Proposed Petition Rules
State law provides minimal guidelines for conducting petitions. The State Board has proposed rules for petitions that are designed to ensure consistency and transparency in the process for petitioners conducting petition drives and election officials tasked with reviewing and certifying petitions.
Read the full text PDF of the proposed petition rules. The rules comprise a new Chapter 22 of Title 8 in the administrative code for State Board rules, and have been divided into sections based on subject matter:
- Section .0100 — General Rules for Petitions (PDF): Establishes a process for petitioners to follow when initiating and filing petitions.
- Section .0200 — Verification of Petitions (PDF): Details the process that county boards of elections follow in processing petitions, including the process to verify that petition signers are eligible to have their signature counted for the petition.
- Section .0300 — New Political Party Petitions (PDF): Establishes procedures for the creation of new political parties by petition, including requirements of the new party and the State Board’s processing and review of the petitions.
- Section .0400 — Unaffiliated Candidate Petitions (PDF): Defines the process for voters who want to be listed on the ballot as unaffiliated candidates, including how a board of elections processes an unaffiliated candidate petition.
- Section .0500 — Write-in Candidate Petitions (PDF): Defines the process when a voter wants write-in votes to be counted for them in an election, including how a board of elections processes a write-in candidate petition.
- Section .0600 — Petitions to be a Candidate on the Ballot Without Paying a Filing Fee (PDF): Defines the petition process for candidates who want to be on the ballot without paying a filing fee, also known as an “in lieu of filing fee petition.”
Comment on Proposed Petition Rules
Members of the public may comment on the proposed petition rules in any of the following ways through May 16.
- Online: Public Comment Portal: Petition Rules
- Email: rulemaking.sboe@ncsbe.gov
- Mail: Attn: Rulemaking Coordinator, P.O. Box 27255, Raleigh, NC 27611-7255
- Public Hearing: An in-person public hearing on the proposed rules will be held at 10 a.m. April 14, 2025, in the State Board of Elections Office, Third Floor, Dobbs Building, 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603.
Proposed Campaign Finance Rules and Amendments
The State Board proposes the following rule amendments and rules related to campaign finance disclosure.
Proposed rule amendments:
- The proposed amendment to Reporting of Independent Expenditures (08 NCAC 21 .0102) (PDF) and the proposed amendment to Electronic Filing (08 NCAC 21 .0106) (PDF) facilitate the filing of electronic disclosure reports by clarifying the email address that electronically signed report covers should be sent to and by clarifying that there is no requirement to file a copy of the report with the county board of elections when a data file and electronically signed disclosure report cover is filed with the State Board.
Proposed rules:
- Proposed rule Reporting Periods (08 NCAC 21 .0108) (PDF) requires that a committee treasurer not sign or file a disclosure report cover until the calendar day after the statutorily prescribed period end date.
- Proposed rule Inactive Status for a Candidate or Committee (08 NCAC 21 .0204) (PDF) implements G.S. § 163-278.10 and establishes that, to obtain inactive status, the treasurer must file a disclosure report that shows no contributions or expenditures during the reporting period and a certification regarding the inactive status. The proposed rule also describes what actions must be taken after committee activity resumes accepting contributions and making expenditures.
Read the full text PDF of the proposed campaign finance rules and amendments.
Comment on the Proposed Campaign Finance Rules
Members of the public may comment on the campaign finance rules in any of the following ways through May 16.
- Online: Public Comment Portal: Campaign Finance Rules
- Email: rulemaking.sboe@ncsbe.gov
- Mail: Attn: Rulemaking Coordinator, P.O. Box 27255, Raleigh, NC 27611-7255
- Public Hearing: An in-person public hearing on the proposed rules will be held at 10 a.m. April 14, 2025, in the State Board of Elections Office, Third Floor, Dobbs Building, 430 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603.
Comments on all rules will be compiled and provided to the State Board before its final consideration of the rules, which will take place at a public meeting after the end of the comment period. The Rules Review Commission would then consider the proposed rules for final adoption.
LEARN MORE
For more information about the rulemaking process, please visit Rulemaking.