Democrats attempt to change vote counts
The contest for county commissioner between Republican Trudy Wade and Democrat John Parks hinges on provisional ballots cast in wrong precincts. Recently, North Carolina courts ruled these votes illegal. Parks bemoans the plight of "innocent voters who just followed instructions of voting officials." Nonsense.
When legal voters appeared at wrong precincts, they were informed they were not registered there. A special precinct official then directed them to their correct precinct. Most voters went to the correct precinct.
Because the Help America Vote Act dictated that precinct officials give a provisional ballot to anyone who asked, some voters, finding themselves in the wrong precinct, elected to vote a provisional ballot. They either were or should have been told that provisional ballots are subject to review to determine their legality. The courts ruled these out-of-precinct votes illegal, as voters were told could happen.
The Democrat-controlled General Assembly passed new legislation to allow these illegal votes. This must be challenged. The same rules must be followed when a vote is counted as when the vote is cast. After a vote is cast, a retroactive rule change looks like an attempt to tilt a close election.
Betty Everhart
Greensboro
Comments (4)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
"After a vote is cast, a retroactive rule change looks like an attempt to tilt a close election."
It doesn't just look like it, it is. But in this case, doesn't John Parks have enough votes either way to defeat Trudy Wade?
Posted on April 1, 2005 8:47 AM
Shouldn't the will of the people be the overriding factor in situations such as these? Trudy Wade needs to take her lumps and pack it in.
Posted on April 1, 2005 2:52 PM
Why is it that republicans try to eliminate voters, while democrats try to broaden the voting opportunities?
Oh I know!! Because the Democratic Party is the party of Democracy!
Posted on April 2, 2005 6:38 PM
All depends on what side of the fence you're sitting on. I agree that the rules in place when the vote is cast should be the same after the votes are counted. Changing the rules in ANY game midway is unfair.
"Shouldn't the will of the people be the overriding factor in situations such as these? "
The answer to that question depends on what people you are referring to? I think the people who bothered to register and vote in the right precinct should definitely count. I can't even see why anyone would feel they had the right to be upset about their vote not counting if they didn't bother to put forth the effort to make sure they handled their business correctly. But then again, it is becoming more and more common for people not to want to take responsiblity for the choices they make.
Posted on April 4, 2005 1:09 PM