NC Voter Registration Info

The North Carolina Presidential Primary on May 6th will have added significance this time around due to the close race for the Democratic nomination between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The deadline to register to vote is April 11th.

You must be registered as either a Democrat or Unaffiliated to vote in the Democratic Primary. While Arizona Sen. John McCain has already clinched the Republican nomination, NC Republicans will also vote on May 6th.



One-Stop Absentee Voting
If you miss the April 11th deadline, North Carolina will be holding "One Stop Absentee Voting" from April 17-May 3.

What this means is that within these dates, you may register and vote at the same time, but you'll have to show up at a One Stop Voting Site.

You can find them through your county's Board of Elections.

In New Hanover County, you can vote at one of these 3 sites: The Board of Elections (230 Government Center Dr.), the Senior Center (2222 S. College Rd.), or the Main Library downtown (201 Chestnut St.).

Be sure to bring identification with name and current address.

Once again, you can register and vote at the same time from April 17th-May 3rd if you miss the April 11th deadline to register.

If you miss the deadline, this is your only way of voting.

You will not be allowed to vote on May 6th.

In addition, you are not allowed to change your party affiliation during one-stop voting if you are already registered.

Make any party affiliation changes by the April 11th deadline.



Mail-in Absentee Voting
Absentee ballots must be requested by April 29th and must be signed and hand-written.

They must be mailed in to your county's Board of Elections.

(New Hanover: Mail to New Hanover County Board of Elections, 230 Government Center Drive, Ste 180, Wilmington, NC 28403)

If you are 17 years old, you are eligible to vote in the primary as long as you will turn 18 by November 4th, the date of the general election.

You can check your registration status online here.

A challenge to the conscience of the world.

There's a lot going on in the world right now, and recently in the news we've heard a lot about a situation that is near and dear to me. The human rights violations in Tibet... if you've been following the events, you know of the suffering and repression and violence that has been going on as the Tibetans are struggling to make their voices heard. Demonstrations continue to happen all over Tibet and the death toll continues to rise.

There is one good side to all that is happening - it has brought the situation to the forefront of the news and people are starting to be made aware of the atrocities that the Chinese government has been committing for years, and continues to commit.

So I am hoping the publicity will spark some change. Already some positive things have happened - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is meeting with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, and has harshly condemned China's actions. She is calling for an outside investigation into the situation and some of China's allegations against the Dalai Lama.

There are a few things you can do to help if you live in the US:

1. Call on President Bush not to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in August. From Steven Spielberg to parlimentarians, many leaders are rethinking their involvement. We need to demand that our leaders stay away from the opening ceremonies in the wake of the bloody and continuing crackdown in Tibet. You may reach the U.S. President at 202-456-1111 or by email at comments@whitehouse.gov.

2. Visit www.racefortibet.org, or www.savetibet.org for more information, or to make a donation to the International Campaign for Tibet,