NC Newsline – Officials and residents from the town of Louisburg gathered Tuesday outside of the North Carolina Legislative Building to protest a surprise change to the town’s mayoral election process, which they say was made without their knowledge or any public input.
The provision was inserted into House Bill 183, which originally focused on wake surfing restrictions on Lake Glenville in Jackson County. But in a last-minute revision, lawmakers added a language that alters how Louisburg, a town in Franklin County, elects its mayor.
The change requires a runoff election if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. If only two candidates file for the office, however, the winner will be determined by a simple plurality. Town council elections will not be affected by the change and will continue to be decided by plurality.
The incumbent, Mayor Christopher Neal, said runoff elections create unnecessary burdens for voters, especially those with limited time and resources. He cited studies that have shown a significant drop in voter turnout for runoff elections, often with participation declining by 40% or more between the initial primary and the second round of voting.
“That puts a burden on seniors, single mothers, working people who have to take off and vote,” he said at the press conference.
Town leaders say they were not consulted and only learned of the provision after the bill had already passed both chambers of the legislature and became law on June 26.
Because the measure was a local bill applying only to specific jurisdictions, it did not require the governor’s signature to become law.
Neal questioned why the provision was added so late and by whom. He noted that the bill was sponsored by Rep. Mike Clampitt, R-Transylvania, whose district is more than 300 miles from Louisburg. A review of the recording of the House session on June 25 — the day the conference report containing the addition was adopted — revealed that no explanation was provided for the provision or the bill before it was voted on. The Senate does not archive recordings of its sessions.
“Only reason that I can come up with this bill being passed is because of Louisburg having an African American mayor… hopefully someone else can offer a much better [explanation],” Neal said. Neal is the only Black mayor in Franklin County.
Local leaders demanded transparency and answers from lawmakers about who pushed for the provision and why it was added without input from the community it affects.
Andrea Woodin, the Franklin County Democratic chair, called for “complete transparency” from Rep. Matthew Winslow, R-Franklin. “The voters deserve the whole story,” she said during the press conference. Winslow and Sen. Lisa Barnes — also a Republican — are the only two lawmakers who represent Franklin County in the legislature.
Newsline efforts to contact Reps. Clampitt and Winslow were unsuccessful.
“There’s a problem with people trying to turn municipality elections, which are supposed to be nonpartisan, into a partisan pony race,” said Deborah Maxwell, president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP. “That is not fair.”
The town estimates runoff elections could cost between $7,000 and $10,000, which they say is a burden for a small municipality with limited resources. The Town Council has unanimously passed a resolution opposing the law. “They immediately understood what was going on. They immediately realized that this was done in the dead of night and that we would not want to have this,” Neal said.
Neal said they are exploring legal and legislative options to reverse the change and prevent similar measures from being pushed through without local consent.
Neal is running against two other people. The general election is scheduled for Oct. 7.
