Lawmakers May Combine All 2016 Primaries | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post is Barry Smith, who is an associate editor for the Carolina Journal, John Hood Publisher.

Party votes for president, state and local offices, and borrowing could be held March 15

    RALEIGH - Lawmakers could be moving all of next year's North Carolina's primaries to March 15. The state House on Wednesday rejected a Senate-approved plan to hold only the presidential preference primary on March 15, 2016. Under that plan, the other North Carolina primaries - including those for U.S. Senate, governor, Council of State, state legislative races, and hundreds of local races - would have taken place May 3.

    Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, said that a technical issue in the measure surrounding early voting hours needed to be addressed. In addition, some lawmakers are interested in combining the presidential preference primary with the state and local primaries, he said.

    High-ranking senators had no problem with the House's move. Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, said a number of changes are being considered. "The issue whether the [overall state] primary goes from May to follow [the presidential preference primary] is one of them," Rucho said.

    Since 1992, North Carolina's presidential preference primary and its state and local primaries have occurred in May.

    Splitting off the presidential preference primary would have required additional spending by local boards of elections - which are funded by county taxpayers. Estimates suggest that separating the primaries would have added $3 million to $5 million in extra costs to taxpayers.

    "There would there be cost savings associated with [combining the primaries], yes certainly," said Josh Lawson, a spokesman for the State Board of Elections.

    Lewis said another issue relates to available time to buy advertising for candidates.

    "I'm talking largely about media buys that candidates need to have to communicate with their voters are going to be taken up by these presidential campaigns [from] both political parties," Lewis said.

    Sen. Andrew Brock, R-Davie, said he didn't know how much of a problem it would be to get ad space during the primary. Recalling the 2008 Democratic presidential contest in North Carolina between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Brock said, "I don't remember all that happening."

    Lawson said that if the state and local primaries were combined with the presidential preference primary, the legislation will need to update filing dates for candidates.

    Lawmakers and the State Board of Elections also would have to work out a schedule for absentee voting, including overseas voting, Lawson said.

    In 2013 the General Assembly voted to separate the presidential primary from the state and local primaries when it approved - and Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law - a broad election reform bill. Those changes included a requirement for voters to show a photo ID at the polls, eliminating same-day voter registration during the early voting period, prohibiting voters from casting ballots outside their home precincts, and shortening the time for early voting.

    That law would have moved the presidential primary to the first Tuesday after the South Carolina presidential preference primary, most likely in late February.

    However, national Democratic and Republican party rules penalize states for encroaching on the traditional early presidential primaries and caucuses held in February by slashing the number of delegates they can send to the nominating conventions. So members of the General Assembly decided to move North Carolina's presidential preference primary to March.

    Earlier this year, the House approved a bill moving the presidential primary to May 8, 2016. Later, in the summer, the Senate approved a bill moving the presidential preference primary to March 15, and making it a winner-take-all primary - awarding all of North Carolina presidential delegates to the first-place finisher, rather than having them divided proportionately.

    Lawson notes that the presidential preference primary will be the first time the state's new voter ID law will be in force - if it withstands a challenge in federal court.

    Officials say they still have a number of details to work out. Rucho said strong support remains for scheduling the presidential primary on March 15.

    Some lawmakers also have discussed placing any bond measures approved by the General Assembly before voters on that date, though it's unclear if a proposal to borrow for transportation and building projects will pass both houses of the General Assembly.