How can you vote on a civil rights amendment during a primary election?

[LynneSin]

Seriously?

What was the voter turnout yesterday? Like 40% or something. Those chickenshits that put that amendment up for vote KNEW that if they put it up for vote during a primary election instead of general that they could get it to pass since there wasn't really any serious voting going on other than local offices and presidential races that pretty much are decided. Both NC senators were not up for re-election (this is class 1 election cycle and NC senators are class 2 & 3). I know the governor race was open but that isn't a big voter draw during the primaries.

It's bullshit that a vote like this could be allowed during an election guarenteed to have low voter turnout.

Ok based on last night's election in NC about 1.3million republicans voted. They are just shy of 1 million voters at 66% so that means they expected about 1.3 million voters in NC. That's just for the republican voters which should have higher turnout since there technically was a primary happening. During the 2008 presidential election 2,109,698 voted for McCain.

Only 926,266 voted for the democratic primary election for governor yesterday whereas in 2008 general election 2,123,390 voted for Barack Obama. That's 57% less people who came out for a primary than the general election

http://elections.msnbc.msn.com/ns/politics/2012/north-carolina/republican/primary#.T6pqXOv2aDw
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/nc.htm

So in a nutshell, these hateful anti-gay people were smart and made sure the amendment was placed on a ballot that was not only guaranteed to have the lowest amount of voters but one that was going to have fewer democrats turn out than republicans.

Those chickenshits should have put that amendment on the November ballot. But they must have figured if they did they would have loss.

[maddezmom]

1. sickening isn't it

fucking bigot cowards.

[JoePhilly]

2. As the GOP implodes, they are going to do as many evil things as they can, using all means

necessary.

They are like Saddam Hussein at the end of Gulf War #1. Saddam realizing he would lose the war, set the old fields on fire.

That's what today's GOP is doing. Attack the gays, ethnic minorities, women, pass as much awful legislation as they can.

Make a huge mess. A mess that the Democrats will have to clean up.

Again.

[mmonk]

3. You understand their playbook.

[libinnyandia]

4. Maybe they should push for a constitutional amendment requiring that constitutional amendments

be voted on only in general elections. I hope the state is negatively impacted by this vote.

[Marrah_G]

5. It should be illegal

[DURHAM D]

6. I believe the WH was very excited about the May vote.

After much discussion the Repubs decided to place it on the primary ballot to guarantee passage and the Dems just wanted to get it over and done with before the federal election.

[ProSense]

7. Excellent point, and

it increased Republican turnout, which was up more than 450,000 votes from the 2008 GOP primary.

[FBaggins]

13. You know better than that.

Primary turnout varies dramatically based on what races are on the ballot and how close they are perceived to be. You can easily see a state that's 2:1 democratic have more republicans show up for a primary because they have the only contested race on the ballot.

In this case, the highest contested race on the ballot was the Democratic gubernatorial contest... and if you look at the areas with the highest turnout levels, they were almost all D strongholds (Chatham, Wake, Orange, Mecklenburg) and the amendment lost in those counties.

D/R turnout was almost exactly even.

[wildeyed]

8. My understanding, they wanted it during the General Election.

The plan was to throw a wedge between black and/or gay voters and Obama. But somehow, they got blocked and it was forced onto the primary ballot. The black organizing community did a phenomenal job speaking out against the Amendment, so I don't believe they succeeded in their primary goal of dividing key Democratic constituencies at all.

I don't have a link, this is just what someone in the know told me verbally at some point.

[Freddie Stubbs]

9. Having that on the November ballot would have made it more difficult for Obama to win the state

[abelenkpe]

10. That is why the amendment passed

Wed get no where if civil rights depended on people doing the right thing and voting for it anyway. Remember ERA? Humans suck.

[jwirr]

11. They wanted to do it during the general election so that they could get all the gay haters out to

vote against President Obama. Better this way. We would have lost two ways if they had gotten their way.

[FBaggins]

12. There's a great deal of misunderstanding on that.

Nothing would have made Republicans happier than to have this on the November ballot... forcing the President to run in a key state with that on the ballot (and you can see how excited he was to stand in opposition to it).

It was Democrats who forced the move to May. Not a majority of course, but the amendment couldn't get on the ballot at all without some Democratic votes, and those few Democrats wouldn't support it if they had to run with that on the ballot in November.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Initiative timing has always been carefully done in CA

One of the reasons cited for Tom Bradley losing his last election and retiring was the presence of an initiative on the ballot that drew a lot of people that normally might not have voted.

[GeorgeGist]

15. In another nutshell ...

the anti-bigots were dumb not to get out and vote.