NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1969 SESSION

CHAPTER 146

SENATE BILL 116

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF LIBERTY REGARDING ELECTIONS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1.  Chapter 514, Section 2 of the Public-Local Laws of 1939 is repealed and Chapter 16, Section 4 of the Private Laws of 1889 is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"Sec. 4. There shall be an election held in the year 1969 and biennially thereafter as provided in the General Statutes for the election of elective officers of the Town of Liberty. Candidates for the elective offices of said municipality may be nominated at a mass meeting of the qualified voters of the said town not later than April fifteenth, of each municipal election year, and upon five days notice of a call by the mayor, or commissioners, posted at three public places in the town and published in a newspaper having circulation in the town, naming the time and place and purpose of the meeting. All persons entitled to vote in the town may participate in the meeting, and all persons qualified to hold office in the town that are nominated at such meeting shall, upon signing a written request to the mayor, have his or her name placed upon the ballot as a candidate for the office for which nominated if filed with the mayor on or before April twentieth of such election year. Provided that if the persons up to ten in number, or any part thereof, receiving the highest number of votes at such mass meeting as candidates for town commissioner, and person or persons, up to two in number, receiving the highest number of votes for other elective office fail to file a written request as herein provided, then in that event their names be placed upon the ballot any way as candidates for the respective office for which such persons were nominated at such mass meeting. Any person qualified to hold office in said town, not having been nominated at the mass meeting, may have his, or her name placed upon the ballot as a candidate, for whatever office is designated, by filing with the mayor on or before April twentieth of such election year a request, accompanied by a petition signed by ten percent (10%) of the qualified voters of said town, designating the office such person desires his, or her name placed upon the ballot as a candidate for and requesting that such person be filed as a candidate. The person receiving a plurality of votes for the office for which he, or she is a candidate will be declared elected to such office. Five commissioners shall be elected in 1969; the three receiving the highest votes shall serve for a term of four years; the two receiving the fourth and fifth highest votes shall serve for a term of two years. Thereafter commissioners shall be elected for a term of four years and shall serve until their successors are duly elected and qualified. In case of a tie vote for any office the registrar will cast the deciding vote."

Sec. 2. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3. This Act shall become effective upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 31st day of March, 1969.