Question: How did North Carolina’s pre-1929 ballot system work?
Answer: Prior to the General Assembly passing a new ballot law in 1929 that eliminated partisan ballots, parties printed their own ballots listing only their candidates. Party officials and poll workers could tell how a person voted by observing the ballots the voter took and inserted into the ballot box. This led to political pressure and vote-buying. Illiterate voters could take their party’s colored or distinctively marked ballot without having to read it and cast their vote.
