§ 147‑4.  Executive officers – election; term; induction into office.
The executive department shall consist of a Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, a Secretary of State, an Auditor, a Treasurer, a Superintendent of Public Instruction, an Attorney General, a Commissioner of Agriculture, a Commissioner of Insurance, and a Commissioner of Labor, who shall be elected for a term of four years, by the qualified electors of the State, at the same time and places, and in the same manner, as members of the General Assembly are elected. Their term of office shall commence on the first day of January next after their election and continue until their successors are elected and qualified. The persons having the highest number of votes, respectively, shall be declared duly elected, but if two or more be equal and highest in votes for the same office, then one of them shall be chosen by joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly. Contested elections shall be determined by a joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly in such manner as shall be prescribed by law. (Const., art. 3, ss. 1, 3; 1897, c. 1, ss. 1, 2, 3; Rev., s. 5326; C.S., s. 7627; 1931, c. 312, s. 5; 1953, c. 2; 1981, c. 504, s. 7; 1985, c. 563, s. 12.)