NC State Bar Council

Election Results

Voting for the election to fill two of the 26th Judicial District Bar’s eight seats on the North Carolina State Bar Council closed on October 30, 2025.  The results are as follows:

DeVore Seat: Fred W. DeVore, III will serve a second three-year term on the North Carolina State Bar Council beginning January 1, 2026.  Mr. DeVore ran uncontested for reelection to this seat, received a majority of the votes cast, and thus has been declared elected pursuant to 27 N.C.A.C 1A § .0803.

Lynch Seat: Craig T. Lynch has also been declared elected to serve a second three-year term on the North Carolina State Bar Council beginning January 1, 2026.  He and Ketan Soni ran for this seat.  Mr. Lynch received a majority of the votes cast and thus has been declared elected pursuant to 27 N.C.A.C 1A § .0803. 

Full information about the election is outlined below.

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Candidates:

Voting

Voting for the election to fill two of the 26th Judicial District Bar’s eight seats on the North Carolina State Bar Council is open from October 21-30, 2025.  Full information about the election is outlined in the Notice below.

Candidates:

DeVore Seat: Fred W. DeVore, III

Lynch Seat: Craig T. Lynch and Ketan P. Soni

Ballot Information:

On or after 9 a.m. on October 21, active members of the 26th Judicial District Bar will receive a ballot link at the email address on file with the 26th Judicial District Bar.  Voters are asked to add vote@simplyvoting.com to their safe-senders list if they have not done so in previous elections and to check their filters or other email accounts if they are unable to locate it.  “Voting is Now Open: State Bar Council Election” will be the subject line, and the 26th Judicial District Bar (for vote@simplyvoting.com) will be the sender.

Contact Shannon Reid with any questions.

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Notice

FROM: R. Lee Robertson, Jr., President, 26th Judicial District Bar

RE: State Bar Council Election

DATE: September 2, 2025

All active members of the 26th Judicial District Bar, as reflected on the official records of the North Carolina State Bar, are requested to take notice of the 2025 State Bar Council election.

The 2025 election is being held to fill two of the eight seats on the Council effective January 1, 2026.  Please carefully consider these positions.  Those two seats are as follows:

DeVore Seat: The DeVore Seat is the seat currently held by Fred W. DeVore III, who is serving his first three-year term and is eligible to serve two (2) additional three-year terms. 

Lynch Seat: The Lynch Seat is the seat currently held by Craig T. Lynch, who is serving his first three-year term and is eligible to serve two (2) additional three-year terms.

Councilors may serve up to three (3) consecutive three-year terms; thereafter, eligibility for reelection requires a three-year period of non-service. 

Nominations.  Any member of the 26th wishing to either serve in this capacity or nominate a candidate must submit a nomination to SBCNominations@meckbar.org by Thursday, October 9 at 5:00 p.m.  The nomination must include the specific seat, listed in bold above, for which the individual is nominated.  Nominations received after the deadline will not be on the official ballot.  Write-in candidates are permitted.  

Voting.  The election for these seats will be held electronically.  Ballots and instructions will be e-mailed to each active member of the 26th on Tuesday, October 21 at 9:00 a.m.  All votes must be submitted by Thursday, October 30 at 5:00 p.m.  If you do not receive the ballot and instructions by e-mail, please visit www.MeckBar.org/StateBarCouncil at any time during the voting period.  (If you do not have Internet access, please call 704-375-8624 so the staff of the 26th can help arrange for you to vote during the voting period.)

Under the Rules of the State Bar, the election of a councilor must be by majority of the ballots cast.  In the event a run-off is required for one or more seats, all members of the 26th will be notified via e-mail, and the run-off election(s) will be held electronically beginning Monday, November 3 through Friday, November 7.

Statutory References: N.C. Gen. Stat. §84-17 and §84-18 and 27 N.C.A.C. 1A, Section .0805.

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About

The North Carolina State Bar is the administrative agency responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in North Carolina.  Protection of the public and protection of our system of justice are the objectives of regulation.  The State Bar is governed by a 61-member council whose members are lawyers elected by lawyers in their home judicial districts.  At the State Bar Council’s July 2022 meeting, the Council approved a reallocation of councilors based upon a formula rooted in the number of active members of each judicial district bar in North Carolina.  The reallocation gives the 26th Judicial District Bar one additional councilor.  As such, the 26th now has eight of the 61 seats on the Council.

26th Judicial District Bar Councilors

Councilors may serve up to three consecutive three-year terms; thereafter, councilors are eligible again after a three-year period of non-service.

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