Deadlines approach, but voters have options

By Patricia E. Matson Staff Writer
Thursday, October 7, 2010

Election Day isn’t until Nov. 2, but there are several important dates coming up before then. Also, one of the races on the ballot will use a new process known as instant-runoff voting (IRV). So it isn’t too soon to start thinking about when and how to vote.

The last day to register to vote, or to change one’s name, address or party affiliation, is Friday, Oct. 8, up until 5 p.m. Registration can be done at the New Hanover County Board of Elections at 230 Government Center Dr. in Wilmington or at any N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles location.

Anyone who misses the registration deadline can still vote through One Stop early voting, which starts on Oct. 14 and is available through Oct. 30. During that time, registered voters, or unregistered people with proof of residence, can vote by appearing in person at the county government center, the Cape Fear Museum or the Carolina Beach Municipal Building. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; on Saturday, Oct. 30, the sole weekend date for One Stop, hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In addition, applications for mail-in ballots became available in September and can still be submitted through Oct. 26. The ballots must be returned to the board of elections by Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. On Election Day, votes can be cast only by registered voters at their precinct polling places. Visit www.nhcvote.com to find out the locations, see sample ballots and other information.

Races in New Hanover County this fall include U.S. Senate and U.S. House, N.C. Senate and three N.C. House seats, District Attorney, NHC Commissioners (two seats), NHC Sheriff, NHC Board of Education (four seats), NHC Clerk of Superior Court, N.C. Supreme Court, N.C. Court of Appeals (four regular seats), N.C. Court of Appeals (IRV Contest), Superior Court Judge, District Court Judge (four judgeships), Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor and a Constitutional amendment on whether to bar convicted felons from serving as sheriff.

Most of the ballot options will be fairly simple choices between pairs of candidates, or yes/no for the amendment. However, one of the races is going to look unfamiliar. For the first time in North Carolina, a process called instant-runoff voting (IRV) will be used in a statewide race.

Judge James Wynn vacated his seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals when he was appointed to the federal bench in August. That was too late to hold a primary election for the seat, and 13 candidates are interested in it, so IRV will determine the final outcome.

Bonnie T. Williams, director of the county board of elections, explained that in IRV, voters basically rank their preferences. In the first column, they darken their oval for their first choice; in the second column, they pick their second choice; and in the third column, they select their third choice.

When votes are tallied on election night, only the first column is counted. It’s treated like a primary, said Williams, with the goal to find out if anyone receives a majority of votes. If so, that person wins the election.

If not, the top two vote-getters are determined from the first column. After that, those two candidates’ votes in the second and third columns are tallied, with equal weight for each column. Those numbers are added to the vote totals for the first column, and the candidate with the most combined votes from both rounds (all three columns) wins the election.

Williams said that different people must be selected for each column. If someone receives votes in more than one column on a ballot, only the first one is counted, so voters can’t double-weight or triple their votes.