§ 163-42. Assistants at polls; appointment; term of office; qualifications; oath of office.
§ 163‑42. Assistants at polls; appointment; term of office; qualifications; oath ofoffice.
Each county and municipal board of elections is authorized, in itsdiscretion, to appoint two or more assistants for each precinct to aid thechief judge and judges. Not more than two assistants shall be appointed inprecincts having 500 or less registered voters. Assistants shall be qualifiedvoters of the county in which the precinct is located. When the board ofelections determines that assistants are needed in a precinct an equal numbershall be appointed from different political parties, unless the requirement asto party affiliation cannot be met because of an insufficient number of votersof different political parties within the county.
In the discretion of the county board of elections, a precinctassistant may serve less than the full day prescribed for chief judges andjudges in G.S. 163‑47(a).
The chairman of each political party in the county shall have the rightto recommend from three to 10 registered voters in each precinct forappointment as precinct assistants in that precinct. If the recommendationsare received by it no later than the thirtieth day prior to the primary orelection, the board shall make appointments of the precinct assistants for eachprecinct from the names thus recommended. If the recommendations of the partychairs for precinct assistant in a precinct are insufficient, the county boardof elections by unanimous vote of all of its members may name to serve asprecinct assistant in that precinct registered voters in that precinct who werenot recommended by the party chairs. If, after diligently seeking to fill thepositions with registered voters of the precinct, the county board still has aninsufficient number of precinct assistants for the precinct, the county boardby unanimous vote of all of its members may appoint to the positions registeredvoters in other precincts in the same county who meet the qualifications otherthan residence to be precinct officials in the precinct. In making itsappointments, the county board shall assure, wherever possible, that noprecinct has precinct officials all of whom are registered with the sameparty. In no instance shall the county board appoint nonresidents of theprecinct to a majority of the positions as precinct assistant in a precinct.
In addition, a county board of elections by unanimous vote of all ofits members may appoint any registered voter in the county as emergencyelection‑day assistant, as long as that voter is otherwise qualified tobe a precinct official. The State Board of Elections shall determine for eachelection the number of emergency election‑day assistants each county mayhave, based on population, expected turnout, and complexity of electionduties. The county board by unanimous vote of all of its members may assignemergency election‑day assistants on the day of the election to anyprecinct in the county where the number of precinct officials is insufficientbecause of an emergency occurring within 48 hours of the opening of the pollsthat prevents an appointed precinct official from serving. A person appointedto serve as emergency election‑day assistant shall be trained and paidlike other precinct assistants in accordance with G.S. 163‑46. A countyboard of elections shall apportion the appointments as emergency election‑dayassistant among registrants of each political party so as to make possible thestaffing of each precinct with officials of more than one party, and the countyboard shall make assignments so that no precinct has precinct officials all ofwhom are registered with the same party.
Before entering upon the duties of the office, each assistant shalltake the oath prescribed in G.S. 163‑41(a) to be administered by thechief judge of the precinct for which the assistant is appointed. Assistantsserve for the particular primary or election for which they are appointed,unless the county board of elections appoints them for a term to expire on thedate appointments are to be made pursuant to G.S. 163‑41. (1929, c. 164, s. 35; 1933, c. 165, s. 24; 1953, c.1191, s. 3; 1967, c. 775, s. 1; 1973, c. 793, s. 95; c. 1359, ss. 1‑3;1975, c. 19, s. 67; 1977, c. 95, ss. 1, 2; 1981, c. 954, s. 3; 1983, c. 617, s.4; 1985, c. 563, ss. 8, 8.1; 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 762, s. 17; 1995 (Reg.Sess., 1996), c. 554, s. 1; c. 734, s. 2.)