NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1967 SESSION

CHAPTER 808
HOUSE BILL 1106

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 163 OF THE SESSION LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA, 1963, RELATING TO THE ELECTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE CITY OF WASHINGTON.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. Chapter 163 of the Session Laws of North Carolina, 1963, being the Charter of the City of Washington, is hereby amended by striking therefrom all of Article V, Election Procedure, as the same appears therein and substituting in lieu thereof a new Article V which shall read as follows:
"Article V. Election Procedure.
Sec. 5.1. Type Election – General Requirements. The regular municipal election for the members of the City Council of the City of Washington shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May in the odd‑numbered years as hereinafter provided. This regular municipal election shall be a nonpartisan election and the members of the City Council shall be elected by the qualified voters of the City voting at large.
Sec. 5.2. Filing of Candidates. Any qualified elector desiring to become a candidate for election to the City Council shall file with the City Clerk not later than 5:00 p.m. on the 11th day next preceding the day of the election written notice of his intention to be a candidate; such written notice shall be in the form that the City Council may require and shall state that the person signing the notice is a candidate for nomination as a member of the City Council and requests that his or her name be printed upon the official ballot. The names of the candidates for the City Council shall be listed on the ballot in the order in which they file notice of candidacy. Such notice of candidacy shall be accompanied by payment of a filing fee of ten dollars ($10.00) and there shall be no refund of any filing fee collected.
Sec. 5.3. Regular Municipal Election. The regular municipal election for members of the City Council shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May in the odd‑numbered years. Only the names of the persons who have paid their filing fees shall appear on the ballot for the general municipal election.
Sec. 5.4. No ballot for Councilmen shall be valid unless as many candidates shall be voted for as there are vacancies to be filled. If the elector desires to vote for a person whose name does not appear on the ballot, he can substitute the name by writing it in with a pencil or ink and making a cross (X) mark in the blank space at the left of the name so written in. When a name is written in on the official ballot, the new name so written in is to be treated like any other name printed on the ballot. No sticker is to be used.
Sec. 5.5. In the regular municipal election the five persons receiving the highest city‑wide vote shall be declared elected as members of the City Council, and there shall be no runoff or second election for such office. Polling places on election day will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Sec. 5.6. The Councilmen so elected shall take the oaths of office on the Monday next following their election.
Sec. 5.7. The Councilmen, immediately after taking their oaths of office, shall elect, from their own membership, a Mayor and a Mayor Pro Tempore, who shall serve for terms of two years.
Sec. 5.8. The City Council, during the month of March of each odd‑numbered year, shall appoint a registrar and two poll holders for each precinct. Any vacancy occurring among the election officials shall be filled by the Mayor, or, in his absence, by the City Council; provided, that any vacancies occurring in any precinct on the day of the regular municipal election may be filled by the remaining election officials of such precinct.
Sec. 5.9. The City Clerk shall cause to be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the City, at least two weeks prior to the first day of registration, a notice stating the dates when the registration books will be open, the names of the registrars, the locations of the polling places, and the date of the regular municipal election.
Sec. 5.10. The registration books for the registration of voters shall be open for a period of 10 days, which period of time shall include and end with the second Saturday preceding the day of the regular municipal election. The registration books shall be open on each Saturday during the registration period at the respective polling places. On other days during the period, excluding Sunday, the registration books shall be open at the home or usual place of business of the respective registrar in each precinct. On each day of registration, the registration book shall be open from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Sec. 5.11. Any person seeking to register must show that he has resided in the State for one year, and in the precinct in which he offers to register for 30 days next preceding the regular municipal election, and shall otherwise be qualified to vote for members of the General Assembly; provided that removal from one precinct in the City to another in the City shall not operate to deprive any otherwise qualified person of the right to register and vote in the precinct from which such person removed until 30 days after such removal.
Sec. 5.12. No registration shall be allowed on the day of the regular municipal election, provided that if any person shall give satisfactory evidence to the registrar and the poll holders that he has become qualified to register and vote since the time for registration ended, he shall be allowed to vote.
Sec. 5.13. Challenge Day shall be the second Saturday preceding the day of the regular municipal election, and the registration books shall be open at the polling place in each precinct on such day for the inspection of the electors and the challenging of any person registered. Challenges shall be heard and determined by the election officials as provided by the general law governing elections for members of the General Assembly.
Sec. 5.14. Determination of Tie Votes in Regular Municipal Elections. In case there shall be a tie in the vote in the regular municipal election for membership on the City Council, the tie shall be broken by vote of the Beaufort County Board of Elections, after two days' written notice to the persons affected.
Sec. 5.15. Determination of Disputes. In case of any dispute arising with respect to the election of any candidate for membership on the City Council or with respect to any matter pertaining to the holding of the regular municipal election, the same shall be heard and determined by the Beaufort County Board of Elections, under such rules and regulations as it may adopt and establish, not inconsistent with rules or regulations of the State Board of Elections. The Beaufort County Board of Elections is hereby given power to administer oaths, to subpoena witnesses and documents, and to do and perform any other thing which shall be necessary for the purpose of hearing and determining any matter which may come before it by reason of the provisions of this Section.
Sec. 5.16. The City Clerk of the City of Washington shall have the responsibility for publishing required election notices, custody of the notice of candidacy filed with the City Clerk, preparation of the ballots and performing all other duties and functions in connection with the regular municipal election, or any special election, as the City Council may direct.
Sec. 5.17. Special Elections. The conduct of all authorized special elections held in the City of Washington shall be governed by the provisions of the applicable general law.
Sec. 5.18. Bond Elections. The conduct of bond elections shall be governed by the provisions of general law relating to municipal bond elections."
Sec. 2. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of 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 16th day of June, 1967.