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WARNING: A straight-party vote in North Carolina includes every office except president. Please pass this along. The voting public needs to know. Again, a straight-party vote counter-intuitively does not include a vote for president. Voters must make a separate mark under the Presidential Contest box.
Remember what happened with the butterfly ballot in Florida? When just a couple of hundred votes (out of 5.8 million cast) separated George W. Bush and Al Gore?
The ballot design flaw disproportionately impacts three groups who are likely to be heavily represented in the election this year: new voters, the poor, and the elderly.
Early voting started a week ago, already there have been reports that people don't understand the ballot instructions.
If two percent or more of North Carolina voters unknowingly "skip" the presidential contest, it may very well have an impact on the outcome.
VotersUnite.org recommends that people in North Carolina avoid straight-party voting.
I voted today in Durham. And 3 people (all poll workers/ volunteers) explained all this and gave me an extra piece of orange paper explaining the same thing. And THEN printed right there in black in white was the instructions AGAIN on the ballot.
Edit: I withdraw the rest of my rant.... it's unsympathetic. And the OP is right... this probably does impact the elderly and those who can't read.
But I do think Durham did an EXCELLENT job of explaining this. Kudos to the Durham poll workers and ALL poll workers. It's a thankless job.
Last edited by PDXmom; 10-27-2008 at 05:41 PM..
Reason: found my heart
PDXmom, I had the same experience when I voted last week. The poll workers made it very clear that a straight party vote did not include the presidential race nor the non-partisan races (judges). They also told me that if I had any problems to just let them know. The poll workers in Durham seem to be doing a great job. Here's hoping that everyone else has a positive experience, too!
When I voted in Buncombe County, the poll workers made this very very clear, and also handed me a slip of paper with my ballot that restated that the office of president must be voted for separately from straight party, and also that all the non-partisan races on the back must be voted for on a race by race basis.
If anyone fails to vote for president after this, then perhaps they are not bright enough to vote.
Talking to friends and family who voted at different times and different places, they all stated that the poll workers made this very very clear.
I guess kudos should also go out the Buncombe County Board of Elections in the training of their poll workers.
Nor do I think the straight party choice should be on the ballot. Not all states have the choice, and while I can't remember which states, I heard that two states removed the straight party choice this year.
I early voted in Wayne County last week and the same there. It was fully and clearly explained.
The ballot design "flaw" only effects one group not three. That group is the "stupid".
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