GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2025

HOUSE BILL 958

RATIFIED BILL

AN ACT TO MAKE VARIOUS CHANGES TO THE ELECTION LAWS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

PART I. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

SUSPENSION AND TRAINING OF PRECINCT OFFICIALS

SECTION 1.1.(a)  Article 5 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 163‑41.3.  Suspension or removal of precinct officials; vacancies.

SECTION 1.1.(b)  G.S. 163‑33(2) reads as rewritten:

(2)      To appoint all chief judges, judges, assistants, and other officers of elections, and designate the precinct in which each shall serve; and, after notice and hearing, to suspend or remove any chief judge, judge of elections, assistant, or other officer of election appointed by it for incompetency, failure to discharge the duties of office, failure to qualify within the time prescribed by law, fraud, or for any other satisfactory cause. cause, as provided in G.S. 163‑41.3. In exercising the powers and duties of this subdivision, the board may act only when a majority of its members are present at any meeting at which such powers or duties are exercised.

SECTION 1.1.(c)  G.S. 163‑41(d) is recodified as G.S. 163‑41.3.

SECTION 1.1.(d)  G.S. 163‑41, as amended by this section, reads as rewritten:

§ 163‑41.  Precinct chief judges and judges of election; appointment; terms of office; qualifications; vacancies; oaths of office.

(a)        Appointment of Chief Judge and Judges. – At the meeting required by G.S. 163‑31 to be held on the Tuesday following the third Monday in August of the year in which they are appointed, the county board of elections shall appoint one person to act as chief judge and two other persons to act as judges of election for each precinct in the county. Their terms of office shall continue for two years from the specified date of appointment and until their successors are appointed and qualified, except that if a nonresident of the precinct is appointed as chief judge or judge for a precinct, that person's term of office shall end if the county board of elections appoints a qualified resident of the precinct of the same party to replace the nonresident chief judge or judge. It shall be their the duty of the precinct officials to conduct the primaries and elections within their respective precincts. Persons appointed to these offices must be registered voters and residents of the county in which the precinct is located, of good repute, and able to read and write. Not more than one judge in each precinct shall belong to the same political party as the chief judge.

(b)        The As used in this Article, the term precinct official shall mean chief judges and judges appointed pursuant to this section, and all assistants appointed pursuant to G.S. 163‑42, unless the context of a statute clearly indicates a more restrictive meaning.

(b1)      No person shall be eligible to serve as a precinct official, as that term is defined above, who holds official if any of the following apply:

(1)        The person holds any elective office under the government of the United States, or of the State of North Carolina or any political subdivision thereof. No person shall be eligible to serve as a precinct official who is

(2)        The person is a candidate for nomination or election. No person shall be eligible to serve as a precinct official who holds

(3)        The person holds any office in a state, congressional district, county, or precinct political party or political organization, or who is a manager or treasurer for any candidate or political party, provided however that the position of delegate to a political party convention shall not be considered an office for the purpose of this subsection.subdivision.

(4)        The person has been prohibited from serving as a precinct official in any subsequent election in accordance with G.S. 163‑41.3(a).

….

SECTION 1.1.(e)  G.S. 163‑41.3, as enacted by this section, reads as rewritten:

§ 163‑41.3.  Suspension or removal of precinct officials; vacancies.

(a)        Any precinct official may be suspended or removed, including on the day of the election or primary, for incompetency or failure to discharge the duties of office by the county board in accordance with G.S. 163‑33. The county board may prohibit a precinct official who has been suspended or removed from serving as a precinct official in any subsequent election.

(b)

….

SECTION 1.1.(f)  G.S. 163‑42(c) reads as rewritten:

(c)      In addition, a county board of elections by unanimous vote of all of its members may appoint any registered voter in the county as an emergency election‑day assistant, as long as that voter is otherwise qualified to be a precinct official. The State Board of Elections shall determine for each election the number of emergency election‑day assistants each county may have, based on population, expected turnout, and complexity of election duties. duties; however, each county must have, at a minimum, four emergency election‑day assistants. The county board by unanimous vote of all of its members may assign emergency election‑day assistants on the day of the election to any precinct in the county where the number of precinct officials is insufficient because of an emergency occurring within 48 hours of the opening of the polls emergency, the suspension or removal of a precinct official, or any other reason that prevents an appointed a precinct official from serving. serving throughout the day of the primary or election. A person appointed to serve as an emergency election‑day assistant shall be trained and paid like other precinct assistants in accordance with G.S. 163‑46. A county board of elections shall apportion the appointments as of emergency election‑day assistant assistants among registrants of each political party so as to make possible the staffing of each precinct with officials of more than one party, and the county board shall make assignments so that no precinct has precinct officials assistants all of whom are registered with the same party.

SECTION 1.1.(g)  G.S. 163‑82.24 reads as rewritten:

§ 163‑82.24.  Statewide training and certification for election officials.

(a)        Training. – The State Board of Elections shall conduct training programs in election law and procedures.procedures in accordance with this section.

(a1)      Every county elections director shall receive training conducted by the State Board at least as often as required in the following schedule:

(1)        Once during each odd‑numbered year before the municipal election held in the county;county.

(2)        Once during each even‑numbered year before the first partisan primary; andprimary.

(3)        Once during each even‑numbered year after the partisan primaries but before the general election.

(a2)      Every member of a county board of elections shall receive training conducted by the State Board at least once during the six months after the member's initial appointment and at least once again during the first two years of the member's service. If an election occurs prior to the county board member's training, the State Board shall make available training materials for use by that county board member until the training required by this subsection is completed.

(a3)      The State Board of Elections shall promulgate adopt rules for the training of precinct officials, which shall be followed by the county boards of elections.boards. At a minimum, the training for all precinct officials shall include information regarding all of the following:

(1)        The duties of the office of precinct official.

(2)        How to confirm whether a person presenting to vote is registered in that county.

(3)        How to issue ballots.

(4)        How to properly provide voter assistance, including how to provide assistance to those curbside voting.

(5)        The procedure for opening and closing of polls.

(6)        The prohibition regarding election‑related activity in the voting place and buffer zone of the voting place.

(7)        The potential for suspension or removal from office for failure to comply with the provisions of this Chapter.

(b)        Certification. – The State Board of Elections shall conduct a program for certification of election officials. The program shall include training in election law and procedures. Before issuing certification to an election official, the State Board shall administer an examination designed to determine the proficiency of the official in election law and procedures. The State Board shall set adequate standards for the passage of the examination.

SECTION 1.1.(h)  This section becomes effective January 1, 2027, and applies to elections held on or after that date.

APPOINTMENT OF OBSERVERS IN NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS

SECTION 1.2.(a)  G.S. 163‑45.1(b) reads as rewritten:

(b)      Observers may be appointed in accordance with the following:

(1)        The chair of each political party in the county may designate two registered voters of the county to serve as observers at each voting place in that county in which the political party has a candidate appearing on the ballot.

(2)        The chair of each political party in the county may designate up to 10 registered voters of the county to serve as observers at any voting place in the county in which the political party has a candidate appearing on the ballot.

(3)        The chair of each political party in the State may designate up to 100 registered voters of the State to serve as observers at any voting place in the State in which the political party has a candidate appearing on the ballot.

(4)        An unaffiliated candidate or the unaffiliated candidate's campaign manager may designate up to two observers registered voters to serve as observers at each voting place in which that unaffiliated candidate appears on the ballot.

(5)        A nonpartisan candidate in a municipal election, special district election, or board of education election or the nonpartisan candidate's campaign manager may designate up to one registered voter to serve as an observer at each voting place in which that nonpartisan candidate appears on the ballot.

SECTION 1.2.(b)  This section becomes effective January 1, 2027, and applies to elections held on or after that date.

CHANGE DATE FOR WHEN CERTAIN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS HELD

SECTION 1.3.(a)  G.S. 163‑279(a) reads as rewritten:

(a)      Primaries and elections for offices filled by election of the people in cities, towns, incorporated villages, and special districts shall be held in 1973 and every two or four years thereafter as provided by municipal charter on the following days:

(1)        If the election is nonpartisan and decided by simple plurality, the election shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

(2)        If the election is partisan, the election shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, the first primary shall be held on the second Tuesday after Labor Day, and the second primary, if required, shall be held on the fourth Tuesday before the election.

(3)        If the election is nonpartisan and the nonpartisan primary method of election is used, the election shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November and the nonpartisan primary shall be held on the fourth Tuesday before the election.second Tuesday after Labor Day.

(4)        If the election is nonpartisan and the election and runoff election method of election is used, the election shall be held on the fourth Tuesday before the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, second Tuesday after Labor Day, and the runoff election, if required, shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

SECTION 1.3.(b)  This section becomes effective January 1, 2027, and applies to elections held on or after that date.

POLITICAL PARTY PRIMARY CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY

SECTION 1.4.(a)  G.S. 163‑106.1 reads as rewritten:

§ 163‑106.1.  Eligibility to file.

(a)        No person shall be permitted to file as a candidate in a party primary unless that person has been affiliated with that party for at least 90 365 days as of the date of that person filing such notice of candidacy. A person registered as unaffiliated shall be ineligible to file as a candidate in a party primary election.

(b)        Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, a person who has been affiliated with a party for less than 365 days may file as a candidate in that party's primary if the State executive committee of the party with which the candidate is affiliated grants the person a waiver. The State executive committee of the party may, in its sole discretion, grant or deny a waiver request. The waiver must be submitted to the board of elections which has jurisdiction over the ballot item under G.S. 163‑182.4 by the close of the filing period for that office.

(c)        This section shall not apply to any of the following:

(1)        Candidates selected by party convention or party caucus.

(2)        Parties that have been recognized under Article 9 of this Chapter for two continuous years or less.

SECTION 1.4.(b)  This section becomes effective January 1, 2027, and applies to candidates filing in a party primary on or after that date.

REQUIRE USE OF FEDERAL DECENNIAL CENSUS DATA WHEN ESTABLISHING DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

SECTION 1.5.(a)  G.S. 153A‑22 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

(h)      In establishing district boundaries, the board of commissioners shall use data derived from the most recent federal decennial census and shall not use any other population estimates.

SECTION 1.5.(b)  G.S. 160A‑23 reads as rewritten:

§ 160A‑23.  District map; reapportionment.

(a)        If the city is divided into electoral districts for the purpose of electing the members of the council, the map or description required by G.S. 160A‑22 shall also show the boundaries of the several districts.

(b)        The council shall have authority to revise electoral district boundaries from time to time. If district boundaries are set out in the city charter and the charter does not provide a method for revising them, the council may revise them only for the purpose of (i) accounting for territory annexed to or excluded from the city, and (ii) correcting population imbalances among the districts shown by a new federal decennial census or caused by exclusions or annexations. When district boundaries have been established in conformity with the federal Constitution, the council shall not be required to revise them again until a new federal decennial census of population is taken or territory is annexed to or excluded from the city, whichever event first occurs.

(c)        In establishing district boundaries, the council may shall use data derived from the most recent federal decennial census and shall not be required to use any other population estimates.

SECTION 1.5.(c)  G.S. 115C‑37(i) reads as rewritten:

(i)       The local board of education shall revise electoral district boundaries from time to time as provided by this subsection. If district boundaries are set by local act or court order and the act or order does not provide a method for revising them, the local board of education shall revise them only for the purpose of (i) accounting for territory annexed to or excluded from the school administrative unit, and (ii) correcting population imbalances among the districts shown by a new federal decennial census or caused by exclusions or annexations. After the General Assembly has ratified an act establishing district boundaries, the local board of education shall not revise them again until a new federal decennial census of population is taken or territory is annexed to or excluded from the school administrative unit, whichever event first occurs. After the local board of education has revised district boundaries in conformity with this act, subsection, the local board of education shall not revise them again until a new federal decennial census of population is taken or territory is annexed to or excluded from the school administrative unit, whichever event occurs first, except that the board may make an earlier revision of district boundaries it has drawn if it must do so to comply with a court order or to gain approval of a district‑revision plan by the U.S. Justice Department under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. In establishing district boundaries, the local board of education shall use data derived from the most recent federal census.decennial census and shall not use any other population estimates.

SECTION 1.5.(d)  This section becomes effective January 1, 2027, and applies to the establishment of district boundaries by a county, city, or local board of education on or after that date.

PART II. REGISTRATION OF VOTERS

SECTION 2.1.(a)  G.S. 20‑7(b2) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:

(9)      To the State Board of Elections for the purpose of voter registration and list maintenance on a routine schedule of no later than the fifteenth day of each month.

SECTION 2.1.(b)  This section becomes effective January 1, 2027.

SECTION 2.2.(a)  G.S. 163‑82.7 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:

(a1)    Distribution to County Boards. – If the State Board receives a voter registration application, the State Board shall forward the application to the appropriate county board in a timely manner. If the application is received by the State Board within the 100 days prior to an election, the State Board shall forward the application to the appropriate county board within five business days of receipt.

SECTION 2.2.(b)  This section becomes effective January 1, 2027, and applies to voter registration applications received by the State Board of Elections on or after that date.

SECTION 2.3.(a)  G.S. 163‑82.14 reads as rewritten:

§ 163‑82.14.  List maintenance.

…

(a1)      Methods of List Maintenance; Cross State Checks. – List maintenance efforts under this section shall be nondiscriminatory and shall comply with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, and with the provisions of the National Voter Registration Act. The State Board, in addition to the methods set forth in this section, may use other methods toward the ends set forth in subsection (a) of this section, including address‑updating services provided by the Postal Service and entering into data sharing agreements with other states to cross‑check information on voter registration and voting records. Any data sharing agreement shall require the other state or states to comply with G.S. 163‑82.10 and G.S. 163‑82.10B. Any voter registration data received from other states pursuant to a data sharing agreement with that state is not a public record.

(b)        Death. – In order to remove the names of deceased persons from the list of eligible voters in this State, the following shall occur:

(1)        At a minimum of once per week, the Department of Health and Human Services shall furnish free of charge to the Executive Director, in a format prescribed by the State Board, the names of deceased persons who were residents of the State. Upon receipt of the list from the Department of Health and Human Services, the On a weekly basis, the Executive Director shall distribute to each county board of elections the names on that the list received from the Department of Health and Human Services of deceased persons who were residents of that county. Upon the receipt of those names, each county board of elections shall remove from its voter registration records any person the list shows to be deceased each week. The State Board shall confirm that each county board has removed the names of deceased persons from the list of eligible voters in this State.

(2)        Upon receipt of a signed statement of a near relative or personal representative of the estate of a deceased voter indicating that the person has died, a county board of elections shall remove the person identified as deceased from its voter registration records within one week of receipt of the signed statement. The county board does not need to send any notice to the address of the person before removing the person from its voter registration records.

(3)        If the State Board requests and receives any information from a federal agency pertaining to death records of registered voters in this State, the Executive Director shall identify whether any person identified in the information as deceased is a registered voter in this State. Within one week of receipt of the information, the Executive Director shall distribute to each county board the names of those persons who were residents of that county. Upon receipt of those names, each county board shall remove from its voter registration records any person the list shows to be deceased within one week of the receipt of the list. The State Board shall confirm that each county board has removed the names of deceased persons from the list of eligible voters in this State.

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SECTION 2.3.(b)  If the State Board of Elections received information regarding potential non‑eligible citizens appearing on the State's voter registration records from a federal database on or after January 1, 2026, and a challenge has not been entered against a voter appearing on the information from the federal database and the voter has not otherwise been removed from the list of eligible voters in the State, then the State Board of Elections shall create a process for removing such voters from the State's voter registration records.

SECTION 2.4.(a)  G.S. 163‑82.19(a) reads as rewritten:

(a)      Voter Registration at Drivers License Offices. – The Division of Motor Vehicles shall, pursuant to the rules adopted by the State Board of Elections, Board, modify its forms so that any eligible person who applies for original issuance, renewal or correction of a drivers license, or special identification card issued under G.S. 20‑37.7 may, on a part of the form, complete an application to register to vote, or to update the voter's registration if the voter has changed his or her address or moved from one precinct to another or from one county to another. The person taking the application shall ask if the applicant is a citizen of the United States. If the applicant states that the applicant is not a citizen of the United States, or declines to answer the question, the person taking the application shall inform the applicant that it is a felony for a person who is not a citizen of the United States to apply to register to vote. The application shall state in clear language the penalty for violation of this section. The person taking an application to register to vote or to update the voter's registration shall proceed with the application only if the applicant affirmatively states that the applicant is a citizen of the United States. The necessary forms shall be prescribed by the State Board of Elections. Board. The form must ask for the previous voter registration address of the voter, if any. If a previous address is listed, and it is not in the county of residence of the applicant, the appropriate county board of elections shall treat the application as an authorization to cancel the previous registration and also process it as such under the procedures of G.S. 163‑82.9. If a previous address is listed and that address is in the county where the voter applies to register, the application shall be processed as if it had been submitted under G.S. 163‑82.9.

(a1)      Timely Registration at Drivers License Offices. – Registration shall become effective as provided in G.S. 163‑82.7. Applications to register to vote accepted at a drivers license office under this section until the deadline established in G.S. 163‑82.6(d)(2) shall be treated as timely made for an election, and no person who completes an application at that drivers license office shall be denied the vote in that election for failure to apply earlier than that deadline.

(a2)      Forwarding Voter Registrations at Drivers License Offices. – All applications shall be forwarded by the Department of Transportation to the appropriate county board of elections not later than five business days after the date of acceptance, according to rules which shall be promulgated by the State Board of Elections. Board. Those rules shall provide for a paperless, instant, electronic transfer of applications to the appropriate board of elections.county board.

SECTION 2.4.(b)  G.S. 163‑82.20(e) reads as rewritten:

(e)      Prohibitions. – Any person providing any service under subsection (b) of this section shall not:not do any of the following:

(1)        Seek to influence an applicant's political preference or party registration, except that this shall not be construed to prevent the notice provided by G.S. 163‑82.4(d) to be given if the applicant refuses to declare his party affiliation;affiliation.

(2)        Display any such political preference or party allegiance;allegiance.

(3)        Make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose or effect of which is to discourage the applicant from registering to vote; orvote.

(4)        Make any statement to an applicant or take any action the purpose or effect of which is to lead the applicant to believe that a decision to register or not to register has any bearing on the availability of services or benefits.

(5)        Proceed with any voter registration application if the applicant does not affirmatively indicate the applicant is a citizen of the United States.