AN ACT to require that all members of the Jacksonville city council be elected at‑large.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Section 2‑8 of the Charter of the City of Jacksonville, being Chapter 911 of the 1967 Session Laws, as amended by City Ordinance No. 89‑21 adopted on April 26, 1989, and City Ordinance No. 06‑59 adopted on November 21, 2006, reads as rewritten:

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, there shall be elected a mayor and six councilmembers, Council Members, all of whom shall reside within the city and who shall run and be elected in the following manner: 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. 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.at‑large by the qualified voters of the entire City of Jacksonville. The mayor shall serve a four‑year term and until a successor is elected and qualified. Council Members shall serve four‑year staggered terms and until their successors are elected and qualified.

SECTION 2.  This act shall not affect the filling of a vacancy that occurs for the officers in the City of Jacksonville for a seat elected prior to the effective date of this act. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy for a Council Member seat representing a ward shall be a resident of the ward in which the vacancy occurs.

SECTION 3.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective at the time of the organizational meeting held in accordance with G.S. 160A‑68 in December 2027. In order to implement Section 1 of this act, the 2027 elections shall be conducted as if the provisions of this section were already in effect. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.