NC and SC straight ticket does not cast vote for president!

If you plan to check a straight party box on the ballot on election day, you'd better think twice. NewsChannel 3 has discovered that if you just vote straight party, your vote for president won't count. That happens only in North and South Carolina. We found that most people don't know about it.

Casting a straight party vote is easy. Check the box, and everyone in that party gets your vote. Except the candidates running for the White House.

"The presidential vote must be cast separately. A straight party vote does not count for the presidential election. It is a state law that a straight party ticket can only count for all the other races, but not for the presidential vote," said New Hanover County Board of Elections Secretary Jonathan Washburn.
http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=2477730

years ago to eliminate the coattail effect of the Republican Presidential candidate after Jesse Helms received this benefit in the 1972 election.

The voting staff mentioned that to me specifically when showing me how to use the voting machine, and it was noted in several places.

I have made sure each time I have voted (since 1976) to put my mark beside each candidate's name and not to vote a straight ticket.

Go Kerry!

Let's hope red NC and SC will be blue, or at least a shade of purple tonight!

Hey, ya'll...

I heard about this rumor and decided to put it to the test this morning. When I mashed straight party Democrat, all of the right lights lit up, even the John Kerry light. However, I was a little confused when two other democrat lights didn't light up (for local elections) which I had to manually press. While pressing them, I realized that these two particular candidates were running unopposed for vacant county government seats, but I didn't want them to lose to write in votes.

I was very, very careful to make sure the John Kerry button was lit, right above the Inez Tennenbaum light, and it was.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be careful! I'm just saying what happened when I voted this morning on my machine.

Make sure that if you vote straight ticket that the correct selection for president also lights up. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.