§ 163-281. Municipal precinct election officials.
§ 163‑281. Municipal precinct election officials.
(a) Chief Judges and Judges. At the meeting required by G.S.163‑280(c), the municipal board of elections shall appoint one person toact as chief judge and two other persons to act as judges of election for eachprecinct in the city. Not more than one judge in each precinct where there areregistered voters of more than one political party shall belong to the samepolitical party as the chief judge, if the municipal elections are on anonpartisan or partisan basis. If the city and county precincts are identicaland the board so chooses, it may decline to exercise its power to appointprecinct chief judge and judges, in which event the persons appointed by thecounty board of elections as precinct chief judge and judges in each precinctwithin the city shall serve as such for municipal elections under authority andsubject to the supervision and control of the municipal board of elections.Nothing herein shall prohibit a municipal board of elections from using thechief judge and judges of election appointed by the county board of electionsin those precincts which are not identical provided the county board ofelections agrees, in writing, to such arrangement. Chief judges and judgesshall be appointed for terms of two years. Except as modified by this Article,municipal precinct chief judge and judges shall meet all of the qualifications,perform all the duties, and have all of the powers imposed and conferred oncounty precinct chief judge and judges by G.S. 163‑41(a), 163‑47,and 163‑48. Municipal precinct chief judge and judges shall not have thepowers and duties with respect to registration of voters prescribed by G.S. 163‑47(b).Immediately after appointing chief judge and judges as herein provided, themunicipal board of elections shall publish the names of the persons appointedin some newspaper having a general circulation in the city, or in lieu thereof,by posting at the city hall or some other prominent place within the city, andshall notify each person appointed of his appointment. Notice may additionallybe made on a radio or television station or both, but such notice shall be inaddition to the newspaper and other required notice.
(b) Assistants at Polls. Municipal boards of elections shall havethe same authority to appoint assistants to aid the chief judge and judges asis conferred on county boards of elections by G.S. 163‑42.
(c) Ballot Counters. Municipal boards of elections shall havethe same authority to appoint ballot counters as is conferred on county boardsof elections by G.S. 163‑43.
(d) Markers. Municipal boards of elections shall not appointmarkers, and markers shall not be used in municipal elections.
(e) Observers. In cities holding partisan municipal elections,the chairman of each political party in the county shall have the sameauthority to appoint observers for municipal elections as he has for countyelections under G.S. 163‑45.
(f) Compensation. Precinct officials and assistants appointedunder this section shall be paid such sums as the city council may fix. Countyprecinct officials and assistants serving in municipal elections in default ofappointment of precinct officials by the municipal board of elections shall becompensated by the city in the sums specified in G.S. 163‑46.
(g) Party Chairman Not to Recommend Persons for Appointment. No municipal, county, State or national chairman of any political party shallhave the right to recommend to the municipal board of elections the name of anyperson for appointment as a precinct chief judge, judge of elections, assistantor ballot counter.
(h) Designation of Precincts in Which Officials to Serve. Themunicipal board of elections may designate the precinct in which each chiefjudge, judge, assistant, ballot counter, or observer or other officers ofelections shall serve; and, after notice and hearing, may remove any chiefjudge, judge, assistant, ballot counter, observer, supervisor of elections orother officers of elections appointed by it for incompetency, failure todischarge the duties of office, failure to qualify within the time prescribedby law, fraud, or for any other satisfactory cause.
(i) Powers and Duties. Except as otherwise provided in thisChapter, precinct assistants, ballot counters, observers, and supervisors ofelections and other officers of elections appointed by the municipal board ofelections shall have the same powers and duties with respect to municipalelections as precinct assistants, ballot counters, observers, and supervisors ofelections and other officers of elections appointed by county boards ofelections. (1971, c. 835, s.1; 1973, c. 793, ss. 80‑83, 94; c. 1223, s. 9; 1977, c. 626, s. 1; 1989,c. 93, s. 8; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 762, s. 60.)