163-106.5. Certificate of registration to vote in county and party affiliation; cancellation of candidacy; residency requirements for judges.

(a) Candidates required to file their notice of candidacy with the State Board of Elections under G.S. 163-106.2 shall file along with their notice a certificate signed by the chairman of the board of elections or the director of elections of the county in which they are registered to vote, stating that the person is registered to vote in that county, if the candidacy is for superior court judge and the county contains more than one superior court district, stating the superior court district of which the person is a resident, stating the party with which the person is affiliated, and that the person has not changed his affiliation from another party or from unaffiliated within three months prior to the filing deadline under G.S. 163-106.2. In issuing such certificate, the chairman or director shall check the registration records of the county to verify such information. During the period commencing 36 hours immediately preceding the filing deadline the State Board of Elections shall accept, on a conditional basis, the notice of candidacy of a candidate who has failed to secure the verification ordered herein subject to receipt of verification no later than three days following the filing deadline. The State Board of Elections shall prescribe the form for such certificate, and distribute it to each county board of elections no later than the last Monday in December of each odd-numbered year.

(b) When any candidate files a notice of candidacy with a board of elections under G.S. 163-106.2 or under G.S. 163-291(2), the board of elections shall, immediately upon receipt of the notice of candidacy, inspect the registration records of the county, and cancel the notice of candidacy of any person who does not meet the constitutional or statutory qualifications for the office, including residency.

The board shall give notice of cancellation to any candidate whose notice of candidacy has been cancelled under this section by mail or by having the notice served on him by the sheriff, and to any other candidate filing for the same office. A candidate who has been adversely affected by a cancellation or another candidate for the same office affected by a substantiation under this section may request a hearing on the cancellation. If the candidate requests a hearing, the hearing shall be conducted in accordance with Article 11B of this Chapter.

(c) No person may file a notice of candidacy for superior court judge, unless that person is, at the time of filing the notice of candidacy, a resident of the judicial district as it will exist at the time the person would take office if elected. No person may be nominated as a superior court judge under G.S. 163-114, unless that person is, at the time of nomination, a resident of the judicial district as it will exist at the time the person would take office if elected. This subsection implements Section 9(1) of Article IV of the North Carolina Constitution, which requires regular superior court judges to reside in the district for which elected.

s. 1; 2013-381, s. 21.1; 2014-111, s. 1(a); 2017-3, s. 5; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)