6
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2004
Straight-ticket voting
could trip up election
Presidential race excluded from option
BY JULIANA HANSON
STAFF WRITER
Voters in North Carolina could
find that their choice for president
isn’t counted if they aren’t careful
at the polls Thesday.
Confusion over a 37-year-old
state law that separates the dif
ferent parts of the ballot could
mean that voters who don’t know
the rules will get left out in the
cold.
When people enter the polling
booth, they have the opportu
nity to vote for a “straight-party
ticket,” meaning they can vote for
all Democrats or all Republicans
without checking off each indi
vidual candidate.
But because of a 1967 law
passed by a Democratic General
Assembly that wanted to pro
tect itself from the strength of
national Republican candidates
in the state, North Carolina’s bal
lots exclude the presidential race
from this process.
This means that Tuesday, voters
must cast their vote in that particu
lar election separately.
The rule has caused confusion
at the polls every year since its
inception.
In the 2000 election, about
3.02 million ballots were cast by
N.C. voters, but only 2.91 million
included votes for president.
These numbers indicate that
about 100,000 people cast votes
in the election without indicating
a choice for president.
But although there was some
Students seek to make vote count
BY ERIC JOHNSON
STAFF WRITER
When packing up to head off
to college, students have to make
tough choices about what stays and
what goes. For many, that choice
includes their ballot.
Though every vote counts, pun
dits say the reality of American
politics is that an individual vote
might have more sway in one state
or county than in another.
“I pretty much knew that I was
going to do absentee before I came
here,” said Emily Dunn, a UNC
freshman from Florida. “I think
(my vote) will make more of a dif
ference in Palm Beach County.”
In presidential races, the math
ematics of the electoral college are
such that a vote cast in a swing state
matters more than a vote cast in a
state where the race is not so close.
In this year’s election, there is a
relatively small number of states
considered to be “in play.” Polls sug
STUDENT VOTE
FROM PAGE 1
said Carolyn Thomas, director of the
Orange County BOE.
Thomas added that new voters in
Orange County receive a voter card
following registration that pinpoints
the location of his polling site.
The board’s office phones have
been ringing constantly during the
past weeks as anxious voters call
with questions about their polling
site location, Thomas said “It’s easier
to call us than to find their card’’
And voters’ potential confusion
doesn’t end at finding their polling
locations. Once they make it to the
polls, voters sometimes struggle
with the complexity of the ballot,
officials said.
Votes cast for president, nonparti
san offices and state or local referen
dums are separate from the straight
party ticket Voters can’t simply vote
a straight ticket and have their votes
count in these races.
But precinct officials at all poll
ing sites are prepared to answer
voters’ questions about the ballot.
When arriving at the polls, all
citizens voting in Orange County
will have to identify themselves by
stating their local address.
Thomas said any form of identifi
cation, including a student ID card
or a utilities bill, will be accepted.
But social security numbers are
never necessary. Chase Foster, presi
dent of Vote Catalyst, a subgroup of
Vote Carolina, said students should
take their school ID to the polls to
further prove they’ve been residents
of the county for more than 30
days.
If other registration problems
occur or if students go to the wrong
precinct and do not have time to
travel to the correct one, they
should request a provisional bal
lot Doing so will ensure that their
votes still count, Foster said.
Provisional ballots are investigat
ed and verified after Election Day. If
a person who votes by a provisional
ballot is registered in Orange County
but went to wrong precinct, their
confusion, Don Wright, general
counsel for the N.C. Board of
Elections, said that most people
vote without any problem and
that “not everyone votes for every
office.”
Wright acknowledged that
some of the 100,000-vote dis
crepancy can be attributed to the
straight-ticket law but added that
it is impossible to determine what
percentage of the vote accounts
for each factor.
“It is an issue we are aware
of,” said Kevin Howell, commu
nications director for the N.C.
Republican Party, adding that the
problem affects voters on all ends
of the political spectrum.
“We have been proactive in
reminding people,” he said.
“We have encouraged voters to
go for the Lucky 7,” or the number
of times Republicans would have
to vote to cover all of the state and
national elections.
Schorr Johnson, commu
nications director for the N.C.
Democratic Party, said that both
parties have faced difficulty in
informing voters about the rule
but that the Democrats are trying
to make the issue as public as pos
sible.
“We are working tirelessly to get
the word out,” he said.
Both parties, as well as the N.C.
Board of Elections, have reminders
about the straight-ticket law posted
on their Web sites.
Volunteers at polling loca
tions, including the Morehead
gest a reasonable chance that states
such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and
Florida, could deliver their much
coveted electoral votes *to either
President Bush or Democratic
presidential nominee John Kerry.
Most other states are assumed
to be locked up, with a firm major
ity of residents already decided.
Megan Meyer, a junior public
policy major from Cincinnati, Ohio,
chose to keep her registration in the
state she still considers home.
“It does make me happier that
Ohio is a swing state,” she said. “I
feel like my vote will count more or
possibly have more influence.”
John Aldrich, a professor of
political science at Duke University,
said electoral calculation is com
mon among out-of-state students.
“In the strategy sense, (moving
your vote to North Carolina) is not
particularly wise on the presidential
level because the presidential race
isn’t likely to be competitive in North
CHAPEL HILL AND CARRBORO VOTING PRECINCT LOCATIONS
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2 Colonial Heights 7 Booker Creek 12 Greenwood 17 Mason Farm 22 owasa 26 Lions Club
3 Weaver Dairy 8 Coker Hill 13 Battlepark 18 Westwood 23 Lincoln 27Carrboro
4 Patterson 9Eastside 14 East Franklin 19 Dogwood Acres 24 North Side 28 North Carrboro
5 Cedar Falls 10 Ridgefield 15 Country Club 20 Damascus
NOT SHOWN ON MAP
Transfer Precinct - Chapel Hill Police StatioN, 306 N. Columbia St.
Weaver Dairy Sat. - Carol Woods Retirement Community, 750 Weaver Dairy Road
SOURCE: ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
vote will count If they are not reg
istered in Orange County it won’t
Voting by provisional ballot can
be a student’s best way to ensure
that registration mistakes and other
confusions do not stop votes from
being counted, Foster said.
Elections officials also have
taken into consideration potential
barriers to handicapped voters. In
response, precincts will offer curb
side voting, satellite voting and any
needed personal assistance.
Planetarium one-stop site that
closed Saturday, also are charged
with spreading the word and show
ing voters sample ballots.
Several voters said that although
they did not know about the law
before coming to the polls, work
ers explained it well.
“It’s not confusing because I had
seen aballot before, in the mail and
here,” said Steve Moore, an Orange
County voter.
“There has been enough effort
made on all parts to get the word
out”
Ultimately, though, the issue
lies not in the hands of political
parties or the Board of Elections,
but of the N.C. General Assembly,
which has jurisdiction over elec
tion laws.
Howell, Johnson and Wright
all said they will continue to
implement the law and do their
utmost to guarantee that people
understand the process involved
until N.C. state legislators tell
them otherwise.
“I think people are aware of
it, and if not, they are being
told,” said N.C. Rep. Henry
Michaux, D-Durham and chair
man of the House Election Law
and Campaign Finance Reform
Committee.
He added that although he has
not heard a great number of com
plaints from voters, the laws are
confusing and “ought not be that
way.
“We’re going to take a look at it
during the next session.”
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Editor at stntdesk@unc.eda
“(Moving your vote to North Carolina) is
not particularly wise on the presidential
level” JOHN ALDRICH, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, DUKE UNIVERSITY
Carolina,” he said. “It’s much more
of a short-term, quasi-strategic deci
sion for most students about where
their vote will do the most good.”
Even in-state students, Aldrich
added, might take into account the
significance of their vote in a partic
ular district before deciding whether
or not to re-register. “There aren’t
likely to be a great many competi
tive races in Orange County.”
University students can choose
to switch their registration to
Orange County, traditionally a
Democratic stronghold.
Barry Katz, chairman of the
Orange County Democratic Party,
said he is thrilled to have the active
volunteer base that students pro
vide, but students’ actual votes
Such guidelines and aids were
developed to make sure citizens
turn out at the polls, officials said.
“Voting has been such a pain in
the past, but it’s so important for
students to make sure they get out
there and vote,” said Student Body
President Matt Calabria.
Foster noted the possibility that
the presidential election will be
decided by a slim margin in explain
ing the particular importance of
voting in this year’s contest.
News
Ii w Mr IT . I
DTH/SARA LEWKOWICZ
Phil Susanne of Chapel Hill and his son Phil, 6, stand in a early voting line at the
Morehead Planetarium Friday afternoon where there were reported waits of 2.5
hours before getting to the booth. Early voting ended in North Carolina on Saturday,
October 30th. Susanne has been volunteering at Ephesus Elementary School, where his
son attends. He said he dressed up as Uncle Sam because it seemed appropriate.
Lawyers gear up for battles
BY ERIC JOHNSON
STAFF WRITER
In what could be an extraordinari
ly dose presidential race, Democrats
and Republicans alike are gearing
up to take the fight straight from the
campaign trail to the courtroom.
Mindful of the legal battles sur
rounding the Florida recount that
ultimately dedded the 2000 elec
tion, both parties are preparing to
immediately challenge any perceived
irregularities on Election Day.
“I think people are anticipating
hold little sway in local elections.
“This year, there are no tight
races at all,” he said. “There are no
local races where the student vote
has any consequence at all.”
The Democratic candidates in
Orange County for N.C. House
and Senate face little opposition
this year, leaving some in-state stu
dents from other counties inclined
to vote in their home districts.
That’s exactly what freshman
Ryan Thorpe chose to do.
“I left my ballot back in Stanly
County. I figured my vote since
I’m voting Democrat would go
further there than it would here.”
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu
Road - Knapp-Saunders Building, UNC Campus
White Cross - Antioch Baptist Church, White Cross Road
DTH/MARY JANE KATZ, MICHELLE FURLER
“Allocate as much time as possible
for voting,” Foster said. “It’s impor
tant for everyone to have their say.”
Any Election Day problems or
questions about the ballot or vot
ing day requirements should be
directed to the county board of
elections office at 245-2350.
City Editor Ryan Tack
contributed to this story.
Contact the University Editor
at udesk@unc.edu.
EXERCISING PATIENCE
the same sorts of problems that
happened last time, and we’ve
seen it going on already,” said
Neil Siegel, a professor at Duke
University Law School.
Lawsuits already have been filed
in some states over a host of dif
ferent issues, and both campaigns
have fielded teams of lawyers to
respond rapidly if no clear winner
emerges Nov. 2.
Around the country, and par
ticularly in swing states that have
the potential to turn the Electoral
College tally, questions have arisen
about everything from provisional
ballots to the polling locations.
In Florida, there are at least
10 lawsuits pending, including a
demand that new electronic voting
machines create a paper trail to be
used in the event of a recount.
There also have been com
plaints that there are not enough
voting machines in place at early
voting sites.
The massive scale of voter drives
this year has left many states strug
gling to process new registrations
in tune for the election. Alabama’s
director of voter registration quit less
than 14 days before the election.
In Ohio, Democrats have accused
the Republican secretary of state of
trying to disenfranchise voters by
invalidating registration forms on
dubious grounds. Republicans have
countered with charges of fraud on
many new registrations.
In 2000, it was more than a
month after Election Day before the
U.S. Supreme Court ordered a halt
to the Florida recount, leaving Bush
with a narrow margin of victory in
Young voters, blacks
could sway electorate
After2ooo, groups wield much power
BY INDIA AUTRY
STAFF WRITER
Officials are looking for a record
number of young people and blacks
to turn out to the polls this election
season.
Surges have been predicted
for months, but with the big day
Thesday, officials still are expectant.
Youth Vote Coalition is antici
pating two million more 18- to 30-
year-olds than usual 2O million
compared with an 18 million voter
average, said Holly Teresi, YVC’s
national communications direc
tor.
Advocacy groups such as MTVs
Choose or Lose, Rock the Vote and
other voter programs each have
reported 100,000 to 250,000
young sign-ups this election year.
Numbers like that could have a
huge effect on the neck-and-neck
presidential race.
“Young people are going to
either give the president a man
date or change the leadership,”
Teresi said.
She pointed out that the 2000
election was decided by a few hun
dred Floridians. “Five hundred
thirty-seven votes that’s a dorm
foil of college students,” she said.
Young people say being unin
formed has kept them from vot
ing in the past, Teresi said. But
the media from MTV ads to
celebrity news statements have
worked to make election education
appealing to youth.
A Harvard University poll
released two weeks ago reveals that
college students across the coun
try favor Democratic candidate
Sen. John Kerry to Republican
President Bush, 52 percent to 39
percent. Nine percent are unde
cided, down from 11 percent by the
same poll six months ago.
Young people are most con
lattij sar BM
the state and determining the out
come of the national election.
“If there’s a five-point margin,
these things aren’t going to mat
ter much,” said Roy Schotland, a
professor of law at Georgetown
University. “It has to be close.”
With Democratic presidential
nominee John Kerry and President
Bush in a virtual tie in many cru
cial swing states, operatives in both
parties are at the ready.
Appearing on NBC’s “Meet
the Press,” Democratic National
Committee Chairman Terry
McAuliffe described an elaborate
effort by Democrats to monitor
this year’s polling.
“We will have 10,000 lawyers at
polling places,” he said. “If there
are issues as we had in Florida in
2000, we will have people quickly
on the ground.”
Republican National Committee
Chairman Ed Gillespie accused
Democrats of trying to taint the
electoral process.
“If John Kerry loses, they’re going
to sue,” he said. “They’re going to
haul the election process into court
rooms across this country”
Schotland called the effort on
both sides an “unprecedented
bunch of people running around
with matches to light fires.”
“They’re both as ready as can be
with the best (legal) talent they can
find, so I don’t think one is going
to out-lawyer the other,” he said.
“I think it’s just a matter of what
happens.”
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
cerned with the same issues as
other voters the economy, ter
ror and the war —but affordable
education also comes high on their
list of priorities, Teresi said.
“Young people tend to per
form in very similar ways as older
Americans when it comes to voting
behavior,” she said.
Mobilization efforts led by black
media, hip-hop activists and civil
rights groups are targeting black
youth, in particular by emphasizing
how politics affects day-to-day life.
“People like these are going into
the (black) neighborhoods, focus
ing on making the connection
between voting and changing the
situation people are in,” said Edrea
Davis, director of media relations
for the National Coalition on Black
Civic Participation.
Many black registration groups
such as the NCBCP are nonparti
san, but 90 percent of blacks vote
Democratic.
Officials expect a greater portion
of the black community than ever
to turn in their ballots this year.
Last year, blacks made up 11
percent of the voting body, and
that number is expected to rise to
13 percent this year.
This increase would mean a slight
over-representation for the minority
group, which makes up 12.8 percent
of the U.S. population.
The hike comes after the 2000
election, in which black votes con
stituted a disproportionate number
of the uncounted ballots in Florida
and about 1 million black votes
across the country went ignored.
“We’re looking at the surge in
registration and also listening to
people on the street,” Davis said.
“Everyone’s excited.”
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.