Confusing the Election Process
By: Mildred Robertson
If you vote a straight party ticket in North
Carolina, and you think you’ve voted for your presidential choice, you are
wrong! Voting straight party includes everything BUT the presidential and vice presidential candidate.
When asked to clarify straight party voting in
North Carolina, the State Board of Elections responded:
“If
a voter casts a vote for a straight‑party ticket, that vote shall be counted
for all the candidates of that party, other than those for President and Vice
President, in the partisan ballot items on that official ballot except as
otherwise provided in this subdivision.”
Kind of confusing, right! It appears to me to be a misnomer. One would
think “straight party” would refer to ALL
the candidates in a particular party, not just those other than the President and Vice President.
One also would imagine that the State Board of
Elections would clearly word the explanation and state that there actually is
no straight party ticket in the North Carolina election process. They should
just say that voters must ALWAYS select
a presidential and vice presidential candidate, even if their intention is to
vote for members of only one party.
Of course, politicians probably like this
process. That gives them the opportunity to distance themselves from the top of
the ticket if they think it might pull them down. But the fact is that many
voters think that voting “straight party” includes the presidential and vice
presidential candidate. These individuals, therefore, unknowingly are denied
their right to cast their vote for the highest office in the land.
The voting process should be as simple as
possible. These kinds of politically motivated processes appear to me to be
contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. The ultimate outcome of the vote should
reflect the voter’s true intention, not an outcome based upon the possible
misinterpretation of the process. Citizens should not have to interpret the
voting process. It should be clear and straight-forward – just like a
straight-party ticket should include the entire party.
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