HB 1038 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

At-Large Elections/Jacksonville City Council.

This bill requires all members of the Jacksonville City Council to be elected by the entire city population rather than by specific geographic wards. Starting with the 2027 municipal elections, the current system of four ward-based representatives and two at-large members will be replaced so that every council seat is filled by citywide voting. The legislation maintains the existing schedule of staggered four-year terms for council members to ensure continuity in local government. This change directly affects voters in Jacksonville, who will no longer vote only for candidates representing their specific neighborhood but for all council candidates from across the city.

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Apr 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Apr 22, 2026 Last action Jun 9, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Edition 1 → Edition 2 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated from a first draft to a favorable committee substitute, incorporating significant substantive changes to how Jacksonville City Council elections are conducted. The most critical change is the addition of a provision ensuring that any person appointed to fill a vacancy for a ward-based seat must be a resident of that specific ward, a requirement absent in the original version. Additionally, the text was revised to clarify that the new at-large election provisions do not affect the filling of vacancies that occur for seats elected prior to the act's effective date, and the timeline for implementation was adjusted to align with the December 2027 organizational meeting.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include specific protections for existing ward-based vacancies and to clarify the transition timeline for the new at-large election system.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a requirement that individuals appointed to fill vacancies for ward-based Council Member seats must be residents of the specific ward where the vacancy exists.

ADDED

Added a clause stating that the new at-large election rules will not affect the filling of vacancies for seats that were elected before the act becomes effective.

TIMELINE

Refined the effective date and implementation timeline, specifying that the at-large election provisions take effect at the December 2027 organizational meeting while other parts of the act apply to future elections.

TECHNICAL

Corrected minor grammatical errors and formatting inconsistencies in the charter amendment text, such as changing 'Council members' to 'Council Members' and fixing spacing issues.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 9, 2026

Committee

Re-ref Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Jun 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reptd Fav Com Substitute

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Committee

Ref to the Com on Election Law, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Apr 22, 2026

Introduced

Filed

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor