Voters Go To Polls Tuesday

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Voters Go To Polls Tuesday

Special Report - November 2, 2009
Nearly every county in North Carolina is holding local elections tomorrow, while voters in Maine and Washington will determine the future of marriage in those states. Voters in all North Carolina counties except Alexander, Camden, Currituck, Hyde, and Person will choose mayors, councilmen, commissioners, school boards, and others on November 3. Visit the North Carolina State Board of Elections Web site to find more information on your county and municipal elections.

In Maine, a “People’s Vote” is on the ballot to repeal the legalization of same-sex “marriage” passed by the state’s legislature in May. The Stand for Marriage campaign in Maine gathered more than 100,000 petition signatures to place Question 1 on the ballot. The question asks voters “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to perform these marriages?” Regardless of the outcome, the state’s domestic partners law will remain intact. Voters in Washington will decide whether to accept or reject R-71, a people’s referendum on a SB 5688, which would expand benefits for registered domestic partnerships in the state to be equivalent to marriage. A 110-page document passed by the legislature in May states 180 times that “marriage shall apply equally to state registered domestic partnerships,” and will construe “gender-specific terms such as husband and wife … to be gender neutral, and applicable to individuals in state registered domestic partnerships.” Washington passed a state Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1998 to clarify the definition marriage in the state as between a man and a woman.

In other states, voters will go to the ballot Tuesday to decide a number of statewide and local elections. Most notably, the Virginia and New Jersey governorships are up for grabs. Despite campaigning by President Barack Obama in Virginia, Democrat Creigh Deeds lags behind Republican Bob McDonnell by double-digits in the most recent polls. Virginia voters will also be electing a Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, all members of the House of Delegates, and numerous local officials. The New Jersey governor’s race is much closer with incumbent Democrat Governor Jon Corzine and Republican challenger Christ Christie basically tied in the polls. A number of other state and local offices are also up for election.

Another news worthy race to be decided tomorrow is the special election to fill New York’s 23rd Congressional district seat after Rep. John McHugh joined the Obama adminstration as Secretary of the Army. In July, Dede Scozzafava received the Republican party’s nomination to run against Democrat Bill Owens. Spurred by Scozzafava’s liberal leanings on abortion rights, the stimulus, and same-sex “marriage,” fellow Republican Doug Hoffman launched his own campaign for the seat as the Conservative Party candidate. Hoffman has been leading both Scozzafava and Owens in recent polling. On Saturday, Scozzafava dropped out of the race, leaving Hoffman and Owens to vie for the seat. On Sunday, she endorsed Owens.