Friday, October 29, 2010

The election of the decade is nearly over: The political party that wins majority control of the NC General Assembly will use new Census data to redraw political district lines to maximize its ability to win legislative and Congressional elections for the next decade. That’s one reason why the battles are so intense and complaints are flying. The state Democratic Party accuses the Republican Party of cheating on how it pays for campaign ads, while the Republicans claim electronic voting machines are giving their votes to Democratic candidates. Read the GOP complaint and response of State Board of Elections Director Gary Bartlett, posted on the Board’s homepage; it’s too bad the News & Observer missed so many of the points in Bartlett’s letter in its story this morning. The GOP’s complaint, which escalated today to a federal lawsuit, appears designed to spread cynicism about the voting process and reduce turnout among occasional voters; the GOP benefits this year from an election decided by the votes of a party’s most fired-up supporters. The intensity of the battle has already resulted in voters being intimidated by poll observers at One-Stop Early Voting centers. Democracy North Carolina has a one-page flyer about the rights of voters and urges anyone who sees bullying or inappropriate behavior to call the Election Protection Hot-Line (1-866-OUR-VOTE) or our office at 919-286-6000.