Illegal ballots Showing Up In NC

[zabet]

Marked Sample Ballots Causing Confusion in NC Cities

Frank Eaton, a documentary filmmaker and campaign worker for candidate for Lt. Governor, Dan Besse, posted a picture of an actual sample ballot that is being handed out in Forsyth County, North Carolina. The ballot is not marked sample anywhere on its face. It is actually titled, "official ballot" up top.



Frank says in his post that people were actually trying to hand in the ballots thinking they were real.
The group handing them out is a mystery. From Frank:

And here's a piece of paid literature being distributed at early polling places around Winston-Salem by paid people for a brand new PAC called the Winston-Salem Black Political Action Committee.......
Where did this formerly blank ballot come from? Who is the Winston-Salem Black PAC? Why didn't they file the organizational reports that were due this week?

Why doesn't Rob Coffman, head of Forsyth County Elections, find anything wrong with any of this?
If you'd like to give him a call, here's his number: [phone].
or drop him an email: [e-mail]

http://bluenc.com/well%2C-heres-something-interesting...

There is also a copy of the laws concerning this issue at the link.

[NJSecularist]

1. Disgusting gutter politics by Obama's supporters to cook the vote.

Who's surprised?

[Orangepeel]

7. How would this possibly "cook" the vote in his favor?

As campaign literature, it is the same as the sample ballots handed out in Pennsylvania with only Clinton's name on them. Standard politics.

As for people trying to turn them in as real, that wouldn't help Obama. It isn't like they are going to count.

[quakerboy]

10. Did you say the same when it happened in PA?

[onenote]

17. self delete

[yourguide]

19. +1

[quakerboy]

23. ?

[redsoxrudy]

20. Think it through now

This would actually hurt Obama. If an Obama supporter turned in a sample ballot instead of a real one their vote wouldn't count. I don't know about NC but in WI I have seen the polling place people run a sample through a counter(to demonstrate how the machine worked) and it was not tabulated. So Obama would have wasted the vote of someone trying to vote for him. I think you all are starting to so bogeymen when none are there.

[kmsarvis]

21. You can't be that stupid ?

How would this benefit Obama?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

29. Labeled yourself a moran. Well done!

:headbang:

[rocktivity]

2. Are these coming in the mail or being handed out near the polling places

which I would presume would be illegal?

:shrug:
rocknation

[BeatleBoot]

3. It's Pretty Obvious to Me That Its a Sample Ballot...it reads quite clearly...

"Paid for by the Winston-Salem Black Political Action Committee."

At the bottom.

And those words are in a Larger font size than the wording for the candidates.

[zabet]

4. But, it is clearly marked 'Official Ballot' across the top.

Some people think that they are official ballots with that on the top.

[BeatleBoot]

6. Since when does an "Offiicial Ballot" get paid for by a Political Action Committee?

I guess I'm missing something here.

[zabet]

8. They don't but, when voters think they are real ballots and

try to turn them in for their vote, that can be problematic.

[zabet]

12. They don't and you are missing something here.

§ 163-165.2. Sample ballots.
(a) County Board to Produce and Distribute Sample Ballots. - The
county board of elections shall produce sample ballots, in all the
necessary ballot styles of the official ballot, for every election
to be held in the county. The sample ballots shall be given an
appearance that clearly distinguishes them from official ballots.
The county board shall distribute sample ballots to the chief
judge of every precinct in which the election is to be conducted.
The chief judge shall post a sample ballot in the voting place and
may use it for instructional purposes. The county board of
elections may use the sample ballot for other informational
purposes.
(b) Document Resembling an Official Ballot to Contain
Disclaimer. - No person other than a board of elections shall
produce or disseminate a document substantially resembling an
official ballot unless the document contains on its face a
prominent statement that the document was not produced by a board
of elections and is not an official ballot.
(2001-460, s. 3, effective January 1, 2002)

The problem is, besides what the law states, is people who are less informed think they are real.
I also do not think the parties responsible for this sample ballot are from the Forsyth County Board of Elections as stipulated by the the law.

[struggle4progress]

31. The ballots on the Forsyth County Board of Elections website are clearly marked SAMPLE BALLOT

Dan's a great guy: I'd love to see him as Lt Gov

[Kittycat]

13. Holy crap - we agree.

:thud:

[rocktivity]

18. It would be MORE obvious if it actually SAID "sample ballot"

Where it says "OFFICIAL ballot." Why was that too difficult?

:shrug:
rocknation

[PM7nj]

5. There was one like this in PA with Hillary's name marked...

they're sort of like advertisements.

It is still misleading...

[Vinca]

9. And the PA one had ONLY Hillary's name. nt

[Tellurian]

11. Rev Wright called it.. He knows what Obama is all about!

He said: "Obama is a politician and will do anything to WIN!"

I do believe that was an unplanned misspeak on his part.

[William769]

15. One thing the good Rev Wright has gotten right is this.

THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE! AMEN!

[kmsarvis]

22. What are you talking about?

How would this benefit Obama?

[Tellurian]

32. The Wright debacle was a planned ruse..that backfired on Obama

Obama needed to disengage himself from Wright fully and completely.. Wright wanted to be in charge of the disengagement. Wright got carried away all full of himself, and went too far with the politician/preacher remark and ended up hurting Obama.

Knowing Wright's personality, there would have been a full steam ahead rebuttal the next day after Obama's denouncement. What did we get...Silence from Wright and apologies and damage control from Obama and his team.

[2rth2pwr]

14. Nothing illegal here, see "the paid for by" at the bottom?

If you don't like the campaign laws in the state work to change them.

[Maribelle]

16. Ah yes, the change we've been waiting for.

Old Washington politics reformatted to be exactly like The Chicago Way. What a change this is. Obama is taking the country backwards already.

[kmsarvis]

24. See post #20,#21,#22

[Maribelle]

27. Perhaps you are correct.

[marions ghost]

25. BS

nobody takes this for a real ballot. It's an obvious sample ballot. Those people who thought it was real must have been unfamiliar with voting.

[Maribelle]

26. The report indicated some were in fact taking them for real ballots.

[marions ghost]

30. yes I'm sure...

the none too bright or clueless among us might think this is their actual ballot.

You'd be surprised how many people don't have any idea what voting involves. We really don't do a good job of educating the public about it at all. Mainly because it's harder to control elections if you help just any old body vote, y'know...

[CatsDogsBabies]

38. So what ....

since they are not real ballots, mistaking them for real ballots would only hurt Obama since they may confuse people into believing that they have voted for him when, in fact, they haven't. Since they are not real ballots, they won't be counted. Apparently, handing out ad ballots in favor of one candidate or another is a common and long-established practice???

[LisaM]

28. It's an ad, like the Hillary one

Although the Hillary one was more clearly fake, because it didn't have the names of the people you weren't supposed to vote for (for example, Obama was missing). This looks as if they might have taken a real ballot and used it for their ad, but it does clearly have the name of the advocacy group on the bottom.

[EFerrari]

33. THERE IS NO SUPPRESSION OF BLACK VOTES IN NC.

We are just paranoid. Get a grip. :sarcasm:

[Justitia]

34. We had sample ballots w/only Hillary's name printed on them in PA. This is nothing new. -eom

[tishaLA]

35. Deliberately obtuse

It's become something of a calling card, n'est-ce pas?

[jillan]

36. Hopefully all of those ballots will be thrown out.

Any news on if they will? And how are they going to catch ALL of the ones that have already been sent thru the computer system???

I'm hoping the Obama camp will get to the bottom of this...

[CatsDogsBabies]

37. What exactly is the significance of some people taking these ballots

to be the real thing. Since these ballots are not the real thing, they will never be counted as real ballots. Perhaps this is a trick on the part of the HRC campaign to confuse people by making them believe they have voted when in fact they haven't. You know people, no need to spin something to mean what it doesn't mean. The ballot clearly indicates that it was paid for by a group. Some folks misunderstood and thought the ballot was real. Presumably anyone who believes that this is a real ballot has been corrected. Sometimes things are just misunderstandings. But, still, all in all, I don't see how people mistaking these for real ballots helps Barack Obama? In what conceivable way would this help him?