Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / March 2, 2005, edition 1 / Page 7
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Übe Sailg £or Hjrf State eyes election reforms BY HALLEY KUEFFER STAFF WRITER The aftermath of last year’s contested elections has left North Carolina questioning its ability to hold fair, problem-free races. In response, members of the N.C. Senate introduced a number of bills Monday to reform the vot ing process in the state. The bills come after two races for Council of State dragged on well past November. One, the contest for state superintendent, is still undecided, with a court hearing scheduled for today in Wake County. One of the many reform bills introduced Monday would require voting systems to record all votes on paper. It also includes a measure to provide checks on electronic vot ing equipment and calls for stan dardizing purchases of equipment throughout the state. Another bill would allow voters to recast lost ballots during a two week period after the election. The measure was proposed in response to an incident in Carteret Easley cuts worry local schools May affect city, county capital projects BY ADAM W. RHEW STAFF WRITER With major capital projects on the horizon, local school officials say state and county funding cuts could cause serious problems. Steve Scroggs, assistant super intendent for support services for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said Gov. Mike Easley’s recommend ed budget would cut more than SB7 million in funding that public school districts use for discretionary pur poses and building improvements. If approved by state legislators, the cuts mean the district would lose almost $600,000 in funds from its operating budget. City schools Superintendent Neil Pedersen said he was disap pointed in Easley’s proposal to cut discretionary funding. He said cuts to the district’s oper ating budget are not anew phenom enon last fiscal year, the district also lost money because of state reductions. Someone will win 2 Tickets to the 2005 f\CC basketball Tookm AMEmT.. ... m the BC Powder Fast Pain Relief Race at the Florida State- UNC game tomorrow night? W Students in the riser section will be given UNC/BC Powder "Turn It Blue" W T-shirts before the game. Three of the shirts will be specially marked. The students with the specially marked shirts (or designated friend) will compete in the BC Powder Fast W Pain Relief Race at halftime. The win ner will be presented with 2 tickets to the 2005 ACC Tournament March 10-13 at the MCI Center in Washington DC. O FAST PAIN RELIEF County in which 4,500 votes were lost leaving the race for commis sioner of agriculture undecided for weeks after the election. Under the proposal, a local board of elections would contact the voters whose ballots are lost and invite them to vote again, said Sen. Austin Allran, R-Catawba, a sponsor of all of the bills. A pilot program to continue the use of one-stop voting through Election Day is another proposed solution. In many areas, one-stop voting allows citizens to vote out side their precincts. This is the most controversial of the proposed changes, Allran said, because many legislators think the state would see an increase in voter fraud if individuals vote outside their precincts. Taking earlier steps to count absentee ballots also is part of the package of legislation. “This was requested to allow them to count ballots as they come in so that they are not deluged at the last minute, and they have more time to Pedersen said the operating bud get cuts, if continued in the fiiture, would affect in some way the opening of the district’s third high school. “In 2007 ... we will need one and-a-half million dollars in new money to open the doors,” he said of the planned opening date. That money would be used for ini tial start-up costs like hiring janitors and buying athletic equipment. And Easley’s recommended cuts are not the only ones the dis trict faces. In October, the Orange •County Board of Commissioners began discussions about changing the way the county allocates funds for capital projects. Since 1988, the commissioners have allocated about 74 percent of their annual capital spending bud get to schools, leaving the remain der for county capital projects. But now, commissioners want to change the share split by city schools and Orange County Schools to 60 percent of the capital budget. “When voters go to the polls and vote in good faith, then their votes should he protected and counted ” GEORGE RABINOWITZ, unc professor of political science count the ballots,” Allran said. A final bill focuses on giving public employees leave to work at voter precincts. Both parties have called for voter reform in recent weeks. “The Democrats do control the House and Senate, and in terms of the party’s involvement, (the pro posed legislation) is more about protecting voting rights than party politics,” said Schorr Johnson, communications director for the N.C. Democratic Party. Allran said there is a high prob ability that these measures will be enacted because voter reform is such a pressing issue. “(Legislators) are reacting to some things that have been really difficult,” said Thad Beyle, UNC “That’s something we’re not quite up to speed on,” Scroggs said. “It all happened so fast.” The cuts come as both city and county school districts engage in major capital projects. County schools officials in November broke ground on the district’s third middle school, which will be located in Efland. The county funding cuts would specifically affect capital projects such as the building of the city schools’ third high school. Although concerned, Scroggs said the cuts would not delay the school. “We’re gonna get this high school built come hell or high water.” County schools officials were not available for a full interview, but Joseph Tullos, director of budget for the district, said state officials often change budget predictions during the school year. Tullos also emphasized that the process is still in its early stages. And while Pedersen expressed similar sentiments, he said the long term effects from the combination of budget cuts could be serious. News professor of political science. “Each one of them is a problem.” Beyle said he thinks reforms are necessary to help the state organize its election process. George Rabinowitz, UNC profes sor of political science, advocated random checks of voting machines in order to ensure their accuracy. He said that would be an effective way to eliminate voter fraud. “I think that North Carolina is better than most states, but I do think that the reform is needed nationwide as well,” he said. “When voters go to the polls and vote in good faith, then their votes should be protected and counted.” Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu. “I am very concerned that in the next five years, it’s going to be dif ficult for us to maintain the qual ity of education we’ve been offering our students.” Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu. LS AT intensive prep course & admissions coaching March 10-April 21 Thursdays 5:30 - 9:30 (doesn’t meet March 17) $399 (course fee includes SBO worth of books) class max. 10 students Get a better score of your money back. Get personalized help with your law-school application. fswartzbaugh@fulbrightweb.org 919.452.8228 I want to work where a brilliant solution pops into my head while I’m getting a massage in the office. Send your resume with an unofficial copy of your transcripts (with Software Engineer - UNC as the subject line) to collegejobs+unc@google.com Google has multiple openings at all degree levels (BS/MS/PhD) in computer science or related technical fields. Submission deadline is Sunday, March 6. Google © 2005 Goojjie Inc. Ail rignh. reserved. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2005 Meek wants to rebuild from the grassroots up THE ASSOCIATED PRESS RALEIGH New state Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Meek believes his party can only regain political pre-eminence by returning a voice to local activists laboring in their communities to tip the political balance in their favor. County and precinct leaders believe donor lists and training will help as they try to push their favor ites into offices that often breed can didates for higher office, Meek said. And he plans to provide both. “We won’t continue to win statewide elections if we continue to lose county commissioner races, and register of deeds races, and sheriff”s races,” he told Democrats when they elected him two week ends ago. “We won’t rebuild our party unless we build our party county by county.” Meek upset longtime party operative Ed Turlington the favorite of Gov. Mike Easley and former Gov. Jim Hunt to win the chairman’s election. He has I BECOME THE LEADER [YOU WERE BORN TO BE. | ■HHBiURNi if 2k Ms i ■ Learn firsttiand wtiat it takes to lead others as an Officer in the Poll YOUF ■ United States Army. Officer Candidate School (OCS) provides the direction, tralnini and skills you need to become a leader in the LOC3I AriTIV ! '■ Army and a leader in life. After completing Basic Combat Training. _ * jHH candidates participate in OCS trainint for 14 vreehs and then RSCTUitBr 'Sir B|| attend the Officer Basic Course. As an Officer, you'll be respected Bg as a Soldier, an inspiring leader and a servant of the nation. T(1 fl 3 V ■3 lo find out more, visit SOARMY.COM/OCSI or call MOO-USA-ARMr. UUCJJ. Mi Where: U.S. Army Recruiting Station When: Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. H Who: Sgt. Ist Glass Armstrong, 490-6671 I want to work where a total lack of culture inspires me to escape the office each day at 5:01 sharp. Send your resume (with your zip code + Cubemeat as the subject line) to unoriginal@technicage.com pledged not to tinker with the party’s well-oiled state House and Senate legislative fund-raising machines as he attempts to rein vigorate the party. “The House and Senate caucuses have done an excellent job of target ing races,” Meek said in an interview this week. “The state party will con tinue to be very supportive of that” Meek’s efforts to empower dis affected county and precinct lead ers contrasts with the top-heavy approach legislative leaders use in Raleigh. House Speaker Jim Black, D- Mecklenburg, and Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, raised $2 million to assist candidates in swing districts during the 2004 election. The candidates raise money and give it to the party, which then doles out much of it to key legislative can didates targeted by caucus leaders. The money helped Democrats take back control of the House after winning several key districts and extend their hold on the Senate. 7
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 2, 2005, edition 1
7
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75