Durham County voters have reason to be confused this election season, according to a new metric trotted out Thursday by Democracy NC.
The Voter Confusion Index, which measures the total number of split precincts in each county for the General Assembly and U.S. Congressional seats, lists Durham as the third worst. Wake County is 16th. Orange is 81st. Cumberland and Wayne, respectively, top Durham.
The analysis shows that only 15 of the state’s 100 counties had districts remain completely intact after last year’s Republican-led redistricting process.
In Durham, most voters will return to the same precinct they used in 2010, but the ballots will be different. Of Durham’s 55 precincts, 39 are split.
“The Index reflects a simple mathematic formula for the number of cases of split precincts and new districts in a county,” Democracy NC Executive Director Bob Hall stated in a press release.
“But most problems are the result of human mistakes— wrong ballots handed out, houses placed in the wrong district, people given the wrong information—and those mistakes can happen anywhere in the state.”
Democracy NC has developed a toll-free hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683), and a website, www.ncelectionconnection.com, to aid voters.
The hotline, manned by the UNC School of Law, Democracy NC and national Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, will be active daily until May 5 and on May 8, Election Day.
