North Carolina ballots make the NYTimes
So the NYTimes had something to say about the state's balloting recently.
North Carolina may have the country’s worst. It is already causing confusion with early voters. And if the presidential race is close, it could change the outcome.Like a number of states, North Carolina allows its voters to choose a straight-party ticket. To do that, voters can mark one box and cast votes for all of the nominees of their preferred party. But North Carolina’s ballot has an unexpected twist. Even if a voter checks the straight-party box, he or she must vote separately for a presidential candidate.
North Carolina’s ballot explains the need to check two boxes, and election officials make an effort to inform voters of the drill. But the ballot is still far too confusing.
Voting machines here give people the option to check ballots. And the county's elections director, George Gilbert, said that it's impotrant for all voters to check their ballots before submitting them.
And if there's a problem with any of the machines, he added, call a pollworker over before submitting the ballot.
Meanshile, Reason.com says that the real problem is dumb people voting:
The problem isn't with North Carolina. The problem is democratic. Any majoritarian system is, by its nature, going to rely on the involvement of masses of dumb people who can't read or understand rules very well. Any ballot tweak meant to increase voter choices or simplify one part of the process is going to accidentally disenfranchise people who don't understand the rules. In 2000, this literally cost Al Gore the presidency. Not old people misreading butterly ballots, that is. People who didn't get the rules.
And a professor at Troy University in Alabama says:
Any complication that can be avoided, should be avoid. For example, as a ballot designer, one has to anticipate that there will be voters who will rush to the “Straight Ticket” section and not pay as careful attention as they should. On the one hand, it is clearly the responsibility of all voters to read the instructions, on the other, it is the state’s responsibility in a democracy to make the voting process as easy as possible. There is also the possible problem that the semi-literate would be able to recognize “Straight Ticket” and go there while no being able to read and comprehend the instructions.
Opinions on this are all over the blogosphere. What do you think?
Comments (5)
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...and in order to REALLY simplify, shouldn't voters be offered, first and at the top of the ballot, check boxes for:
_Kick'em All Out.
_Keep'em All In.
That way voters have an easy way either way, satisfied with the status quo incumbents or wishing for a new direction.
Posted on October 28, 2008 1:01 PM
Here's the question that no one has been able to answer for me: North Carolina ballots have been like this since the late 1960s....why are they all of a sudden considered confusing THIS year? Did we all get dumber over the past two years, possibly as the result of listening to too many @#$%^$% campaign speeches?
Posted on October 28, 2008 1:21 PM
Mark, it sure could be the speeches. I find it interesting as well that the democratic majority has decided to put the Democratic candidate at the top of the ballot in every race, forever
Posted on October 28, 2008 2:05 PM
I think you're on to something, Binker.
Posted on October 28, 2008 3:29 PM
I must be on of the dumb ones. I just learned that my straight-party vote did not accomplish my intention to vote for Barack Obama. Why is the North Carolina ballot different from ballots for other states in the Country?
Posted on October 29, 2008 7:41 PM