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Petitions/Ballot Access

Learn about the regulations for political party access and candidate nomination in North Carolina, including requirements for petitions, unaffiliated candidates, write-ins, and ballot marking instructions.

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Petitions/Ballot Access

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  1. Petitions/Ballot Access Don Wright General Counsel NC State Board of Elections April 4, 2012

  2. Petitions http://www.ncsbe.gov/content.aspx?id=66 Sixth line item under “Elections Central” on SBE website homepage.

  3. Political Party Access See GS 163-96 Once recognized as a political party, a party shall have ballot access until it fails to wins at least 2% of the vote for Governor or President. Newly recognized parties nominate their candidates by convention, not by primary. Petitions for a new party must have 2% of the voters that voted in the most recent election for Governor (now 85,379) with at least 200 signatures from at least 4 Congressional Districts.

  4. Political Party Access Due date of petition is noon of the first business day of June preceding the first election the party desires to participate in. Original petitions and county certifications must be delivered to SBE by the party. Counties have two weeks to verify signatures Last day to submit to county for verification is 15 days prior to due SBE due date

  5. Americans Elect It appears that soon Americans Elect will be certify as N.C.’s newest party. Americans Elect current rules and by-laws do not allow candidates other than for President/Vice President. That could change . They will hold their convention on-line. New VR forms will list them. Their SBE abbreviation is “AE”. Refer the public to Ileana.Wachtel@americanselect.org (310)702-4240

  6. Americans Elect, It’s Different Nominate the President and VP directly Narrow the field of candidates to six by online voting (April) Evaluate finalists’ choices for vice president (May) Vote in the online convention (June) Official naming of nominee and running mate (June 26, 2012) http://www.americanselect.org/about

  7. Unaffiliated Candidates See GS 163-122 You do not have to be an “unaffiliated” voter to be an “unaffiliated” candidate. Qualified unaffiliated candidates pay a filing fee when their petition is verified. Unqualified unaffiliated candidates have their petition cancelled and do not get on the ballot. Defeated party primary candidate cannot be unaffiliated candidate for same office.

  8. Unaffiliated Candidates Are not allowed in non-partisan races. Newly enacted GS 163-124 prohibits a person to be both a filed and unaffiliated candidate on the same ballot unless one ballot item is for an unexpired term. Unaffiliated candidates are subject to Campaign Finance requirements just like any other candidate.

  9. Unaffiliated Candidates GS 163-165.6(d)…Unaffiliated candidate is listed after the party candidates in a general election ballot item. Vote For One Andrew Jackson (Democrat) Abraham Lincoln (Republican) John Jones (Unaffiliated)

  10. Write-In Candidates See GS 163-123 and GS 163-182.1(a)(6). Petition form on website, due 90th day before election. (August 8, 2012 this year) Declaration of Intent must be filed with petition. Candidates must be qualified for the office, otherwise their petition is cancelled. Write-in candidates are subject to Campaign Finance requirements just like any other candidate. Defeated primary candidate can not be a write-in for same office on General Election ballot.

  11. Write-In Candidates Not allowed in party primaries or referenda Petition process not required in municipal elections, both non-partisan and partisan. Petition process not required in non-partisan elections except for elections of Judges. SBE recommends that write-in candidates with 5 or more votes get reported individually, others with less votes clumped together and reported as miscellaneous. What constitutes a write-in vote..check SBE’s “What Determines A Vote” document. Can voter’s intent be determined?

  12. Write-Ins On Ballot BALLOT MARKING INSTRUCTIONS: a. With the marking device provided or a black ball point pen, completely fill in the oval to the left of each candidate or selection of your choice, like this: b. Where authorized, you may write in a candidate by filling in the oval and writing the name on the Write-in line. c. If you tear, deface or wrongly mark this ballot, return it to request a replacement. Board of Education District 2 (You may vote for ONE) John Tedesco Cathy E. Truitt _John Jones__ Write-in

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