors pursuant to such authority shall be the sole official registration for municipal elections held in the City of Thomasville, and in the event a special registration of electors is required for any special tax assessment, bond election, or for any other purpose in accordance with the General Statutes of North Carolina, such registration of voters shall likewise be conducted by the registrars or special registration clerks, as herein provided.
Sec. 7. When Registration Books Open. The registration books for the election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, 1963, and biennially thereafter, shall be open for at least three (3)	weeks prior to the election, and the Saturday before the first Monday shall be considered as Challenge Day.
Sec. 8. That at least thirty (30)	days before the General City Election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May of 1963, and, at least thirty (30) days before any General City Election, Special City Election, Special Tax or City Bond Election is to be held within the City Limits of the City of Thomasville, the City Council of the City of Thomasville shall, by resolution, request the Davidson County Board of Elections to hold said election; that upon receipt of a certified copy of said resolution of the City Council of the City of Thomasville, the Davidson County Board of Elections shall call said election so requested and shall make available all registration books and election records to the duly appointed registrars in the six Thomasville precincts.
Sec. 9. That for the purpose of the General Municipal Election and all other municipal elections, including municipal bond elections, the city clerk shall cause ballots to be prepared in sufficient number for use in the election, which said ballots shall in the main conform to the election laws of the State.
Sec. 10. Conduct of Elections; Counting of Ballots; Canvassing of Results. (a) The polls shall open and close at the same hours provided for primary and general elections by Chapter 163 of the General Statutes.
(b)	At the end of the election, in each precinct the polls shall be closed, the ballot boxes opened, unless voting machines are used, and the ballots counted by or under the supervision of the registrar and judges of the election in the manner provided for with respect to general elections by Chapter 163 of the General Statutes.
(c)	The registrar shall attend the meeting of the board of canvassers as a member thereof. When the results of the counting of the ballots have been ascertained, the results shall be embodied in a duplicate statement to be prepared by the registrar and judges on forms furnished by the city clerk and certified to by her. One of the statements of the voting in the precinct shall be placed in a sealed envelope and presented by the registrar at the meeting of the board of canvassers, The other duplicate statement shall be mailed by one of the other precinct election officers to the city clerk immediately after the vote count has been completed on election night.
(d)	The members of the board of canvassers shall meet at 11:00 A. M. on the second day next after the election at the city hall. The board shall organize by the election of one of its members as chairman and one as secretary. Any member of the board who fails to deliver the certified returns from his precinct by 12:00 Noon on the day of the board meeting shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, unless for illness or good cause shown for such failure. If any precinct returns have not been received by the board by 12:00 Noon on the first day of this meeting, or if any returns are incomplete or defective, it shall have authority to dispatch an officer for the purpose of securing the proper returns for the precinct.
(e)	The board of canvassers shall, at their meeting, in the presence of such electors as choose to attend, open, canvass, and judicially determine the results, and shall make abstracts, stating the number of legal ballots cast in each precinct, the name of each candidate for councilman voted for and the number of votes given to each candidate, and shall sign the abstracts in duplicate with their certificates as to the correctness of the abstracts. It shall have power and authority to pass upon judicially all the votes relative to the election and judicially determine and declare the results of the same; to send for papers and persons and examine the latter upon oath; and to pass upon the legality of any disputed ballots transmitted to them by any precinct officer.
(f)	The candidate for mayor receiving the largest number of votes and the candidate for councilman at large, and the candidate from each ward receiving the largest number of votes shall be deemed elected.
(g)	The board of canvassers shall transmit one copy of the certified abstract of the results to the mayor and shall file the other copy, together with the original precinct return, with the city clerk. The clerk shall publish the results of the election at the door of the city hall.
Sec. 11. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict herewith, including all conflicting provisions of Chapter 160 and Chapter 163 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, and Chapter 196 of the Private Laws of 1929, as amended by Chapter 248 of the Session Laws of 1949 and Chapter 15 of the Session Laws of 1961, are hereby repealed and shall not apply to municipal elections of any kind whatsoever held in the City of Thomasville, and wherever said General Statutes and/or said Private Laws and this Act conflict, this Act shall control.
Sec. 12. If any part of this Act, or the application of any part thereof, to any person or condition is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other parts of this Act or the application to any other person or condition and to this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be separable.
Sec. 13. 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 February, 1963.