Election Selections (for Mecklenburg County)

Early Voting starts tomorrow (October 16, 2008)

VOTER ID MUST BE SUBMITTED TO VOTE ONLY IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES (see below)

CARDS FROM ELECTIONS OFFICE ARE NOT VALID AS ID

Don't forget to vote on the bonds and judges

Early Voting: Oct. 16—Nov. 1

Early Voting Sites Lookup (see list below): http://www.meckboe.org/pages/Election/EarlyVoting/EarlyVotingSite/index.html

Election Day—Nov. 4

List of Polling Locations on Election Day

http://www.meckboe.org/PollingLocations.aspx

Polls open 6:30 AM—7:30 PM

NOTE: The President, Vice President and all the Judicial candidates must be voted for SEPARATELY. Voting a straight Republican ticket will not register a vote for these candidates!

NATIONAL

U.S. President

John McCain

U.S. Vice President

Sarah Palin

U.S. Senate

Elizabeth Dole

U.S. Congress -District 8

Robin Hayes

U.S. Congress -District 9

Sue Myrick

U.S. Congress -District 12

Ty R. Cobb, Jr.

STATE

Governor

Pat McCrory

Lieutenant Governor

Robert Pittenger

Attorney General

Bob Crumley

State Auditor

Les Merrit

Commissioner of Agriculture

Steve W. Troxler

Commissioner of Insurance

John Odom

Commissioner of Labor

Cherie K. Berry

Secretary of State

Jack Sawyer

Super. of Pub Instruction

Richard Morgan

State Treasurer

Bill Daughtridge

State Senator

State Senator—Dist. 35 Eddie Goodall

State Senator—Dist. 39 Bob Rucho

State House

State House—Dist. 98  Thom Tillis

State House—Dist. 99   Dempsey Miller

State House—Dist. 100 Tom White

State House—Dist. 101 Beth Marlin

State House—Dist. 103 Jim Gulley

State House—Dist. 104 Ruth Samuelson

State House—Dist. 105 Ric Killian

State House—Dist. 107 Gary Hardee

Mecklenburg County Commission

At-Large (3 votes)

Hal Jordan

Dan Ramirez

Susan Walker

District 1 Karen Bentley

District 2 Tim McLeod

District 5 Neil Cooksey

District 6 Bill James (and yes, I am asking you to vote for me)

Register of Deeds

Judy Gibson

Judicial (some races listed as ‘non-partisan’ but these are my choices

NC Supreme Court   Robert Edmunds

NC Court of Appeals Bob Hunter

NC Court of Appeals Dan Barrett

NC Court of Appeals Doug McCullough

NC Court of Appeals Jewel Ann Farlow

District Court—Dist. 26

Fritz Mercer

Tom Moore

Todd Owens

William I. Belk

Ben Thalheimer

Daniel P. Roberts

Stephen W. Kearney

Louis A. Trosch, Jr.

Judges that I don't know about and are not voting for:

John C. Martin (unopposed)

Sam Ervin IV

Kristin Ruth

Ronald Chapman (unopposed)

Christy T. Mann (unopposed)

Theo X. Nixon

Elizabeth Thornton Trosch

REPEAT NOTE: The President, Vice President and all the Judicial candidates

must be voted for SEPARATELY. Voting a straight Republican ticket will not register a vote for these candidates!

Bond Referendum Choices (two only apply to City voters - the Park Bond is for all Mecklenburg County Voters)

Note before voting on bonds:  With the current credit crisis there is little

market availability for bonds. Governments today cannot sell municipal

bonds in the 'market' because the market dried up with the failure of AIG

and assorted others. Wake County recently tried to sell bonds for schools

a few weeks back and no one would buy them. There is hope that this credit

crunch will clear up in 6 months however that may not be the case.

Financially, voters should be aware of whether the government will have

the money to service debt as well as whether the bond is a wise use of government money.

I received the ID info from the Mecklenburg BOE web site.

After my e-mail was sent out, I received the following clarifying note from the State Board of Elections as follows:

From: Don Wright [mailto:don.wright@ncmail.net]
Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 3:04 PM
To: wjames@carolina.rr.com
Cc: MECKLENBURG
Subject: FW: Election Selection 2008

Dear Mr. James,

Your information sheet that was sent to Mr. Bartlett states that “voter ID must be submitted to vote” .

GS 163-166.12 is set out below. It is important to note that it only applies to voters who register by mail who have not previously voted in an election (first-time voters). More importantly are the exemptions to the ID requirement set out in (d). Voters whose Drivers License or Social Security data is matched by our computer interface with the DMV and Social Security Administration database do not have to present ID. As a result of those exemptions, only a few thousand of the 6 million North Carolina registered voters will have to present ID when voting. In addition , these voters that need to present ID to vote are sent a letter telling them of that requirement to

present ID when they first vote. To assert that all voters must present ID to vote is incorrect.

Please correct the information in your sheet that makes the general statement that “voter ID must be submitted”. Also will you please send the corrected version to any persons that you might have sent the original version to. We would appreciate your confirmation that this has been done. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

Don Wright

General Counsel

§ 163‑166.12.  Requirements for certain voters who register by mail.

(a)       Voting in Person. – An individual who has registered to vote by mail on or after January 1, 2003, and has not previously voted in an election that includes a ballot item for federal office in North Carolina, shall present to a local election official at a voting place before voting there one of the following:

(1)       A current and valid photo identification.

(2)       A copy of one of the following documents that shows the name and address of the voter: a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document.

(b)       Voting Mail‑In Absentee. – An individual who has registered to vote by mail on or after January 1, 2003, and has not previously voted in an election that includes a ballot item for federal office in North Carolina, in order to cast a mail‑in absentee vote, shall submit with the mailed‑in absentee ballot one of the following:

(1)       A copy of a current and valid photo identification.

(2)       A copy of one of the following documents that shows the name and address of the voter: a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document.

(b1)     The county board of elections shall note the type of identification proof submitted by the voter under the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section and may dispose of the tendered copy of identification proof as soon as the type of proof is noted in the voter registration records.

(b2)     Voting When Identification Numbers Do Not Match. – Regardless of whether an individual has registered by mail or by another method, if the individual has provided with the registration form a drivers license number or last four digits of a Social Security number but the computer validation of the number as required by G.S. 163‑82.12 did not result in a match, and the number has not been otherwise validated by the board of elections, in the first election in which the individual votes that individual shall submit with the ballot the form of identification described in subsection (a) or subsection (b) of this section, depending upon whether the ballot is voted in person or absentee. If that identification is provided and the board of elections does not determine that the individual is otherwise ineligible to vote a ballot, the failure of identification numbers to match shall not prevent that individual from registering to vote and having that individual's vote counted. If the individual registers and votes under G.S. 163‑82.6A, the identification documents required in that section, rather than those described in subsection (a) or (b) of this section, apply.

(c)       The Right to Vote Provisionally. – If an individual is required under subsection (a), (b), or (b2) of this section to present identification in order to vote, but that individual does not present the required identification, that individual may vote a provisional official ballot. If the voter is at the voting place, the voter may vote provisionally there without unnecessary delay. If the voter is voting by mail‑in absentee ballot, the mailed ballot without the required identification shall be treated as a provisional official ballot.

(d)       Exemptions. – This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1)       An individual who registers by mail and submits as part of the registration application either of the following:

a.         A copy of a current and valid photo identification.

b.         A copy of one of the following documents that shows the name and address of the voter: a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document.

(2)       An individual who registers by mail and submits as part of the registration application the individual's drivers license number or at least the last four digits of the individual's social security number where an election official matches either or both of the numbers submitted with an existing State identification record bearing the same number, name, and date of birth contained in the submitted registration. If any individual's number does not match, the individual shall provide identification as required in subsection (b2) of this section in the first election in which the individual votes.

(3)       An individual who is entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.

(4)       An individual who is entitled to vote otherwise than in person under section 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act.

(5)       An individual who is entitled to vote otherwise than in person under any other federal law. (2003‑226, s. 16; 2004‑127, s. 3; 2007‑391, s. 21(a).)

ID REQUIRED TO VOTE - Provided by the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections that was evidently incorrect.

http://www.meckboe.org/pages/Election/Voter_MUST_provide_ID.pdf

Voter MUST provide ID (see list below) before they can vote on panel per State law. [GS 163-166.12(a)(1)-(2)]

1. Valid photo identification

2. NC Driver License

3. Passport

4. Utility bill

5. Bank statement

6. Government check

7. Paycheck

8. Other government documents (passport, etc...)

9. Voter ID Cards - Cannot be used for ID. (Voter ID cards are for the voter's information only. County or State issued voter registration cards are excluded and do not qualify as other government documents)

Early Voting Locations and Times

Hours of Operation