primary runoffs

The Dome's FAQs machine

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:55:43 -0400

Under the Dome has a new feature that's not so new.

Since we started the blog, we've had a feature called Frequently Asked Questions in which we provide concise, encylopedic answers to topical questions.

Some examples: What does the state labor commissioner do? How does a primary runoff work? What is the Queen City Curse? Who is on the Council of State? What is a catfish amendment? Who has been expelled from the legislature?

Though we now have answers to more than 40 questions, we haven't promoted this feature much.

That changed today, when we added a new widget to the right-hand column. It will list the most recently modified FAQ and give a brief description of the answer.

To read the fuller answer, click "Read more," or click "View all FAQs" to browse a complete list.

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about this new/old feature or any suggestions for other improvements to Under the Dome.

Berry supports lowering threshold

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:15:17 -0400

Both candidates for state labor commissioner have faced primary runoffs with extremely low turnout.

Democrat Mary Fant Donnan, a first-time candidate, won her party's nomination in a race Tuesday with less than 2 percent turnout. Incumbent Republican Cherie Berry also won a primary runoff in her first campaign in 2000, which also saw a record-low 2.5 percent turnout.

Donnan said she would be open to discussion about ways to avoid primary runoffs, such as instant-runoff voting, in which voters mark their second choice on the ballot.

Berry said she favors lowering the 40 percent threshold required to secure the nomination in a race with more than two candidates.

"I've always thought that the person that gets the most votes ought to win," she said.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the threshold.

Hall: Instant runoffs could have saved N.C.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:44:33 -0400

Bob Hall says instant-runoff voting could have saved the state millions.

The executive director of Democracy North Carolina says that North Carolina could have avoided today's primary runoff, which will cost from $3.5 to $5 million, by asking voters their second choice in the initial ballot.

"Today is really a case where we have this miserably low turnout, and it really is not democratic," he said.

Under instant-runoff voting, voters mark their first, second and third choices in a given race. If no candidate gets a majority in the initial round of voting, the second-choice votes of people who voted for the losing candidate are counted.

State Rep. Paul Luebke proposed a bill to allow the method in statewide party primaries and judicial races in the 2005 session, but it was scaled back to a pilot program for municipal elections. The towns of Cary and Hendersonville successfully used instant runoffs in the 2007 races.

Hall, a campaign finance reformer, said that instant runoffs also help candidates budget wisely.

"You don't have to worry about squirrelling away money for a possible runoff," he said. "And you don't have a situation where the candidate who can raise a lot of money real quick has an advantage."

Labor runoff to cost $3.5m to $5m

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:31:41 -0400

The labor commissioner runoff will cost between $3.5 and $5 million.

The cost will be shared by each of the 100 counties participating in the runoff between John C. Brooks and Mary Fant Donnan, though some may pay more if other local races drive turnout, said State Board of Elections deputy director Johnnie Mclean.

In previous primary runoffs, turnout has been as low as 3 percent and as high as 16 percent, though Mclean estimates it will be at the lower end.

Under state law, the runner-up may request a runoff if no candidate receives more than 40 percent of the vote. Brooks, who received 24.4 percent of the vote in a four-way race, came in second to Donnan, who received 27.5 percent.

He said he requested a runoff because it is an "educational opportunity."

"The people of North Carolina would have known nothing more about the issues in the Department of Labor than the man in the moon," he said. "The opportunity to save billions of dollars for the people of North Carolina could have gone by, just like it did four years ago."

Brooks also dismissed the idea of instant-runoff voting, in which voters' second-choice picks are counted if no candidate gets a majority. The towns of Cary and Hendersonville held instant-runoff elections last fall under a pilot program.

How does a primary runoff work?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 14:13:31 -0500

Answer:

When no candidate in a state primary receives 40 percent or more of the vote, a runoff may be requested.

Under state law, the runner-up must request a runoff by notifying the State Board of Elections by the ninth day after the election. Only the top two vote-getters can be included on the second ballot.

Second primary elections are held seven weeks after the first election.

Primary runoff elections are popular in the South. In the past, they were meant to ensure that a fringe candidate in a crowded race did not win the nomination, especially in districts or states where one party tended to dominate the general election.

From 1915 to 1989, a candidate had to win 50 percent of the votes plus one in the primary in order to avoid a runoff. In 1997, the state Senate voted to abolish the primary runoff, but the bill did not pass the House of Representatives.

Because of the high number of elected statewide positions in North Carolina, primary runoffs occur with some regularity when more than two candidates are running for an office.

Some have objected to the cost of these runoffs, especially in down-ballot races such as labor commissioner that tend to have extremely low turnout. Suggested solutions have included instituting instant-runoff voting, lowering the threshold to declare a winner or having candidates pledge to not request a runoff.