A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to allow political parties to use "runners" to pick up voter lists from polls; to prohibit a candidate from being an observer or runner at the polls; to authorize the executive director of the state board of elections to permit different voting systems in the same precinct; to allow the changing of registered voters based on adjusted county line; to change the deadline for filing a protest from six o'clock p.m. to five o'clock p.m.; to permit the same kind of voter assistance in one‑stop sites as at voting places on election day; to change the requirement for a statewide unaffiliated candidate to conform to a federal court decision; to prohibit piece payment for voter registration drives; to expressly provide that precinct transfer voters at one‑stop sites need not vote provisional ballots; to delete the requirement that one‑stop voters be instructed in how to vote mail absentee ballots; to fix the salary on which a filing fee for an office is based; to remove the outdated reference in the filing fee statute to offices "compensated entirely by fees"; to allow the State Board of Elections to automatically cancel a voter's registration in a former county when the voter registers in a new county; to update and make more technology‑neutral the language in the statute providing for access to voter registration data; to extend for three days the county canvass after a general election in november of an even‑numbered year; and to expressly allow electronic pollbooks.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 163‑45 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑45.  Observers; appointment.
The chair of each political party in the county shall have the right to designate two observers to attend each voting place at each primary and election and such observers may, at the option of the designating party chair, be relieved during the day of the primary or election after serving no less than four hours and provided the list required by this section to be filed by each chair contains the names of all persons authorized to represent such chair's political party. Not more than two observers from the same political party shall be permitted in the voting enclosure at any time. This right shall not extend to the chair of a political party during a primary unless that party is participating in the primary. In any election in which an unaffiliated candidate is named on the ballot, the candidate or the candidate's campaign manager shall have the right to appoint two observers for each voting place consistent with the provisions specified herein. Persons appointed as observers must be registered voters of the county for which appointed and must have good moral character. No person who is a candidate on the ballot in a primary or election may serve as an observer or runner in that primary or election. Observers shall take no oath of office.
Individuals authorized to appoint observers must submit in writing to the chief judge of each precinct a signed list of the observers appointed for that precinct. Individuals authorized to appoint observers must, prior to 10:00 A.M. on the fifth day prior to any primary or general election, submit in writing to the chair of the county board of elections two signed copies of a list of observers appointed by them, designating the precinct for which each observer is appointed. Before the opening of the voting place on the day of a primary or general election, the chair shall deliver one copy of the list to the chief judge for each affected precinct. The chair shall retain the other copy. The chair, or the chief judge and judges for each affected precinct, may for good cause reject any appointee and require that another be appointed. The names of any persons appointed in place of those persons rejected shall be furnished in writing to the chief judge of each affected precinct no later than the time for opening the voting place on the day of any primary or general election, either by the chair of the county board of elections or the person making the substitute appointment.
An observer shall do no electioneering at the voting place, and shall in no manner impede the voting process or interfere or communicate with or observe any voter in casting a ballot, but, subject to these restrictions, the chief judge and judges of elections shall permit the observer to make such observation and take such notes as the observer may desire.
Whether or not the observer attends to the polls for the requisite time provided by this section, each observer shall be entitled to obtain at times specified by the State Board of Elections, but not less than three times during election day with the spacing not less than one hour apart, a list of the persons who have voted in the precinct so far in that election day. Counties that use an "authorization to vote document" instead of poll books may comply with the requirement in the previous sentence by permitting each observer to inspect election records so that the observer may create a list of persons who have voted in the precinct so far that election day; each observer shall be entitled to make the inspection at times specified by the State Board of Elections, but not less than three times during election day with the spacing not less than one hour apart. Instead of having an observer receive the voting list, the county party chair may send a runner to do so. The runner may be any person named by the county party chair. That party chair must notify the chair of the county board of elections or the board chair's designee of the names of all runners to be used in each precinct before the runner goes to the precinct. The runner may receive a voter list from the precinct on the same schedule as an observer. Whether obtained by observer or runner, each party is entitled to only one voter list at each of the scheduled times. No runner may enter the voting enclosure except when necessary to announce that runner's presence. The runner must leave immediately after being provided with the list."
SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 163‑166.3 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑166.3.  Limited access to the voting enclosure.
During the time allowed for voting in the voting place, only the following persons may enter the voting enclosure:
(1)	An election official.
(2)	An observer appointed pursuant to G.S. 163‑45.
(2a)	A runner appointed pursuant to G.S. 163‑45, but only to the extent necessary to announce that runner's presence and to receive the voter list as provided in G.S. 163‑45.
(3)	A person seeking to vote in that voting place on that day but only while in the process of voting or seeking to vote.
(4)	A voter in that precinct while entering or explaining a challenge pursuant to G.S. 163‑87 or G.S. 163‑88.
(5)	A person authorized under G.S. 163‑166.8 to assist a voter but, except as provided in subdivision (6) of this section, only while assisting that voter.
(6)	Minor children of the voter under the age of 18, or minor children under the age of 18 in the care of the voter, but only while accompanying the voter and while under the control of the voter.
(7)	Persons conducting or participating in a simulated election within the voting place or voting enclosure, if that simulated election is approved by the county board of elections.
(8)	Any other person determined by election officials to have an urgent need to enter the voting enclosure but only to the extent necessary to address that need."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑165.10 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑165.10.  Adequacy of voting system for each precinct.
The county board of elections shall make available for each precinct voting place an adequate quantity of official ballots or equipment. When the board of county commissioners has decided to adopt and purchase or lease a voting system for voting places under the provisions of G.S. 165‑165.8, the board of county commissioners shall, as soon as practical, provide for each of those voting places sufficient equipment of the approved voting system in complete working order. If it is impractical to furnish each voting place with the equipment of the approved voting system, that which has been obtained may be placed in voting places chosen by the county board of elections. In that case, the county board of elections shall choose the voting places and allocate the equipment in a way that as nearly as practicable provides equal access to the voting system for each voter. The county board of elections shall appoint as many voting system custodians as may be necessary for the proper preparation of the system for each election and for its maintenance, storage, and care. The Executive Director of the State Board of Elections may permit a county board of elections to provide more than one type of voting system in a precinct, but only upon a finding that doing so is necessary to comply with federal or State law."
SECTION 3.  Article 7A of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 163‑82.15A.  Administrative change of registration when county line is adjusted. 
When a boundary between counties is changed by legislation, or adjusted by the counties pursuant to G.S. 153A‑18, the Executive Director of the State Board of Elections shall direct the county boards of elections involved to administratively change the voter registration of any voter whose residence the change or adjustment places in a different county. The voter shall not be required to submit a new application to register. The Executive Director shall prescribe a method of notifying the voter of the change of county registration, the correct precinct, and other relevant information."
SECTION 4.  G.S. 163‑182.9(b)(4) reads as rewritten:
"(4)	The timing for filing a protest shall be as follows:
a.	If the protest concerns the manner in which votes were counted or results tabulated, the protest shall be filed before the beginning of the county board of election's canvass meeting.
b.	If the protest concerns the manner in which votes were counted or results tabulated and the protest states good cause for delay in filing, the protest may be filed until 5:00 P.M. on the second day after the county board of elections has completed its canvass and declared the results.
c.	If the protest concerns an irregularity other than vote counting or result tabulation, the protest shall be filed no later than 5:00 P.M. on the second day after the county board has completed its canvass and declared the results.
d.	If the protest concerns an irregularity on a matter other than vote counting or result tabulation and the protest is filed before election day, the protest proceedings shall be stayed, unless a party defending against the protest moves otherwise, until after election day if any one of the following conditions exists:
1.	The ballot has been printed.
2.	The voter registration deadline for that election has passed.
3.	Any of the proceedings will occur within 30 days before election day."
SECTION 5.(a)  G.S. 163‑227.2(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	The voter shall vote that voter's absentee ballot in a voting booth in the office of the county board of elections, and the county board of elections shall provide a voting booth for that purpose, provided however, that the county board of elections may in the alternative provide a private room for the voter adjacent to the office of the board, in which case the voter shall vote that voter's absentee ballot in that room. A voter at a one‑stop site shall be entitled to the same assistance as a voter at a voting place on election day under G.S. 163‑166.8. The State Board of Elections shall, where appropriate, adapt the rules it adopts under G.S. 163‑166.8 to one‑stop voting."
SECTION 5.(b)  G.S. 163‑226.3(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Any person who shall, in connection with absentee voting in any election held in this State, do any of the acts or things declared in this section to be unlawful, shall be guilty of a Class I felony. It shall be unlawful:
(1)	For any person except the voter's near relative or the voter's verifiable legal guardian to assist the voter to vote an absentee ballot when the voter is voting an absentee ballot other than under the procedure described in G.S. 163‑227.2; provided that if there is not a near relative or legal guardian available to assist the voter, the voter may request some other person to give assistance;
(2)	For any person to assist a voter to vote an absentee ballot under the absentee voting procedure authorized by G.S. 163‑227.2 except as provided in that section;
(3)	For a voter who votes an absentee ballot under the procedures authorized by G.S. 163‑227.2 to vote that voter's absentee ballot outside of the voting booth or private room provided to the voter for that purpose in or adjacent to the office of the county board of elections or at the additional site provided by G.S. 163‑227.2(f1), or to receive assistance except as provided in G.S. 163‑227.2;
(4)	For any owner, manager, director, employee, or other person, other than the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian, to make a written request pursuant to G.S. 163‑230.1 or an application on behalf of a registered voter who is a patient in any hospital, clinic, nursing home or rest home in this State or for any owner, manager, director, employee, or other person other than the voter's near relative or verifiable legal guardian, to mark the voter's absentee ballot or assist such a voter in marking an absentee ballot;
(5)	Repealed by Session Laws 1987, c. 583, s. 8.
(6)	For any person to take into that person's possession for delivery to a voter or for return to a county board of elections the absentee ballot of any voter, provided, however, that this prohibition shall not apply to a voter's near relative or the voter's verifiable legal guardian;
(7)	Except as provided in subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4) of this section, G.S. 163‑231(a), G.S. 163‑250(a), and G.S. 163‑227.2(e), for any voter to permit another person to assist the voter in marking that voter's absentee ballot, to be in the voter's presence when a voter votes an absentee ballot, or to observe the voter mark that voter's absentee ballot."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 163‑122(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Procedure for Having Name Printed on Ballot as Unaffiliated Candidate. – Any qualified voter who seeks to have that 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 State Board of Elections supporting candidacy for a specified office. These petitions must be filed with the State Board of Elections on or before 12:00 noon on the last Friday in June preceding the general election and must be signed by qualified voters of the State equal in number to two percent (2%) of the total number of voters who voted in the most recent general election for Governor. Also the petition must be signed by at least 200 registered voters in each of four congressional districts in North Carolina. No later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifteenth day preceding the date the petitions are due to be filed with the State Board of Elections, each petition shall be presented to the chair of the board of elections of the county in which the signatures were obtained. Provided the petitions are timely submitted, the chair shall examine the names on the petition and place a check mark on the petition by the name of each signer who is qualified and registered to vote in that county and shall attach to the petition the petitioner's signed certificate. Said certificates shall state that the signatures on the petition have been checked against the registration records and shall indicate the number of signers to be qualified and registered to vote in that county. The chair shall return each petition, together with the certificate required in this section, to the person who presented it for checking. Verification by the chair of the county board of elections shall be completed within two weeks from the date such petitions are presented."
SECTION 7.(a)  Article 7A of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 163‑82.25A.  Piece payment in voter registration drives prohibited.
No person who employs or contracts with another person to register voters or assist or encourage voters to fill out voter registration forms shall pay that person per voter registration application completed. No person shall accept payment per voter registration application. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor."
SECTION 7.(b)  G.S. 163‑274 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(14)	For any person to pay or accept payment per voter registration application completed in violation of G.S. 163‑82.25A."
SECTION 8.(a)  G.S. 163‑227.2 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"(e2)	A voter who has moved within the county more than 30 days before election day but has not reported the move to the board of elections shall not be required on that account to vote a provisional ballot at the one‑stop site, as long as the one‑stop site has available all the information necessary to determine whether a voter is registered to vote in the county and which ballot the voter is eligible to vote based on the voter's proper residence address. The voter with that kind of unreported move shall be allowed to vote the same kind of absentee ballot as other one‑stop voters."
SECTION 8.(b)  G.S. 163‑166.11 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(2a)	A voter who has moved within the county more than 30 days before election day but has not reported the move to the board of elections shall not be required on that account to vote a provisional ballot at the one‑stop site, as long as the one‑stop site has available all the information necessary to determine whether a voter is registered to vote in the county and which ballot the voter is eligible to vote based on the voter's proper residence address. The voter with that kind of unreported move shall be allowed to vote the same kind of absentee ballot as other one‑stop voters as provided in G.S. 163‑227.2(e2)."
SECTION 9.  G.S. 163‑227.2(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	If the application is properly filled out, the authorized member or employee shall enter the voter's name in the register of absentee requests, applications, and ballots issued and shall furnish the voter with the ballots to which the application for absentee ballots applies. The voter thereupon shall vote in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.
All actions required by this subsection shall be performed in the office of the board of elections, except that the voting may take place in an adjacent room as provided by subsection (e) of this section. The application under this subsection shall be signed in the presence of the chair, member, director of elections of the board, or full‑time employee, authorized by the board who shall sign the application and certificate as the witness and indicate the official title held by him or her. Notwithstanding G.S. 163‑231(a), in the case of this subsection, only one witness shall be required on the certificate."
SECTION 10.  G.S. 163‑107(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Fee Schedule. – At the time of filing a notice of candidacy, each candidate shall pay to the board of elections with which he files under the provisions of G.S. 163‑106 a filing fee for the office he seeks in the amount specified in the following tabulation:

Office Sought	Amount of Filing Fee
Governor	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought
Lieutenant Governor	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought
All State executive offices	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought
All District Attorneys of the General	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of 
	Court of Justice		the office sought
United States Senator	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought
Members of the United States House 	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of
	of Representatives		the office sought
State Senator	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought
Member of the State House of 	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of
	Representatives		the office sought
All county offices not compensated by fees	One percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought

													
All county offices compensated partly	One percent (1%) of the first annual 
	by salary and partly by fees		salary to be received (exclusive of fees)
The salary of any office that is the basis for calculating the filing fee is the starting salary for the office, rather than the salary received by the incumbent, if different. If no starting salary can be determined for the office, then the salary used for calculation is the salary of the incumbent, as of January 1 of the election year."
SECTION 11.  G.S. 163‑82.9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑82.9.  Cancellation of prior registration.
If an applicant indicates on an application form described in G.S. 163‑82.3 a current registration to vote in any other county, municipality, or state, the county board of elections, upon registering the person to vote, shall send a notice to the appropriate officials in the other county, municipality, or state and shall ask them to cancel the person's voter registration there. If an applicant completes an application form described in G.S. 163‑82.3 except that the applicant neglects to complete the portion of the form that authorizes cancellation of previous registration in another county, the State Board of Elections shall notify the county board of elections in the previous county of the new registration, and the board in the previous county shall cancel the registration. The State Board of Elections shall adopt rules to prevent disenfranchisement in the implementation of this section. Those rules shall include adequate notice to the person whose previous registration is to be cancelled."
SECTION 12.(a)  G.S. 163‑82.10(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Access to Registration Records. – Upon request by that person, the county board of elections shall provide to any person a list of the registered voters of the county or of any precinct or precincts in the county. The county board may furnish selective lists according to party affiliation, gender, race, date of registration, precinct name, precinct identification code, congressional district, senate district, representative district, and, where applicable, county commissioner district, city governing board district, fire district, soil and water conservation district, and voter history including primary, general, and special districts, or any other reasonable category. No list produced under this section shall contain a voter's date of birth. However, lists may be produced according to voters' ages. Both the following shall apply to all counties:
(1)	The county board of elections shall make the voter registration information available to the public on electronic or magnetic medium.  For purposes of this section, "electronic or magnetic medium" means any of the media in use by the State Board of Elections at the time of the request. 
(2)	Information requested on electronic or magnetic medium shall contain the following: voter name, county voter identification number, residential address, mailing address, sex, race, age but not date of birth, party affiliation, precinct name, precinct identification code, congressional district, senate district, representative district, and, where applicable, county commissioner district, city governing board district, fire district, soil and water conservation district, and any other district information available, and voter history including primary, general, and special districts, or any other reasonable category.
The county board shall require each person to whom a list is furnished to reimburse the board for the actual cost incurred in preparing it, except as provided in subsection (c) of this section. Actual cost for the purpose of this section shall not include the cost of any equipment or any imputed overhead expenses. When furnishing information under this subsection to a purchaser on a magnetic medium provided by the county board or the purchaser, the county board may impose a service charge of up to twenty‑five dollars ($25.00)."
SECTION 12.(b)  G.S. 163‑82.10(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	Free Lists. –	A county board shall provide, upon written request, one free list of all the registered voters in the county to 
	the State chair of each political party and	to the county chair of each political party once in every odd‑numbered year, once during the first six calendar months of every even‑numbered year, and once during the latter six calendar months of every even‑numbered year.
	Each free list shall include the name, address, gender, age but not date of birth, race, political affiliation, voting history, precinct, precinct name, precinct identification code, congressional district, senate district, representative district, and, where applicable, county commissioner district, city governing board district, fire district, soil and water conservation district, and voter history including primary, general, and special districts of each registered voter. All free lists shall be provided as soon as practicable on one of any electronic or magnetic media, but no later than 30 days after written request. Each State party chair shall provide the information on the media received from the county boards or a copy of the media containing the data itself to candidates of that party who request the data in writing. As used in this section, "political party" means a political party as defined in G.S. 163‑96."
SECTION 13.  G.S. 163‑182.5(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Canvassing by County Board of Elections. – The county board of elections shall meet at 11:00 A.M. on the tenth day after every election held on the same day as a general election in November of the even‑numbered year, and at 11:00 A.M. on the seventh day after every other election, to complete the canvass of votes cast and to authenticate the count in every ballot item in the county by determining that the votes have been counted and tabulated correctly. If, despite due diligence by election officials, the initial counting of all the votes has not been completed by that time, the county board may hold the canvass meeting a reasonable time thereafter. The canvass meeting shall be at the county board of elections office, unless the county board, by unanimous vote of all its members, designates another site within the county. The county board shall examine the returns from precincts, from absentee official ballots, and from provisional official ballots and shall conduct the canvass."
SECTION 14.  G.S. 163‑166.7(c) reads as rewritten:
"(c)	The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules for the process of voting. Those rules shall emphasize the appearance as well as the reality of dignity, good order, impartiality, and the convenience and privacy of the voter. Those rules, at a minimum, shall include procedures to ensure that all the following occur:
(1)	The voting system remains secure throughout the period voting is being conducted.
(2)	Only properly voted official ballots are introduced into the voting system.
(3)	Except as provided by G.S. 163‑166.9, no official ballots leave the voting enclosure during the time voting is being conducted there.
(4)	All improperly voted official ballots are returned to the precinct officials and marked as spoiled.
(5)	Voters leave the voting place promptly after voting.
(6)	Voters not clearly eligible to vote in the precinct but who seek to vote there are given proper assistance in voting a provisional official ballot or guidance to another voting place where they are eligible to vote.
(7)	Information gleaned through the voting process that would be helpful to the accurate maintenance of the voter registration records is recorded and delivered to the county board of elections.
(8)	The registration records are kept secure. The State Board of Elections shall permit the use of electronic registration records in the voting place in lieu of or in addition to a paper pollbook or other registration record.
(9)	Party observers are given access as provided by G.S. 163‑45 to current information about which voters have voted.
(10)	The voter, before voting, shall sign that voter's name on the pollbook, other voting record, or voter authorization document. If the voter is unable to sign, a precinct official shall enter the person's name on the same document before the voter votes."
SECTION 15.  Sections 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 14 of this act are effective when this act becomes law and apply to all primaries and elections held on or after that date. The remainder of this act becomes effective January 1, 2006, and applies to all primaries and elections held on or after that date.