Correspondence from Edmisten to Leonard; Affidavit of Robert W. Spearman

    RUFUS L. EDMISTEN
ATTORNEY GENERAL

fitate of Srrtll CIarolina
pcparlmcnt of !luetirc

P. O. BOX 629

RALEIGH

27602-0629

October 9, 1984

Gener

The Honorable J. Rich Leonard
C1erk, United States District Court
Federal Building
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611

Re: Gingles v. Edmisten; No. 81-83-CIV-5

Dear Mr. Leonard:

Enclosed please find for filing the originll_ald four
copies of the Affidavit of Robert W. Spearman, filed as a
sulplemental exhibit to Defendants' Response and Mernorandum
in'bpposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Further Re1eif, filed
on September 2'7 , 1984.

I have provided Judges Phillips, Britt and Dupree with
copies of the Affidavit.

Sincerely,

EDMISTENRUFUS L.
Attorney

JWrJr.:rc
Enclosures

ccs Honorable Franklin T. DuPree
Honorable J. Dickson PhilliPs, Jr.
Honorable W. Earl Britt
Ms. Leslie Winner
Ivls. Lani Guinier
Mr. Robert Hunter

General for



EXHIBIT 89

NORTH CAROLINA

WAKE COUNTY

Re: Ginqles v. Edmisten; No' 81-83-CIV-5

AT'FIDAVIT
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Robert W. SPearman, being first duIY sworn, dePoses and

says:

I.IamChairmanoftheStateBoardofElectionsof

North carolina and have served in that capacity since

November 9, 1981;

2. I have read the affidavits of George A' Goodwyn'

Chairman, Edgecombe County Board of Elections; Arnold L.

Brown, Chairman, Nash County Board of Elections; and Nelda

M.BertrandrChairwomanrWilsonCountyBoardofElections

filed in this action as Defendantsr Exhibits 84A, 85A' and

86A on SePtember 2'7, 1984;

3.Iagreewholeheartedlywiththeadmonishmentsand

cautions expressed therein with respect to the difficulty'

if not irnpossibility, of holding an orderly November 6

primary election for members of the state House of Represen-

tatives simultaneous with the statewide General Election i'n

Nash, Wilson, and Edgecombe Counties;

4. I would especially expect difficulty in holding a

primary on November 6 for the following reasons:



o
a)

b)

Absentee voting in the General Election

began on SePtember 7, 1984;

In each county, machine ballots have already

been printed or are in the Process of being

printed;

l,lachine programming for a simultaneous general

electj-on and primary would be terribly compli-

cated, if not imPossible;

If paper ballots were used for the purposes

of conducting the primary election, the

result would likely be confusion on the part

of the voters and elections officials alike;

The boundaries of election districts in the

three involved counties are not yet known,

and to require elections officials to famil-

iarize themselves with new districts and to

assign voters to the Proper districts by

November 6 would constitute a probable

impossibility, especially considering the

fact that they are already in the midst of

preparing for the regularly scheduled general

election;
Insufficient time would be available for

either voters or candidates to familiarize

themselves with new districts or, for that

matter, with each other, and the time avail-

able for campaigning in new districts would

c)

d)

e)

f)

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have to be limited to such a short period that

campaigning would be rendered nearly meaningless;

(g) In some instances different statutory provisions apply to

both voting and administrative conduct of general

elections and primaries and would further complicate

proeedures; for example, it is improper to cast or count

write-in votes in primaries but it is proper in general

elections and this might confuse both voters and

officials;

(h) In light of the fact that the state's upcoming general

eleetion is predicted to be one with a record turnout of

voters and one of the most highly publicized in the

history of the state, an order by this court requiring

the holding of an important primary election on the same

date and at the same polling places would put

unprecedented demands on elections officials, voters,

and candidates alike, would threaten serious confusion

and would accomplish nothing that eould not be better

achieved by holding primaries at a later date and in

more orderly fashion.

(i) In the last three years voter registration in North

carolina has increased from under 60t to more than 70t.

Based upon the public interest expressed to date in the

upcoming General Election, it is almost certain that more

persons will vote in North carolina on November 6, 1984

than ever before in the Staters history. Based upon my

three years of experience in training election officials

and hearing and deeiding appeals from election contests,

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I am seriously concerned that holding a primary

simultaneous with the general election would cause

widespread confusion for voters and numerous demands

for reeounts and the holding of new elections. In my

opinion, such simultaneous elections would, under all the

existing circumstances, be extremely unfair both to

voters and to candidates.

Further, affiant saYeth not.

Robert W. Spearman
Chairman, State Board of Elections

Subscribed and sworn to before me this tn"44 day of October, 1984'

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