AN ACT to provide that regular municipal elections in the city of jacksonville shall be held in even‑numbered years.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article II of the Charter of the City of Jacksonville, being Chapter 911 of the 1967 Session Laws, as amended by Town Ordinance No. 89‑21 adopted on April 26, 1989, and Ordinance No. 06‑59 adopted on November 21, 2006, reads as rewritten:

Sec. 2‑1. Composition. The officers of said the city shall consist of a mayor and six councilmembers to be elected as set out in section 2‑8 by the qualified voters of said city biennially on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November in each of the odd‑numbered years.the city.

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Sec. 2‑8. Election of Mayor and Council – Generally. At a regular election to be held by the Onslow County Board of Elections on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, held at the time of the general election in even‑numbered years, there shall be elected a mayor and six councilmembers, all of whom shall reside within the city and who shall run and be elected in the following manner: councilmembers to serve staggered four‑year terms. Two of the councilmembers shall run at large and four of the councilmembers shall be elected from the wards established by the City of Jacksonville under this ordinance and map published herewith or as such wards may hereafter be constituted, and there shall be elected only one councilmember from each ward who shall be a resident of the ward for which he is elected and shall be voted on by the qualified voters of such ward.city. One councilmember shall be elected from each ward. Only qualified voters residing in that ward may vote for the councilmember from that ward. Each candidate for a ward seat shall reside in the ward in which the candidate seeks election.

The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for the office of councilmember from the ward of his residence shall be declared elected to that office. The two candidates running at large shall be voted on by all qualified voters of the city and the two candidates running at large who receive the highest number of votes for the office of councilmember shall be declared elected to that office. The candidate for mayor shall be elected by the electors of the city at large. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for the office of mayor shall be declared elected mayor.

Effective December 27, 2006, at the next regular municipal election following pre‑clearance of this Charter Amendment by the Department of Justice, if said pre‑clearance occurs on or before the last day of the filing period for said election, the candidates receiving the highest number of votes for the Office of Mayor and the candidates receiving the highest number of votes for Ward 3 and Ward 4 (minority ward) Council Members shall be elected for an initial four (4) year term; and the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes for At‑Large Council Members and the candidates receiving the highest number of votes for Ward 1 (minority ward) and Ward 2 Council Members shall be elected for an initial two (2) year term. Subsequent elections for the Mayor and all City Council Members shall be for four‑year terms and until their successors are elected and qualified.City officers shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis and results determined by the plurality method as provided in G.S. 163‑292. Except as otherwise provided by this act, the election shall be conducted in accordance with the uniform election laws in Chapter 163 of the General Statutes.

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SECTION 2.  Article VIII of the Charter of the City of Jacksonville, being Chapter 911 of the 1967 Session Laws, is repealed.

SECTION 3.  No municipal elections shall be conducted in the City of Jacksonville in 2025. The terms of office for the two at‑large councilmembers and the councilmembers for Ward 1 and Ward 2 serving on the effective date of this act whose terms are set to expire in 2025 shall be extended by one year. The terms of office for the mayor and councilmembers for Ward 3 and Ward 4 serving on the effective date of this act whose terms are set to expire in 2027 shall be extended by one year. Regular municipal elections shall be conducted in the City of Jacksonville in even‑numbered years beginning in 2026.

SECTION 4.  In 2026, and quadrennially thereafter, two at‑large members, a member for Ward 1, and a member for Ward 2 shall be elected to each serve a four‑year term. In 2028, and quadrennially thereafter, a mayor, a member for Ward 3, and a member for Ward 4 shall be elected to each serve a four‑year term.

SECTION 5.  This act becomes effective December 1, 2026, and elections shall be conducted accordingly.