KNOW YOUR VOTING RIGHTS

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N. C. VOTER EDUCATION PROJECT

 You must do more than just register and vote. You should find out who
is the best person running for each office. You should also learn how to
use your voting power correctly and what rights you have as a voter.
This book tells you some important things about how to use your voting
power correctly. This book also tells you about your voting rights. It
shows you what you can do and what you cannot do on election day.
Below are some words that may be new to you. They may be helpful to
you.
1. County Board of Elections -This board names the election officials
in each county. The election officials (registrar, judges, ballots
counter and others) register voters and run the elections with the
help of this board.
2. Precinct - Each county is divided into voting districts. The voting
district is called a precinct. On each election day, you vote at
the voting place in your precinct.
3. Primary Elections - These are elections held by each political
party. The members of each political party vote to choose which
of its members wil l run in the General Elections. In the Genera l
Elections the people vote to choose which of the political party's
candidates will be put in office.
Only people registered as Democrats or Republicans can vote in
primary elections. But in general elections, all registered voters
can vote.
Also in general elections, people registered as Democrat or Repub-
lican do not have to vote for their party's candidates.
4. Independent Candidates - This is a person who is running for an
office but is not a member of a political party. Independent
candidates can only run in general elections. Any registered
voter can vote for an independent candidate.
These words have a star (*) beside them when they are used. You
may want to turn back to this page when you see them.
 The County Board of Elections Must Provide Sample Ballots

Sample Democratic 1\.imary Ballot fur

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You can ask the County Board of Elections for sample ballots. The
sample ballots are to be used to teach people how to correctly mark paper
ballots and use voting machines.

You have the right to print your own sample ballots. But you must
first ask the County Board of Elections if you can. The sample ballots
must be marked Sample Ballots. They must be a different color from
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the official ballots.

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 The County Board of Elections Must Provide
At least One Voting Place In Each Precinct*

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The voting place must be easy for most people to get to.
The County Board of Elections may change the voting place. The Board
must give twenty days notice before voter registration begins. The notice
of the change of the voting place must be:
1. Put in a newspaper, or
2. Put on the courthouse door and three other public places
in the county.
The voting places cannot be changed after the voter registration period
ends.

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 The V o t in g PI ace ln Each Precinct Is Open From 6:3 0 In
The Morning To 6:30 In The Evening On Election Day.

At 6:30 tn the evening the registrar must close the poll books . After
6:30 no voter may enter the voting enclosure (the roo~or area in wh i ch the
election officials sit). But voter~ who are in the line inside the voting
enclosure by 6:30 may vote.

The County Board of Elections may let people vote until 7:00 in the
evening in precincts that use voting machines.

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 You Should Do Certain Things When You Vote

13Q Sure To 'Orop~Clllo'\:s ..-

Ln Cot'Y'QC~ '\)ox

\).~.s~,.u.\""(C)f\
COUt-4TY ANO
CoMGR~C:.NAN TowNG'tup
Sn\TE
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1. In all elections, give your name and address to one of the election
judges. In primary elections* you must also tell the judge whether
you are Democrat or Republican.
2. The election judge will give you your paper ballots, or tell you
that you can vote if voting machines are used in your precinct.
3. If you use paper ballots, you should:
A. Put your ballots in the correct ballot boxes
yourself, or
B. Give them to the registrar or judge to put in
the ballot boxes for you.

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 Your Name May Not Be On The Voter Registration
Books , But Yo u St i II M ay Be A b Ie To Vote

Sometimes the registrar makes a mistake. If you are sure that you
are registered, ask the registrar to call the courthouse or Chairman of
the County Board of Elections to check their records. You should call,
if the registrar will not.
Sometimes the registrar takes the names of people off the books
when he believes they should no longer be registered to vote. You should
tell the registrar why he should not have taken your name off the books.
The registrar must let you vote, if you can prove that he has made
a mistake.

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 You Should Mark Your Ballot Correctly

STRAIGHT TICKET BALLOT SPLlT TICKET BALLOT

OFFICIAL BALLOT OFFICIAL SAL LOT

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To vote a straight-ticket, put an X or /in the circle below the

names of the political party you are for. To vote a straight-ticket
means that you vote for all the candidates of the same party. You can
only vote a straight-ticket in a general election.

To vote a split-ticket, put an X or vi inside the square beside

each person you are for. The square is to the left of the name of each
candidate. To vote a split-ticket means that you vote for candidates
from each political party. On a split-ticket you can vote for an in-
dependent candidate.*

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 You Should Know How To Use A Voting Machine

In some precincts voting machines are used. There are two kinds
of voting machines used in North Carolina. One is called the Auto-
matic Voting Machine. The other is called the Shoup Voting Machine.
There are two different types of Shoup Machines.

Check with your County Board of Education to find out what kind
of machine is used in your precinct. Ask them for printed directions
on how to use voting machines. Also some counties have machines on
which people can practice voting. Check to see if your county has
practice machines.

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 Be Sure That You Vote For Each Office And
The Correct Number Of Persons For Each Office

FOR COUNTY COMMI SSIO~\E.R FOR COUNTV COMMISSIONER

(Vt~T~ ,-t')l\ lilto~l~ ( V~'r~ .,.... FWt,)

l!l UOt-\tt Hl LL 0 Jo"N HtLL
a Boa "PARKER Q :Bos 'PARK'ER
II WtlltAM MARTIN (J WlLL\AM MA~'r\N
(g) N.T. No~RtS M ~\.1: ~\oRR\~
a J. N. ~ao o J. N:R~'o
0 l3ALL WtlltAMS o 'BaLL W'LltAMS

o ToM MA~K 0 ToM MAc.K

m Nl\T JoNe-s D NAT UOt..li:S
o S~M Sco-rT o SAM&oTT
s ""Rost:RT MILLG 0 1(oeERT MtLL

You can vote for only one person to be President, U.S. Congressman, U.S.
Senator, and Sheriff.
For some offices, such as County Commissioners and School Boards, you
usually vote for more than one person. Read your ballot. For example, if
the ballot says 11 Vote for 3, 11 you cannot vote for more than three persons.
In some elections you can vote for less persons than the ballot says to.
This is called 11 Single-shot voting." For example, if the ballot says "Vote
for 5, 11 you may vote for only one person if you wish.
You cannot single-shot vote in some counties and cities in elections
for county and city officials. If you single-shot vote, your ballot will
not be counted. For example, if your ballot says "County Commissioner Vote
for 5," you must vote for five persons. Check with your County Board of
Elections and city officials to see if there is a rule against single-shot
voting in your county or city.

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 You Can Write In The Names Of The Candidates You Favor

You can write in the name of a candidate you are for if his name is not
on the ballot. This is called a write-in vote.
The names of the candidates for each office are printed on the ballot.
Below the name of each candidate there is an empty place. Write in the
name of the candi~ate you are for in this empty place.
If you are using a voting machine~ raise up the slot which appears above
each office. Then write in the name of the candidate you favor. Close the
slot.
Write-in votes are allowed only in general elections.

m ~=~Eo L~a~ARD

Ill E. M. WILLlAMS
w~.L, WAlTER!)
il MARlEY LLOYD

o SAM WaLLARo

[] M.C. KENNE-TH
oJ.D.H1e,~

[l 'R. t,\JA.MES
M~aci

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 You May Get New Ballots If You Make A Mistake

If you make a mistake in marking your ballot or tear

it, you may get a new ballot.
You must give the old ballot to an election official.
The election official must give you a new ballot in place
of the one on which you have made a mistake.
You cannot get more than three new ballots.

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 ''
:, ~

You Can Get Someone To Help You Mark Your Ballot

First, tell an election official you need help.

In~ elections, you can get a member of your family to help you mark
your ballot.
In the 39 counties covered by the 1965 Voting Rights Act, a person who
cannot read can get a member of his family or an election official to help
him mark his ballot. In primary elections, he may also get another voter to
help him.
In counties with the part-time voter registration system, you can get
a marker (a person who helps people mark ballots) to help you. Markers are
used only in general elections.
A voter using a voting machine can get the same help as a person using
a paper ballot.
Be careful about who helps you vote.

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 You Should Get An Absentee Ballot If You
Are Going To B-e Out Of T o~vn On Election Day

To get an absentee ballot you must apply in person or by letter to

the Chairman of Your County Board of Elections.

You can usually get an absentee ballot no later than the l~st
Wednesday before an election. You must do this by fi:OO in the evening
of th~ last Wednesday.

All registered voters can get an absentee ballot for all general
and all county bond elections . Only servicemen and members of thei r
families can get absentee ballots for primary elections .

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 Poll Watchers Can Watch The Election Officials

The job of poll watchers is to make sure the election officials run
the election right. To do this they can go inside the voting place and
watch the election officials while people are voting. They can also watch
the counting of the ballots.
In primary and general elections each political party can name two
poll watchers at each precinct. In general elections, each independent
candidate can name two poll watchers for each precinct. Poll watchers
are named by the County Chairman of each political party and the cam-
pa i gn manager of each independent candidate.

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 You Can Work At The Voting Place As A Poll Worker

The job of a poll worker is to work for his candidate. You can give
out sample ballots marked for the candidates you favor. You can give out
other material and answer questions people have about voting.

But all poll workers must obey certain laws. They must be more than
fifty (50) feet from the voting place. They cannot put posters and other
material on the voting place.

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Any Person Can Watch The Election Officials Count The Ballots

The ballots should be counted so that~ person can not only see the
number of ballots counted, but also how they are marked. Any person can look
at the vote count on voting machines and watch the election officials record
the vote.
Before the votes are counted, the registrar must give the ballot counters
and judges directions about counting the votes.
After the ballots have been counted, the election officials must:
1. Put the ballots back into the correct ballot box.
2. Lock the ballot box (or voting machine) and place
a seal on each ballot .box.
3. The registrar must keep the sealed ballot boxes.

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If you want more information about voting correctly and your voting rights,
write to:
North Carolina Voter Education Project
213 1/2 West Main Street
Durham, North Carolina 27701
Telephone: (919) 682-1222

If you want more copies of this book, write to the N. C. Voter Education
Project. You may also get copies of the following books:
You Too Can Register To Vote
You Too Can Take Part In Precinct Meetings

Books prepared and distributed by:

North Carolina Voter Education Project

Illustrations: Thomas C. Daye

North Carolina Voter Education Project
213 l/2 West Main Street
Durham, North Carolina 27/01