§ 163-165.6. Arrangement of official ballots.
§ 163‑165.6. Arrangement of official ballots.
(a) Order of Precedence Generally. Candidate ballot itemsshall be arranged on the official ballot before referenda.
(b) Order of Precedence for Candidate Ballot Items. The StateBoard of Elections shall promulgate rules prescribing the order of offices tobe voted on the official ballot. Those rules shall adhere to the followingguidelines:
(1) Federal offices shall be listed before State and localoffices. Member of the United States House of Representatives shall be listedimmediately after United States Senator.
(2) State and local offices shall be listed according to thesize of the electorate.
(3) Partisan offices, regardless of the size of theconstituency, shall be listed before nonpartisan offices.
(4) When offices are in the same class, they shall be listed inalphabetical order by office name, or in numerical or alphabetical order bydistrict name. Governor and Lieutenant Governor, in that order, shall be listedbefore other Council of State offices. Mayor shall be listed before othercitywide offices. Chair of a board, where elected separately, shall be listedbefore other board seats having the same electorate. Chief Justice shall belisted before Associate Justices.
(5) Ballot items for full terms of an office shall be listedbefore ballot items for partial terms of the same office.
(c) Order of Candidates on Primary Official Ballots. The orderin which candidates shall appear on a county's official ballots in any primaryballot item shall be determined by the county board of elections using aprocess designed by the State Board of Elections for random selection.
(d) Order of Party Candidates on General Election OfficialBallot. Candidates in any ballot item on a general election official ballotshall appear in the following order:
(1) Nominees of political parties that reflect at least fivepercent (5%) of statewide voter registration, according to the most recentstatistical report published by the State Board of Elections, in alphabeticalorder by party and in alphabetical order within the party.
(2) Nominees of other political parties, in alphabetical orderby party and in alphabetical order within the party.
(3) Unaffiliated candidates, in alphabetical order.
(e) Straight‑Party Voting. Each official ballot shall bearranged so that the voter may cast one vote for a party's nominees for alloffices except President and Vice President. A vote for President and VicePresident shall be cast separately from a straight‑party vote. Theofficial ballot shall be prepared so that a voter may cast a straight‑partyvote, but then make an exception to that straight‑party vote by votingfor a candidate not nominated by that party or by voting for fewer than all thecandidates nominated by that party. Instructions for general election ballotsshall clearly advise voters of the rules in this subsection and of the statutesproviding for the counting of ballots.
(f) Write‑In Voting. Each official ballot shall be soarranged so that voters may cast write‑in votes for candidates exceptwhere prohibited by G.S. 163‑123 or other statutes governing write‑invotes. Instructions for general election ballots shall clearly advise voters ofthe rules of this subsection and of the statutes governing write‑invoting.
(g) Order of Precedence for Referenda. The referendumquestions to be voted on shall be arranged on the official ballot in thefollowing order:
(1) Proposed amendments to the North Carolina Constitution, inthe chronological order in which the proposals were approved by the GeneralAssembly.
(2) Other referenda to be voted on by all voters in the State,in the chronological order in which the proposals were approved by the GeneralAssembly.
(3) Referenda to be voted on by fewer than all the voters in theState, in the chronological order of the acts by which the referenda wereproperly authorized. (2001‑460, s. 3;2002‑158, s. 14.)