House passes HB3, partisan elections secured for Monroe

MONROE, N.C. — Elections in Monroe are now required to be partisan following the passage of House Bill 3 by the state House on Tuesday.

The controversial bill has been the talk of the town for weeks, since councilmembers first voted to oppose the bill on June 16.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE >> Monroe City Council votes to oppose HB3

“I’m actually pretty thrilled about this movement and moving to partisan elections,” Monroe Mayor Robert Burns said.

According to the legislation, HB3 will require candidates running for city office in Monroe to file as either Democrat or Republican or get enough signatures to appear on the ballot as an independent. Until now, Monroe’s elections have been nonpartisan.

The new law will also move Monroe elections to even years, meaning the elections originally scheduled for this year will now take place in 2026.

All councilmembers along with the mayor will get an additional year in office.

Burns said running with a party provides transparency to voters.

“I don’t understand why if they’re a Democrat, or any other kind of party, why they wouldn’t want the party that they’re affiliated with on the ballot with their name. That just doesn’t make any sense to me,” Burns told Channel 9’s Eli Brand. “If you’re going to be a part of a party put that symbol, the D or the R beside your name.”

However, not everyone agrees with the mayor.

Monroe resident Steven Segall believes labels don’t mean much and said Monroe elections should stay nonpartisan like they have been for decades.

“I can be a conservative Republican, I can be a conservative Democrat,” Segall said. “Saying I’m a Democrat doesn’t tell you how I feel about universal healthcare or work requirements for welfare.”

Candidates running for office in Monroe will now be required to file for the 2026 elections by December of this year.

Mayor Burns said he still plans to run for re-election in 2026.

The Union County Board of Elections said they are working with Monroe to make sure voters know they don’t need to come to the polls this November.

The Union County Democratic Party sent Channel 9 a statement saying, in part, “HB 3 is another form of voter suppression and we cannot allow this to continue to be the movement in North Carolina.”

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