Being a knowledgeable voter is not easy. Hopefully every voter knows who is running for President by now but what about your local officials? What do you know about them? Do you even know what offices you can vote for? I know I don't know them all. When it really comes down to it too, your local officials have a lot more of an affect on your day to day life which makes their selection all that more important.The best way to know who you can vote for is to go download a sample ballot. This way you will know exactly who and what will be on your ballot in the voting booth on November 4th. You can even fill out the sample ballot and take it with you.
The first thing you should do is check your voter registration. When I last checked, there was a link to download a sample ballot there. That is the easiest way to make sure your voter registration is up to date and to get a sample ballot. Also make note of your precinct as that is how you will know where to go to vote. (Once you know your precinct go to the Cumberland County polling locations page to see where to go. Google is also working on a voter info site but it is not yet complete as of writing this.) If you don't see your registration or ballot listed, call the Cumberland County Board of Elections at 910-678-7733, tell them your name and verify your address. I asked about a way to look this up yourself on their website since Cumberland County has 34 (34!!) different ballots and was told that there should be something up to do that soon (so look before you call).So, if you live in Cumberland County, I've listed are all the people you may be able to vote for (depending on your precinct) along with links to their campaign sites. If I could not find a campaign site, I have not linked to anything. I will update this if I find any more. I was pretty disappointed not to find many sites for most of the County Commissioners and Board of Education offices.
US President
- Barack Obama / Joe Biden (Democrat)
- John McCain / Sarah Palin (Republican)
- Bob Barr / Wayne A. Root (Libertarian)
US Senate
- Kay Hagan (Democrat)
- Elizabeth Dole (Republican)
- Christopher Cole (Libertarian)
US Congress (District 2)
- Bob Etheridge (Democrat)
- Dan Mansell (Republican)
- Will Adkins (Libertarian)
US Congress (District 7)
- Mike McIntyre (Democrat)
- Will Breazeale (Republican)
US Congress (District 8)
- Larry Kissell (Democrat)
- Robert C. (Robin) Hayes (Republican)
Governor
- Bev Perdue (Democrat)
- Pat McCrory (Republican)
- Michael C. Munger (Libertarian)
Lieutenant Governor
- Walter H. Dalton (Democrat)
- Robert Pittenger (Republican)
- Phillip Rhodes (Libertarian)
Attorney General
- Roy Cooper (Democrat)
- Bob Crumley (Republican)
Auditor
- Beth A. Wood (Democrat)
- Leslie Merritt (Republican)
Commissioner of Agriculture
- Ronnie Ansley (Democrat)
- Steve Troxler (Republican)
Commissioner of Insurance
- Wayne Goodwin (Democrat)
- John Odom (Republican)
- Mark McMains (Libertarian)
Commissioner of Labor
- Mary Fant Donnan (Democrat)
- Cherie Berry (Republican)
Secretary of State
- Elaine F. Marshall (Democrat)
- Jack Sawyer (Republican)
Superintendent of Public Instruction
- June St. Clair Atkinson (Democrat)
- Richard Morgan (Republican)
Treasurer
- Janet Cowell (Democrat)
- Bill Daughtridge (Republican)
NC State Senate (District 19)
- Tony Rand email (Democrat)
NC State Senate (District 21)
- Larry Shaw email (Democrat)
NC State House (District 22)
- William Brisson (Democrat)
NC State House (District 42)
- Marvin W. Lucas email (Democrat)
NC State House (District 43)
- Elmer Floyd (Democrat)
NC State House (District 44)
- Margaret Highsmith Dickson (Democrat)
- Lou Huddleston (Republican)
NC State House (District 45)
- Rick Glazier (Democrat)
County Commissioner (District 2)
- Kenneth Edge email (FayObserver page) (Democrat)
- Marshall Faircloth email (FayObserver page) (Democrat)
- Jimmy Keefe (FayObserver page) (Democrat)
- Jessie Bellflowers (FayObserver page) (Republican)
- Diane Wheatley (FayObserver page) (Republican)
- Bob White (FayObserver page) (Republican)
Register of Deeds
- Lee Warren (Democrat)
Supreme Court Associate Justice (Edmunds Seat)
Court of Appeals Judge (Martin Seat)
- John C. Martin
Court of Appeals Judge (Wynn Seat)
Court of Appeals Judge (Tyson Seat)
Court of Appeals Judge (McCullough Seat)
Court of Appeals Judge (Stephens Seat)
Court of Appeals Judge (Arrowood Seat)
District Court Judge (District 12) (Devan Seat)
District Court Judge (District 12) (Dickson Seat)
- John W. Dickson
District Court Judge (District 12) (Pone Seat)
- Ed Pone
Board of Education (Dsitrict 1)
- Arnita Mace Bristol (FayObserver page)
- Alicia S. Chisolm (FayObserver page)
- Helen Hooks Farrior (FayObserver page)
- Zandra Bryant Peele (FayObserver page)
- Freddie A. Robertson (FayObserver page)
Board of Education (Dsitrict 2)
- Donald W. LaHuffman (FayObserver page)
- James Archie McLauchlin (FayObserver page)
- Dinah Shamblin (FayObserver page)
Board of Education (Dsitrict 3)
- Frank Barragan (FayObserver page)
- Ronnie Lee Peele (FayObserver page)
- Carrie Sutton (FayObserver page)
Board of Education (Dsitrict 4)
- Mbonisi Farri (FayObserver page)
- Larry Lancaster (FayObserver page)
Board of Education (Dsitrict 5)
- Kevin Paul Rodriguez (FayObserver page)
- Mary Emily Royal (FayObserver page)
Board of Education (Dsitrict 6)
- Leroy Atkins (FayObserver page)
- Adam Beyah (FayObserver page)
- Macky Hall (FayObserver page)
- Sheryl Lewis (FayObserver page)
Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor
- Reuben Cashwell
- D. H. Vinson
One last note, please, please don't vote a straight ticket. Evaluate each candidate for each position against the other candidate(s). If you still can't decide, just leave it blank. It is worse to vote blindly than to not vote at all. I hope this page makes your research easier and helps you to make a knowledgeable decision about who to vote for.
Other Resources
- North Carolina State Board of Elections
- Cumberland County Board of Elections
- Fayetteville Observer 2008 Election Information
- North Carolina (NC) Voter Guide
- Cumberland County Library Election 2008 Resources
- Kids Voting in Cumberland County, NC
Images used in this post are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic and Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic respectively from myJon and Steve Rhodes
6 comments:
Thanks for the guide. It is always difficult to vote for the judges. Even though the websites were produced by the candidates themselves, they provided me with enough information to make my decisions.
I've made a few updates. I found a website for Commissioner of Labor candidate Cherie Berry, a campaign related blog at the Fayetteville Observer for County Commissioner candidate Jessie Bellflowers and a website for County Commissioner candidate Diane Wheatley. I also added the email addresses for a few candidates I found when I did not have a website for them.
Your guide helped me select the judges who best my match my political beliefs. I appreciate that you presented a non-partisan opportunity for us to use. Thanks for your service to the community
I added links to the Fayetteville Observer page for County Commissioners and Board of Education candidates. Most all were interviewed and some have videos.
Thanks so very much for going to all this trouble, which has really helped me to obtain more info, especially on a local level!
Thanks! Your old guide helped me figure out the 2012 ballot!
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