Montravias King has registered to vote in Greene County – going back to his previous home address in Snow Hill. The State Board of Elections records indicate that King registered to vote in Greene County on February 18, 2015.
There is no evidence that King has officially resigned from the Elizabeth City Council, so that leads us to ask – does the City know – does anybody besides King know that he is no longer officially a city councilman? If so, why haven’t they announced the vacancy on the board?
Less than 11 months into his first two year term, King had resigned his post in October of 2014, explaining that he was unable to find employment in the area after graduation. A couple of weeks later he changed his mind and announced he would complete his term.
In 2013, King, at the time a senior at Elizabeth City University, filed for City Council using his school address as his residence address. His candidacy was challenged and the Pasquotank County Board of Elections ruled that King was not eligible to run for city council because King did not meet the residence requirements for a candidate.
The State Board of Elections voted unanimously to reverse the county’s decision and King ran for and won a seat on the city council.
State law appears to be very clear this time in the case of an official ceasing to meet all qualifications to hold office:
NCGS 160A-59. Qualifications for elective office.
All city officers elected by the people shall possess the qualifications set out in Article VI of the Constitution. In addition, when the city is divided into electoral districts for the purpose of electing members of the council, council members shall reside in the district they represent. When any elected city officer ceases to meet all of the qualifications for holding office pursuant to the Constitution, or when a council member ceases to reside in an electoral district that he was elected to represent, the office is ipso facto vacant. (1973, c. 609
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