Don't forget to vote for president Tuesday, if you haven't voted already.
And after that, be sure to tell your state legislators to fix our straight-party voting problem and others encountered during the early voting period.
Voting a straight-party ticket in North Carolina elections does not include a vote for president.
So, whether you plan to vote for John McCain or Barack Obama, if you vote a straight party line you must separately vote for president, also.
Voters with any uncertainty about the process should ask poll workers. They've been trained to help.
Democrats designed North Carolina's straight-party voting law about 40 years ago because the state was trending Republican in federal elections. By excluding presidential candidates when the party lever was pulled, they hoped to keep from being caught in a Republican presidential landslide.
It worked well for Democrats. For the past four decades, they've controlled the legislature for all but four years and the governor's office for all but 12. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked well for North Carolina voters. The state has an abnormally high rate of ballots cast without votes for president included. For certain, it's because voters get confused.
Now that North Carolina is a battleground state -- and let's hope it remains that way -- legislative Democrats should feel less threatened by an inclusion of the presidential race in the straight-party vote. They could change the law that way.
Or, better yet, they could eliminate straight-party voting. It is not too much to ask of voters to spend an extra minute voting specifically for each office. And elimination of the straight-party vote would probably also increase the vote in nonpartisan races and on ballot issues.
While the legislature is working on that change, it should make two others. Early voting is now very popular, but it has at least two flaws.
The first was evident in counties where shopping malls were used as early voting precincts. Mall operators banned candidates and volunteers from appearing near the site, as they are allowed at publicly owned precincts, to show the flag. This must be changed. State law should say that if a commercial enterprise gets tax money as rent for a voting site, then it must allow normal campaign activities at that site.
The second arises from Guilford County's attempts to extend hours at early-voting sites because of high turnout. The State Board of Elections said it couldn't because the change was proposed too late.
Phooey. If turnout starts running high, local boards should do all they can to accommodate as many voters as possible. There should be a quick process for extending hours when demand necessitates it.
When the legislature reconvenes in January, it should make these three changes to improve voting in North Carolina.
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