Straight ticket trips up N.C. voters

Candidates hoping for some national coattails will have to work a little harder in North Carolina.

Under a state law dating back decades, voters who wish to cash a straight-ticket ballot must cast their vote for president separately.

The law was put into place by state Democrats to protect themselves from state voters' longstanding preference for Republican presidential candidates.

But it can also hurt the presidential candidate, as thousands of voters do not realize they have to do more than mark the straight-ticket option.

Justin Moore, a computer science graduate from Duke University now working for Google, analyzed the state's election results in 2000 and 2004. He found that between 2.5 and 3 percent of ballots did not include a vote for president.

With polls showing a highly competitive race between Barack Obama and John McCain this year, the effect of straight-ticket undervotes could be more significant.

It also has an effect on nonpartisan offices such as mayors and Supreme Court judges.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue has recorded a robocall reminding voters that they have to 1) Vote for president, 2) Decide whether to vote straight-ticket for down-ballot partisan races, and 3) Cast votes for local offices and judges.

State elections directory Gary Bartlett said that voters may mark the straight-ticket option and then crossover to the other party in selected races.