Digital Scholarship and Initiatives

Hunt writes to clear up misconceptions about the three at-large positions. The School Board's three at-large positions have, since the merger of the county's five school systems in 1988, been filled with one Black, one White, and one Indian representative. This was the intent of the three positions and, due to the county's racial makeup and voting patterns, elections have worked out this way. Hunt notes that some Indian voters were being told that they could vote for more than one candidate (in fact, doing so would “spoil” the ballot and it would not be counted) or that splitting the vote between the two Indian candidates would lead to two Indian at-large representatives. Hunt explains that the numbers of registered voters are not there to make this a possibility. As of this writing, Robeson County had 26,662 White, 25,175 Indian, and 16,878 Black registered voters; and a higher percentage of Whites than Indians usually vote. Thus, splitting the vote between two Indian candidates could result in no Indian candidate being elected.