Reports of improper balloting in areas that are heavily anti-Amendment One are coming in.
Adam Bink at Courage Campaign reports via email:
All, we're getting reports here in Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Raleigh (which are base areas for us, e.g. anti-Amendment 1) of precincts handing out INCORRECT ballots.
In North Carolina, 17-year-olds can vote in the statewide primary (e.g., for governor, etc.) if they turn 18 by November 6th. However, they CANNOT vote on Amendment 1 in this primary — they can only vote for candidates — therefore they are being handed ballots WITHOUT Amendment 1. That is proper election procedure.
The problem is, the reports we are getting are that people OVER 17 are also being handed these ballots WITHOUT Amendment 1 in what would normally be heavily anti-Amendment 1 precincts (Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Raleigh). We are working on testimonials from voters who have experienced this — in the meantime, if you report on Amendment 1, PLEASE ask readers to call 1-866-OUR-VOTE if they experience this in NC, or know someone who did. That will enable the campaign's field team to investigate and correct this as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, we've been noting the details for weeks, but Andrew Sullivan puts it in a succinct paragraph:
It reveals that the anti-marriage equality are not simply anti-marriage. They are against any civil recognition of gay couples, commitment, responsibility and equality. The Amendment today would ban any relationship rights whatever to gay couples in the state. It renders spouses strangers at hospitals, it ensures no legal stability for shared homes or shared children. It is in many ways a simple declaration that gay relationships are anathema to the people of North Carolina. That's what drives the anti-marriage equality movement: the removal of gay people from full family life.
We'll continue to have updates on this measure as they come in…
