County Commissioner Elections

County Commissioners

North Carolina General Statute § 153A-34 requires each county to be governed by a board of commissioners; these commissioners are elected by the voters. To be eligible to serve as a county commissioner, you must reside in the county you wish to serve, be a registered voter and be at least 21 years of age. There are no other formal requirements, and there are no limitations on how many terms a commissioner can serve.

The 100 boards of county commissioners across the state are made up of 587 members, elected to terms of 2 or 4 years using a variety of election methods.

  • Board Size: 5 members: 60 counties; 6 members: 2 counties; 7 members: 33 counties; 8 members: 1 county; 9 members: 4 counties
  • Term Length: 2 years: 1 county; 4 years: 91 counties; variable based on rank among winners: 8 counties
  • Term Structure: Staggered: 95 counties; concurrent: 5 counties
  • Chair Selection: Elected by the voters: 3 counties; selected by commissioners: 96 counties; dependent on rank among winners: 1 county
  • Representation: Purely at large: 39 counties; some use of residency districts: 61 counties
  • Voting Type: Standard, 95 counties; limited voting: 5 counties
  • Election Cycles: In Quadrennial A years (2024, 2028, etc.), 97 counties elect 296 commissioners; in Quadrennial B years (2022, 2026, etc.), 98 counties elect 309 commissioners. In addition to these regularly schedule elections, counties also hold elections in both A and B years for seats that have become vacant with an unexpired term.

County Election Data

The table (below) summarizes the election method used by each county. The following data and research on county elections is generated by the NCACC Policy team.

CountyTerms of OfficeCommissionersElection MethodCombined Description
Alamance4 years, staggered5At large
Alexander4 years, staggered5At large
Alleghany4 years, staggered5At large
Anson4 years, staggered7By district at large
Ashe2 or 4 years*, staggered5At large
Avery2 or 4 years*, staggered5At large
Beaufort4 years, staggered7At large using limited voting
Bertie4 years, staggered5By district at large
Bladen4 years, staggered9Combination with partial limited voting3 at-large seats elected with limited voting; voters receive 1 vote among the 3 seats. Districted seats elected purely by district without limited voting.
Brunswick4 years, staggered5By district at large
Buncombe4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (1 seat, chairman) and purely by district (6 seats)
Burke4 years, staggered5At large
Cabarrus4 years, staggered5At large
Caldwell4 years, staggered5At large
Camden4 years, staggered5Combination of at large and by district at largeAt large (2 seats) and by district at large (3 seats)
Carteret4 years, staggered7By district at large
Caswell4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (2 seats) and purely by district (5 seats)
Catawba4 years, staggered5At large
Chatham4 years, staggered5By district at large
Cherokee4 years, staggered5By district at large
Chowan4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (1 seat) and purely by district (6 seats)
Clay2 or 4 years*, staggered5At large
Cleveland4 years, staggered5At large
Columbus4 years, staggered7Purely by district
Craven4 years, concurrent7Purely by district
Cumberland4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (2 seats) and purely by district (5 seats)
Currituck4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and by district at largeAt large (2 seats) and by district at large (5 seats)
Dare4 years, staggered7By district at large
Davidson4 years, staggered7At large
Davie4 years, staggered5At large
Duplin4 years, staggered5Purely by district
Durham4 years, staggered5At large
Edgecombe4 years, staggered7Purely by district
Forsyth4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and by district at largeAt large (1 seat) and by district at large (6 seats)
Franklin4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (2 seats) and purely by district (5 seats)
Gaston4 years, staggered7By district at large
Gates4 years, staggered5By district at large
Graham2 or 4 years*, staggered5At large
Granville4 years, staggered7Purely by district
Greene4 years, staggered5By district at large
Guilford4 years, staggered9Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (1 seat) and purely by district (8 seats)
Halifax4 years, staggered6Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (3 seats) and purely by district (3 seats)
Harnett4 years, staggered5Purely by district
Haywood4 years, staggered5At large
Henderson4 years, staggered5By district at large
Hertford4 years, staggered5By district at large
Hoke4 years, staggered5At large
Hyde4 years, staggered5By district at large
Iredell2 or 4 years*, staggered [All 4-year terms as of 2026]5At large
Jackson4 years, staggered5By district at large
Johnston4 years, staggered7By district at large
Jones4 years, concurrent7Purely by district
Lee4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (3 seats) and purely by district (4 seats)
Lenoir4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (2 seats) and purely by district (5 seats)
Lincoln4 years, staggered5At large
Macon4 years, staggered5By district at large
Madison4 years, staggered5At large
Martin4 years, staggered5Purely by district using limited voting.Voters in Eastern District cast 2 votes for the 3 seats; voters in Western District cast 1 vote for the 2 seats
McDowell4 years, staggered5At large
Mecklenburg2 years, concurrent9Combination of at large and by district at largeAt large (3 seats) and by district at large (6 seats)
Mitchell2 or 4 years*, staggered5At large
Montgomery4 years, staggered5Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (2 seats) and purely by district (3 seats)
Moore4 years, staggered5By district at large
Nash4 years, staggered7Purely by district
New Hanover4 years, staggered5At large
Northampton4 years, staggered5By district at large
Onslow4 years, staggered7At large
Orange4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and hybridAt large (2 seats) and hybrid (5 seats). For the 5 districted seats, primary elections are conducted purely by district and general elections are conducted by district at large.
Pamlico4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (2 seats) and purely by district (5 seats)
Pasquotank4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (3 seats) and purely by district (4 seats)
Pender4 years, staggered5By district at large
Perquimans4 years, staggered6At large using limited voting
Person4 years, staggered5At large
Pitt4 years, staggered9Purely by district
Polk4 years as of 2024, staggered5At large
Randolph4 years, staggered5By district at large
Richmond4 years, staggered7At large
Robeson4 years, staggered8Purely by district
Rockingham4 years, staggered5At large
Rowan4 years, staggered5At large
Rutherford4 years, staggered5By district at large
Sampson4 years, staggered5Purely by district
Scotland4 years, staggered7Combination of at large and by district at largeAt large (1 seat) and by district at large (6 seats)
Stanly4 years except as noted, staggered7Combination of at large and by district at largeAt large (2 seats) and by district at large (5 seats)
Stokes4 years, staggered5At large
Surry4 years, staggered5By district at large
Swain4 years, staggered5At large
Transylvania4 years, staggered5At large
Tyrrell4 years, staggered5At large using limited voting
Union4 years, staggered5At large
Vance4 years, staggered7Purely by district
Wake4 years, staggered7 (9 as of 2026)Purely by district. Election method changed as of 2024 by S.L. 2023-30.
Warren4 years, staggered5By district at large
Washington4 years, staggered5Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (1 seat) and purely by district (4 seats)
Watauga4 years, staggered5Purely by district. Election method changed as of 2024 by S.L. 2023-147.
Wayne4 years, concurrent7Combination of at large and purely by districtAt large (1 seat) and purely by district (6 seats)
Wilkes4 years, staggered5At large
Wilson4 years, concurrent7Purely by district
Yadkin2 or 4 years*, staggered5At large
Yancey2 or 4 years*, staggered5At large

* See notes in pdf under Quadrennial A and B years.
(Updated March 2024)

Contact

For more information about NCACC’s data resources or for help with county data questions, please contact Fiscal and Policy Research Director Denise Canada.