§ 163-294.2. Notice of candidacy and filing fee in nonpartisan municipal elections. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 163‑294.2.  Notice ofcandidacy and filing fee in nonpartisan municipal elections.

(a)        Each personoffering himself as a candidate for election to any municipal office inmunicipalities whose elections are nonpartisan shall do so by filing a noticeof candidacy with the board of elections in the following form, inserting thewords in parentheses when appropriate: 

"Date ______; 

I hereby file notice that I am a candidate forelection to the office   of ______   (at large) (for the ______ Ward) in the regularmunicipal election to be held in ________ on ____, ____

(municipality)

Signed __________________________________________

 (Name of Candidate)

   Witness: ____________________________________________________

For the Board of Elections"

The notice of candidacy shall beeither signed in the presence of the chairman or secretary of the board ofelections or the director of elections of that county, or signed andacknowledged before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments who shallcertify the notice under seal. An acknowledged and certified notice may bemailed to the board of elections. The candidate shall sign the notice ofcandidacy with his legal name and, in his discretion, any nickname by which heis commonly known, in the form that he wishes it to appear upon the ballot butsubstantially as follows: "Richard D. (Dick) Roc." A candidate mayalso, in lieu of his legal first name and legal middle initial or middle name(if any) sign his nickname, provided that he appends to the notice of candidacyan affidavit that he has been commonly known by that nickname for at least fiveyears prior to the date of making the affidavit, and notwithstanding theprevious sentence, if the candidate has used his nickname in lieu of first andmiddle names as permitted by this sentence, unless another candidate for thesame office who files a notice of candidacy has the same last name, thenickname shall be printed on the ballot immediately before the candidate'ssurname but shall not be enclosed by parentheses. If another candidate for thesame office who filed a notice of candidacy has the same last name, then thecandidate's name shall be printed on the ballot in accordance with the nextsentence of this subsection. The candidate shall also include with the affidavitthe way his name (as permitted by law) should be listed on the ballot ifanother candidate with the same last name files a notice of candidacy for thatoffice.

(b)        Only persons whoare registered to vote in the municipality shall be permitted to file notice ofcandidacy for election to municipal office. The board of elections shallinspect the voter registration lists immediately upon receipt of the notice ofcandidacy and shall cancel the notice of candidacy of any candidate who is noteligible to vote in the election. The board shall give notice of cancellationto any candidate whose notice of candidacy has been cancelled under thissubsection by mail or by having the notice served on him by the county sheriff.

(c)        Candidates seekingmunicipal office shall file their notices of candidacy with the board ofelections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the first Friday in July and no laterthan 12:00 noon on the third Friday in July preceding the election, except:

(1)        In the yearfollowing a federal decennial census, candidates seeking municipal office inany city which elects members of its governing board on a district basis, orrequires that candidates reside in a district in order to run, shall file theirnotices of candidacy with the board of elections no earlier than 12:00 noon onthe fourth Monday in July and no later than 12:00 noon on the second Friday inAugust preceding the election; and

(2)        In the second yearfollowing a federal decennial census, if the election is held then under G.S.160A‑23.1, candidates seeking municipal office shall file their noticesof candidacy with the board of elections at the same time as notices ofcandidacy for county officers are required to be filed under G.S. 163‑106.

Notices of candidacy which aremailed must be received by the board of elections before the filing deadlineregardless of the time they were deposited in the mails.

(d)        Any person maywithdraw his notice of candidacy at any time prior to the filing deadlineprescribed in subsection (c), and shall be entitled to a refund of his filingfee if he does so.

(e)        The filing fee forthe primary or election shall be fixed by the governing board not later thanthe day before candidates are permitted to begin filing notices of candidacy.There shall be a minimum filing fee of five dollars ($5.00). The governingboard shall have the authority to set the filing fee at not less than fivedollars ($5.00) nor more than one percent (1%) of the annual salary of theoffice sought unless one percent (1%) of the annual salary of the office soughtis less than five dollars ($5.00), in which case the minimum filing fee of fivedollars ($5.00) will be charged. The fee shall be paid to the board ofelections at the time notice of candidacy is filed.

(f)         No person may filea notice of candidacy for more than one municipal office at the same election.If a person has filed a notice of candidacy for one office with the board ofelections under this section, then a notice of candidacy may not later be filedfor any other municipal office for the election unless the notice of candidacyfor the first office is withdrawn first.  (1971, c. 835, s. 1; 1973, c. 870, s. 2; 1975, c.370, s. 2; 1977, c. 265, s. 18; 1981, c. 32, s. 3; 1983, c. 330, s. 3; c. 644,ss. 1, 2; 1985, c. 472, s. 5; c. 558, s. 3; c. 599, s. 1; 1989 (Reg. Sess.,1990), c. 1012, s. 4; 1995, c. 243, s. 1; 1999‑227, s. 6; 1999‑456,s. 59; 2006‑192, s. 5; 2009‑414, s. 3.)