Vice President Al Gore by a few hundred votes in Florida, the state that decided the election.
Since the candidates are only three points apart, with Obama in the lead, if voters mistakenly neglect to vote for president when voting straight ticket, the outcome of the election in North Carolina could affect the entire presidential race.
Yet, despite the confusion, there are benefits to voting a straight-ticket ballot. Particularly, it will speed up the voting process in states that are experiencing long lines during early voting. But Norden cautions that voters who choose to vote straight ticket will still need to vote in judicial races because those are nonpartisan.
“I think in general, people should review their ballots carefully. Often people are in a hurry once they finally get to the voting booth,†Norden says. “If you are voting on a touch-screen machine, there is a review screen at the end that you should look at to make sure all of your choices are there.â€
The following states use straight-ticket voting:
Alabama
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Michigan
New Mexico
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
West Virginia
Wisconsin