AN ACT TO provide that six members of the buncombe county board of education be elected by Eligible Voters from the district those members represent.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Section 4 of Chapter 532 of the Session Laws of 1975, as amended by Chapter 178 of the Session Laws of 1981 and Chapter 93 of the Session Laws of 1995, reads as rewritten:

Sec. 4. The members representing the various districts on the Buncombe County Board of Education shall be residents of these said those districts and shall file with the County Board of Elections of Buncombe County a notice of candidacy no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Friday in July, and not later than 12:00 noon on the first Friday in August in the year of the election which shall give the candidate's name, address, place of residence and a statement that he or she desires to be a candidate for membership on the said Buncombe County Board of Education for the district in which he or she resides. The election of said members of said board of education shall be by nonpartisan election. The Board of Elections of Buncombe County shall prepare a separate ballot for the election of said members which shall, among other things, contain the name of the candidate, the school district that he or she desires to represent and shall not contain any reference to party affiliation in any manner or form. The candidates for membership on the Buncombe County Board of Education representing districts shall be voted on by the eligible voters residing in that district. The candidate representing the Buncombe County School Administrative Unit at large shall be voted on at large by the eligible voters resident residing in the Buncombe County School Administrative Unit, and the Unit. The Board of Elections of Buncombe County shall canvass and judicially determine the results of said the election and declare the members so elected. All persons so elected shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified, and any qualified. Any vacancy occurring on the Buncombe County Board of Education by death, resignation or by change of residency from the district from which any such person was elected, or otherwise shall be filled by the appointment by the remaining members of the Board for the unexpired term, but the person appointed to fill such vacancy must be from the same district as the person whose death, resignation or removal created the vacancy on the said Buncombe County Board of Education, provided that if the vacancy has not been filled within 60 days of its occurrence, and the term has not yet expired, then the vacancy shall be filled by the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge of Buncombe County for the remainder of the unexpired term, but the person appointed to fill such vacancy must be from the same district as the person whose death, resignation, or removal created the vacancy on the said Buncombe County Board of Education.

SECTION 2.  In establishing or revising electoral districts, the Buncombe County Board of Education shall comply with all of the following:

(1)        Equal Population. The most recent federal decennial census data shall be used as the sole basis of population for the establishment of districts. The number of persons in each district shall be within plus or minus five percent (5%) of the ideal district population, as determined under the most recent federal decennial census.

(2)        Contiguity. No point contiguity shall be permitted in any district, which shall be compromised of contiguous territory. Contiguity by water is sufficient.

(3)        Racial Data. Data identifying the race of individuals or voters shall not be used in the construction or consideration of districts, and the districts should comply with the Voting Rights Act, as applicable.

(4)        Compactness. Reasonable efforts to draw districts that are compact shall be made.

(5)        Municipal Boundaries. Municipal boundaries may be considered when drawing districts.

(6)        Election Data. Partisan considerations and election results data shall not be used in the drawing of districts.

(7)        Member Residence. The residence of current members of the Board of Education may be considered in the formation of districts.

(8)        Community Consideration. So long as a plan complies with the foregoing criteria, local knowledge of the character of communities and connections between communities may be considered in the formation of districts.

SECTION 3.  The Buncombe County Board of Education shall establish the boundaries of the electoral districts required by this act on or before January 1, 2023, and revise the districts thereafter in accordance with G.S. 115C‑37(i) and this act.

SECTION 4.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective with elections conducted on or after January 1, 2024.