October 28, 2008
North Carolina voters are more likely than those in other states to cast ballots in national elections without making a choice for president.Unlike many states, a straight-party vote in North Carolina does not cast a vote for president. A ballot expert says the split makes it more likely that voters, especially new voters, will leave their polling places failing, by mistake, to vote for president.
The split between presidential and straight-party votes has brought the state national attention this year because the margin between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain is expected to be close, and North Carolina's electoral votes would be a prize for either candidate.
An unusually high percentage of people in the state who voted in the past two national elections failed to mark a presidential selection.
Because of the confusion, poll workers are supposed to let voters know that they need to cast presidential votes separately from their straight ticket votes:
Last week, state elections officials instructed local workers to tell voters about the need for separate votes, and sent poll workers written instructions to distribute to voters.
I can state with absolute certainty that the notification is not occurring consistently. My youngest brother and his wife voted in Pitt County last week, and my brother overhead a poll worker tell his wife that they needed to cast votes separately, but they were not addressing every individual. Likewise, they didn't say anything in earshot of me when my wife and I voted last week in Wake County, though that hardly mattered as I wasn't voting straight ticket anyway.
I think, however, that hyping North Carolina as "the next Florida" is a bit much, and in my opinion, a fear-mongering attempt to "prep the battlespace" for a legal fight if North Carolina's electoral votes become decisive.
The thing is, this is really only going to affect people who don't read instructions, and that is a non-partisan issue, isn't it?
Update: Just talked with my father, who votes in another Pitt County precinct. Poll workers did not explain the need to cast a separate Presidential vote, just that if they wanted to vote straight ticket, there is a spot of that on the ballot for that.
Posted by: Confederate Yankee at
09:52 AM
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