Good riddance to straight-ticket voting | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Brant Clifton expresses that straight party voting makes people less informed in his "bare knuckles" Conservative online publication known as The Daily Haymaker.

    The NC General Assembly is moving to accomplish something long overdue - killing off straight-ticket voting. North Carolina has been ONE of only 15 states to allow straight-ticket voting.

    Straight-ticket voting allows you to check one box - Democrat OR Republican - and you automatically cast ONE vote for EVERY candidate of that party on the ballot. Mark "Republican" - and your vote gets awarded to people like Richard Morgan, Richard Burr, and Renee Ellmers, among others.

    In Europe, they have ideology-based political parties. Here, our two parties HAVE platforms. But elected officials in both parties regularly disregard large chunks of the party platform (not to mention large chunks of THE CONSTITUTION). You may be conservative, and believe that ALL Republicans will vote like you want them to - instead of voting to raise the debt ceiling, and refusing to fight ObamaCare.

    Straight-party voting takes advantage of poorer, lesser-educated voters who don't know much about the issues but maintain loyalty to a party because their friends and family have always been with that party.

    MLK spoke about judging people by the content of their character instead of by the color of their skin. Why not evaluate our potential leaders according to their character and stands on the issues, instead of by the letter next to their name on the ballot?