NC General Assembly has a long history of reworking the laws regarding the Wake County Board of Commission, and they are continuing that history with Senate Bill 181. The bill would add two commissioners to the current seven member board and redraw the districts to align with the school board districts. The bill also changes what candidates voters can vote for based on the geographic districts.
Here is the history of elections of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, 1876-present:
1) 1876. General Assembly provides that it appoints justices of the peace for Wake County, the justices of the peace then elect the board of commissioners.
2) 1895. General Assembly provides a popularly elected three-member board of commissioners, elected at-large.
3) 1899. General Assembly expands the board from three to five, still elected at-large.
4) 1925. General Assembly divides Wake into five single-member districts, only the voters in a district vote for the district seat in the primary. Session law is unclear how the general election is conducted, only within district or county-wide. Districts stay the same until 1962.
5) 1929. General Assembly provides that in the primary and general election all county voters vote on all five district seats.
6) 1957. General Assembly sets referendum on date of 1958 primary (May 31, 1958) on expanding the board from five to seven members. Session Law provides that to pass it must get a majority of the registered voters (thus 25,001 of the 50,000 registered voters). Plan would have four single-member districts, but gives the Raleigh Township district #5 three commissioners.. Voters vote 3,874 yes, 3,110 no, but question fails as falls far short of 25,000 yes. Turnout very small as no statewide race in 1958, this happens every 12 years. (Raleigh Township and the City of Raleigh were coterminous until 1970.)
7) 1959. General Assembly puts same question from 1958 on the 1960 primary ballot (May 28, 1960), but drops the super majority passage requirement. Adds second question as to whether the Raleigh Township district should be divided into three single-member districts, only Raleigh Township voters are to vote on that question, Question 1 (board expansion to seven) passes 8,394 to 6,411. Raleigh Township votes for three-member district rather than three single member districts on Question 2 by a 4,502 to 3,345 margin.
8) 1981. General Assembly divides the three-member Raleigh Township district into three districts (essentially reversing 1960 referendum Question 2) and as part of same bill redoes all seven district boundaries. District boundaries stay the same until 2011.
9) 2011. General Assembly gives Wake County Commissioners the power to redraw their districts without legislative approval. Wake Commissioners adjust district boundaries under the legislation. From 1925 to 2010, the county had no power to change its district boundaries if it kept the residency district system.
