All elections by the people shall be by ballot, and all elections by the General Assembly shall be viva voce. A contested election for any office established by Article III of this Constitution shall be determined by joint ballot of both houses of the General Assembly in the manner prescribed by law.
History Note. - The provisions of the first sentence of this section are similar to those of Art. II, § 9, Const. 1868, and Art. VI, § 6, Const. 1868, as Art. VI was rewritten in 1900. The provisions of the second sentence of this section are similar to those of the second sentence of Art. III, § 3, Const. 1868, as amended in 1926.
CASE NOTES
Editor's Note. - The cases cited below were decided under former Art. II, § 9, and former Art. VI, § 6, Const. 1868, as rewritten in 1900.
Secrecy of Ballot. - The provisions of this section imply that in elections by the people the ballot shall be a secret one. Withers v. Board of County Comm'rs, 196 N.C. 535, 146 S.E. 225 (1929).
It is not necessary to show undue influence or intimidation for the courts to declare an election void when the voters have been deprived of their right to a secret ballot. Withers v. Board of County Comm'rs, 196 N.C. 535, 146 S.E. 225 (1929).
A voter at an election does not waive his constitutional right to a secret ballot by not protesting, unless he has been made aware of his rights under the facts and circumstances of the balloting. Withers v. Board of County Comm'rs, 196 N.C. 535, 146 S.E. 225 (1929).
How Elector May Deposit Ballot. - The provisions of this section give the elector the choice to deposit his own ballot secretly, or to declare his choice openly when depositing it, or to have the registrar (now chief judge) or one of the judges of election, deposit it for him. Jenkins v. State Bd. of Elections, 180 N.C. 169, 104 S.E. 346 (1920).
Presumption of Regularity of Legislative Election. - Where a certificate shows that there was a legislative election of an officer, nothing else appearing, the law presumes a quorum and that the election was regular. State ex rel. Cherry v. Burns, 124 N.C. 761, 33 S.E. 136 (1899).
Cited in James v. Bartlett, 359 N.C. 260, 607 S.E.2d 638 (2005).
Opinions of Attorney General
Provisional Ballots. - Ordinarily, applications to vote provisionally are viewed as public records which must be disclosed pursuant to Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes, because these documents are separate from ballots and there are a sufficient quantity of provisional ballots so that no vote could be attributed to any particular provisional voter. However, when there is only one provisional voter, that voter has an overriding and personal right to a secret ballot under this section, and a County Board of Elections is prohibited from disclosing any information that would identify the provisional voter. See opinion of Attorney General to Mr. Stephen T. Gheen, Chairman Gaston County Board of Elections, 1997 N.C.A.G. 67 (11/6/97).