Voting
United States/ North Carolina
Registration Requirements/Procedures
*Must be a citizen.
*Must be a resident of the county, and prior to voting in an election, must have resided at his or her residential address for at least 30 days prior to the date of the election.
*Must be at least 18 years old or will be 18 by the date of the next general election.
*Must not be serving a sentence for a felony conviction (including probation or on parole). If previously convicted of a felony, the person’s citizenship rights must be restored.
*Must rescind any previous registration in another county or state.
Procedures:
>must sign and complete a voter registration application.
>When completing the application, applicants must provide their full name, residential address, date of birth, and citizenship status. In addition, the application must be signed.
>After completion, the application should be mailed to the board of elections in the county in which the applicant resides. If the application is for new registration in a county, the form must be submitted prior to the voter registration deadline. The board of elections must receive the original signed application.
>If the application is complete and the person is qualified to vote, the county board of elections will mail a voter registration card to the applicant to provide notice of the registration.
Steps in Voting
- Find the location of your polling place.
- At the polling place, sign an application for ballot.
- A judge of election will determine the ballot on which you are qualified to vote and, after initialing it, will give it to you and direct you to a voting booth.
2) Marking the Ballot
- An optical scan ballot consists of columns of names of offices and candidates with an incomplete arrow or small oval adjacent to the name.
- Read the instructions and be especially mindful of the number of candidates to vote for in each office.
- You are not required to cast a vote in all offices.
- You may cast a write-in vote for a candidate whose name is not on the ballot.
3) Check your Ballot
- Look at the positions you have marked.
4) Preserve the Secrecy of your Ballot
- Place your voted ballot in the security sleeve provided to preserve the secrecy of your ballot.
5) Cast your Ballot
- Take your ballot to the judge of election in charge of the ballot box who will cast the ballot for you.
- If you have any questions concerning the ballot be sure to ask those questions before your ballot is cast.
Voter Information
17th amendment- Allows us to vote for senators
19th amendment- Allows women to vote
23rd amendment- Allows Washington D.C. to vote
24th amendment- Allows for poll taxes
26th amendment- Changed voting from age from 21yrs to 18 yrs
Voter Behavior
Who doesn't? About a quarter of Americans say they are registered to vote, but acknowledge that they rarely make it to the polls (23%). Fully three-quarters (76%) say they sometimes feel they don’t know enough about the candidates to vote. Also, some Americans are not registered to vote, or indicate their registration may have lapsed.
Straight vs Split Ticket- Straight: voting for a a certain political party on the whole ballot.
Split: You vote for different political parties depending on the person you want to vote for instead of political party.
Ballot Fatigue- This is when you have been voting a lot and by the end of the ballot a person starts picking random people because they are tired.
Timeline
1920 Nineteenth Amendment: Guarantees women the right to vote.
1924 Congressional Act: All Native Americans given citizenship.
1961 Twenty-third Amendment: Residents of District of Columbia given right to vote.
1971 Twenty- sixth Amendment: Minimum voting age reduced to 18 for all elections.