New State Voter Guide Highlights
N.C. Judicial Race
For Immediate Release
July 6, 2004
Contact: Bryan Warner, N.C. Center for Voter Education, (919) 839-1200
New State Voter Guide Highlights N.C. Judicial Race
RALEIGH - Voters in the July 20 primary will have a new tool to help them evaluate candidates in the often-overlooked contests for N.C. Supreme Court and N.C. Court of Appeals.
Studies by the N.C. Center for Voter Education show that nine out of 10 voters in North Carolina are concerned that citizens don’t have enough information about state judicial candidates. More than half polled admitted they have had little or no information about judges in previous elections.
To change this trend, the NC State Board of Elections and the Center for Education have teamed-up to create and promote a free voter guide. It can be found online at www.ncvoterguide.org and at www.sboe.state.nc.us.
The guide was created by the N.C. State Board of Elections, as part of the Judicial Campaign Reform Act, enacted by the General Assembly in 2002.
The purpose of the guide is to provide voters with information about candidates for the N.C. Court of Appeals and NC Supreme Court. These statewide races often do not receive the attention of other high-profile campaigns, such as those for governor or U.S. Senate. North Carolina consistently has fewer people vote for judicial candidates than other candidates that appear on the same ballot.
The N.C. Center for Voter Education is helping to promote the voter guide through public service announcements and various Web sites.
"This is a great tool, but we've got to make sure people know about it," said Chris Heagarty, executive director of the Center.
The primary election edition of the guide features candidates competing for the Thornburg seat on the N.C. Court of Appeals. The race for the Thornburg seat, with four candidates, is the only state Court of Appeals or Supreme Court contest on the July 20 primary ballot.
The top two vote-getters in this nonpartisan race advance to the November general election. All four candidates will appear on Democratic and Republican ballots, and nonpartisan ballots are available for voters who request them.
The other three appellate-division seats up for election this year have only two candidates each, thus allowing them to bypass the primary. The state will issue another voter guide this fall.
The cost of producing and distributing the voter guide is paid through the Public Campaign Fund, which is in its inaugural year.
When filing their returns this year, taxpayers had the option to direct the state to spend $3 of the taxes already collected to pay for these guides and to provide financial aid to judicial candidates who restrict their fund raising and refuse political action committee money and large donations.
The box to make this designation, however, did not appear on the forms of many taxpayers who used tax preparation software or online services to file, leading to less money than expected for the Fund.
The Center is supplementing the voter guide with “Judge for Yourself,” an online audio program that can be heard at www.stategovernmentradio.com.
Heagarty is the host of the program, interviewing one of the four candidates for the Thornburg seat in each 30-minute episode. After an initial weeklong run, each installment of the four-part series will be archived at www.stategovernmentradio.com.
The N.C. Center for Voter Education is a Raleigh-based nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving elections in North Carolina.
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