08 ncac 06b .0103          ARRANGEMENT OF OFFICIAL BALLOTS

(a)  After the close of the filing period, the State Board of Elections shall certify to the county boards of elections the order of the offices and candidate names to be voted on the official ballot. The State Board of Elections shall provide the text and arrangement of referenda to be voted on the official ballot.

(b)  The order of precedence for ballot items shall be as follows:

(1)           Federal Offices:

(A)          President and Vice President of the United States

(B)          US Senate

(C)          US House of Representatives

(2)           State Offices:

(A)          NC Governor

(B)          NC Lieutenant Governor

(C)          NC Attorney General

(D)          NC Auditor

(E)           NC Commissioner of Agriculture

(F)           NC Commissioner of Insurance

(G)          NC Commissioner of Labor

(H)          NC Secretary of State

(I)            NC Superintendent of Public Instruction

(J)            NC Treasurer

(K)          NC Supreme Court Chief Justice

(L)           NC Supreme Court Associate Justice, in numerical order by seat number

(M)         NC Court of Appeals Judge, in numerical order by seat number

(3)           District offices:

(A)          NC Senate

(B)          NC House of Representatives

(C)          NC Superior Court Judge

(D)          NC District Court Judge

(E)           NC District Attorney

(4)           Partisan county offices

(5)           Partisan municipal offices

(6)           Nonpartisan county offices

(7)           Nonpartisan municipal offices

(8)           Referenda in the order of precedence established in G.S. 163-165.6(h), unless the voting system design requires referenda to be before candidate ballot items.

Ballot items for offices in the same class shall be listed in alphabetical order by office name or in numerical or alphabetical order by district name. Ballot items for full terms of an office shall be listed before ballot items for partial terms of the same office. The term of the unexpired office only shall be listed as part of the title of the office.

(c)  Names of candidates shall be printed in the exact form either certified by the State Board of Elections for those candidates who are required to file the Notice of Candidacy with the State Board of Elections, by convention or by petition. Candidates for all offices shall provide their name as it is to appear on the ballot. Candidates may request in writing a change in the manner that their name is to appear on the ballot during the time the filing period is open.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 163-22; 163-165.6;

Temporary Adoption Eff. April 15, 2002;

Eff. August 1, 2004;

Readopted Eff. June 1, 2019;

Amended Eff. January 1, 2022.