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OBSERVATIONS
October 29, 2020 |
 |
 Wingate Lassiter |
Fraudulent ballot counting here?
Our system makes it highly unlikely
So you've been shaken by claims that
somehow this year's election, unlike any other, is
going to be rigged in favor of whoever wins.
I don't
see how that could happen in North Carolina,
particularly in Johnston County where we hand-mark
paper ballots that are fed into counting machines. If
something goes awry, those ballots are intact, and may
be re-fed into the tabulating devices or, in an
extreme emergency, counted by hand one at a time.
How could
Russian or Iranian hackers, or whoever wants to
disrupt an election from a remote location via the
Internet, affect the outcome of such a system as ours?
I've
watched some of the recent meetings of the Johnston
County Board of Elections live-streamed online,
observing the five board members --- three Democrats,
two Republicans (appointed by the Governor, a
Democrat, as state law provides) --- as they patiently
look over each and every absentee ballot received and
collectively check poorly marked ballots to agree on a
voter's intent before they're fed into a tabulating
machine.
The
Johnston County board has met nine (9) times over the
past month to keep up with the painstaking job of
overseeing a record number of ballots turned in prior
to Election Day; and they'll meet two more times
between now and next Tuesday to continue that work.
Those meetings generally last two to three hours.
Certainly no "hack job" going on there.
If you
want to watch for yourself, check out upcoming
meetings at 3 p.m. Friday (tomorrow) and 3 p.m. next
Monday, live-streamed on the Board of Elections Facebook page>
For more
information about the board and other matters related
to the voting now going on, check out the Board of Elections website>
Candidates on Johnston's ballots
seeking county and district offices
(D) denotes Democrat, (R) Republican, (U) Unaffiliated, (*) incumbent
U.S. House of Representatives, District 7
Christopher M. Ward (D), Tabor City
David Rouzer (*) (R), Wilmington
N.C. Senate
District 11 --- Allen Wellons (D), Smithfield
Lisa Stone Barnes (R), Spring Hope
District 10 --- Vernon R. Moore (D), Warsaw
Brent Jackson (*) (R), Autryville
District 12 --- John Kirkman (D), Sanford
Jim Burgin (*) (R), Angier
NOTE: Smithfield is part of District 11, which extends northward into Nash County.
N.C. House of Representatives
District 26 --- Linda Bennett (D), NC 96, Zebulon
Donna McDowell White (*) (R), Clayton
Denton Lee (U), Killarney Lane, Clayton
District 28 --- Corey Stephens (D), Benson
Larry C. Strickland (*) (R), Pine Level
District 10 --- Carl Martin (D), Goldsboro
John Bell (*) (R), Goldsboro
NOTE: South Smithfield Precinct is included in District 26, which covers the Clayton and Archer Lodge areas; Smithfield's East and North precincts are included in District 28, which extends from McGee's Crossroads, Benson, and Four Oaks around to Wilson's Mills, Selma, Pine Level, Micro, and Kenly.
Johnston County Board of Commissioners
(separate countywide contests for 4 seats filled by residential districts)
District 1 --- Justin David King (D), Peach Blossom Court, Clayton
Fred J. Smith Jr. (R), Pritchard Road, Clayton
District 2 --- Wendy Ella May (D), Micro
Ted G. Godwin (*) (R), Hawkins Road, Selma
District 4 --- Alan Lamont (D), Everland Parkway, Angier
Larry Wood (*) (R), Benson
District 6 --- Gettys Cohen Jr. (D), Smithfield
Tony Braswell (*) (R), Gor-An Farm Road, Selma
Johnston County Board of Education
(4 seats to the top 4 finishers in countywide voting)
Lyn Andrews, Afton Lane, Smithfield
Kay Carroll, South Lakeside Drive, Four Oaks
Teresa M. Grant (*), Crestwood Court, Garner
Ronald Johnson (*), Westminster Drive, Clayton
Rick Mercier, Fireweed Place, Clayton
Terry Tippett, Simon Road, Middlesex
Chuck Williams, Neuse Ridge Drive, Clayton
Mike Wooten (*), Cedar Springs Drive, Princeton
NOTE: No districts for these seats: ALL of Johnston's voters may choose up to four candidates. And if you mark ballots for fewer than four, your votes will be counted.
School-board candidates are on the ballot without political party affiliations.
| How
Johnston County has voted for President since World War II |
 |
|
(D)
Democrat, (R) Republican, * elected 1948 1964
1980 |
1984 Ronald Reagan (R)* 16,210 (67.4%) Walter Mondale (D) 7,833 (32.6%) 1988 George Bush (R)* 15,563 (64.1%) Michael Dukakis (D) 8,717 (35.9%) 1992 George Bush (R) 15,418 (48.7%) Bill Clinton (D)* 11,284 (35.7%) Ross Perot 4,939 (15.6%) 1996 Bob Dole (R) 18,260 (57.8%) Bill Clinton (D)* 11,155 (35.3%) Ross Perot 2,159 (6.8%) 2000 George W. Bush (R)* 26,744 (66.3%) Al Gore (D) 13,579 (33.7%) 2004 George W. Bush (R)* 36,224 (68.2%) John Kerry (D) 16,733 (31.5%) 2008 John McCain (R) 43,622 (61.4%) Barack Obama (D)* 26,795 (37.7%) 2012 Mitt Romney (R) 48,202 (63.3%) Barack Obama (D)* 27,052 (35.5%) 2016 Donald J. Trump (R)* 54,372 (63.3%) Hillary Clinton (D) 28,362 (33.0%) |
LOOK UP Johnston County results for all election contests dating back to 2002>
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