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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Can We Vote Twice For the Same Candidate in Judicial Race? Redux

Questions have arisen concerning this Fall's judicial race, where there are three openings. Judge Lenny Zito and Magistrate Michael Koury have the nominations of both parties, and will appear on the ballots as Democrats and Republicans. State Rep. Craig Dally has the GOP nod and Bethlehem Attorney Barb Hollenbach is a Democratic nominee. We get three votes.

Question #1: Can I vote for the same person twice? In other words, can I decide to cast one vote for Zito as a Republican and another as a Democrat? Or can I vote for Koury twice in the same way?

Question #2: Can I pull the lever for Zito and then cast two write-in votes for him?

On Monday, Northampton County's Voting Machine Supervisor, Howie Erney, answered my questions from his bunker in Nazareth. Erney, you may recall, briefly served as Registrar, but resigned because the office was getting too damn political.

Answer #1: Once I cast a vote for Zito as either a Democrat or Republican, a code in the voting machine will prevent me from casting a second vote for him under the other party. The lever machines had the same failsafe.

Answer #2: I can still cast two write-in votes for Lenny, but they won't count. Erney tells me that if a candidate is already on the ballot, write-in votes for that candidate are not counted.
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11 comments:

  1. LighthouseJune 30, 2009 at 12:14 AM

    thanks for the follow up closure to your initial inquiry.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bernie O'HareJune 30, 2009 at 12:18 AM

    It was my pleasure. A lot of people wanted to know. I thought you could cast a write-in vote. I guess you can, but it won't be counted.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 12:30 AM

    Of course you were wrong the entire idea was preposterous. At least you are batting 1000.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bernie O'HareJune 30, 2009 at 12:38 AM

    Where were you on Friday, when the question was posed?

    I think you mean I'm batting .000.

    I wasn't sure about the double-voting. I was convinced I could do a write-in.

    I asked.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 1:22 AM

    I think he meant you are batting 1000-at being wrong.

    Actually quite amusing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 7:05 AM

    I'm glad Bernie was disbarred. Just my luck, I'd end up being represented by him for something that required a modicum of knowledge. Whew.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bernie O'HareJune 30, 2009 at 8:00 AM

    I'm glad, too. Just my luck, I'd end up with an unreasonable and unbalanced client like you. Whew!

    ReplyDelete
  8. LVCIJune 30, 2009 at 10:03 AM

    Wonder if this works the same way with the Florida Division of Elections machines. Especially when it comes to re-counts?
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 11:40 AM

    "I'm glad, too. Just my luck, I'd end up with an unreasonable and unbalanced client like you. Whew!"

    No problemo. You'd just forge my signature and take my money.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Bernie O'HareJune 30, 2009 at 2:05 PM

    Ahhh, the usual personal attack. It's very easy to forge anonymous.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 4:37 PM

    that will really help Daly and Hollenbach...

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.