Cheating Around The Edges. Part 2

I can't speak for anywhere but in the 12th Congressional District portion of Mecklenburg County but imagine my lack of surprise when BOTH the electronic ballot and the paper provisional ballot lacked any provision to cast a write in ballot except in the Presidential race and the local Soil & Water Commissioner race. Having already found that my precinct had been moved from the 9th to the 12th CD where the Democrat was running unopposed I had already determined that I was going to cast a write-in for Congress before I arrived.

So your humble correspondent lacked no hesitation to ask the poll working staff, many of whom I know personally and others knew me as I have been voting there for over 30 years, what was going on. They freely admitted that it didn't seem right to them either and that I was not the only one to have expressed dismay if not objection to the Congressional District change.

They didn't hesitate to call the county board of elections who quickly sent someone from the office to investigate. To no one's surprise the lady who showed up had no answer either other than to instruct the precinct staff to allow me to fill out a provisional ballot which as previously noted also lacked any provision for write-ins.

As it now sits I have a receipt for my ballot and a tracking number but I have to wait 10 days before I can call to check on it's status. By way of prediction I would bet that my having nearly written in my choice in what little space was available in the 12th CD box will be classified as an extraneous mark and used to throw it out.

Stay tuned.