Kinston OK's nonpartisan vote

Kinston voters approved a charter amendment Tuesday to allow non-partisan municipal elections in the city, a move that could eliminate the use of party labels among candidates in future city elections.

The measure will now go to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires the Justice Department to approve any proposed changes to a local election system to ensure minority populations are not disenfranchised by the move.

If the DOJ approves, then the 2009 municipal elections will be non-partisan. Runoffs will be a thing of the past, because the candidate who receives the most votes, even if it is just one more than his or her opponent, wins.

The non-partisan charter amendment passed by a 2,168 vote margin - 4,924 voters supported the measure and 2,756 voters against the measure.

Republican Stephen LaRoque had worked to get the non-partisan charter amendment on the November ballot after getting 10 percent of the city's 14,242 registered voters to sign a petition earlier this year.

"I'm glad the non-partisan amendment passed," LaRoque said. "This will help Kinston."

LaRoque, who stepped down this year as head of the Lenoir County Republican Party, spent a majority of 2008 supporting non-partisan elections for Kinston.

Before Tuesday's election, Kinston was one of only six towns or cities in North Carolina to have partisan municipal elections. North Carolina has more than 550 towns or cities.

Chris Lavender can be reached at (252) 559-1078 or clavender@freedomenc.com.