By Rebecca Kreitzer and Whitney Ross Manzo*
This post draws attention to two important issues with voting in North Carolina: first, that voting across the state is inconsistent, and second, that voters are concerned about the security of the process. Making voting more consistent and increasing transparency and education about the voting process will improve both voter equity and confidence in our electoral system.
how is voting across north carolina inconsistent?
North
Carolina counties spend vastly different amounts on administering elections.
Figure 1 shows the total amount spent by each county in North Carolina in the
2018 election cycle (from 7/1/2017 to 6/30/2019). More heavily populated
counties like Mecklenburg and Wake spent around $10 million each, while counties
with fewer people, like Tyrrell and Washington, spent closer to $200,000.
Person County, which is north of Durham and has a population of over 39,000
people, reported spending $0 conducting elections during this cycle.
