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"I do think that there is a very good chance Nifong will lose the election"

But remember that Durham as straight-ticket voting (you can select a choice that means you vote for ALL the democrats or for ALL the republicans on the ballot).

That is true but there was a discussion here last week about the ballot. IIRC, you can vote the Dem ticket but if you color the bubble next to Cheek, his vote counts. Correct me if I'm wrong. (I'll also see if I can find the thread.)

Here's the link (it was from the 60 minutes discussion thread last week): They are both "write in" because they did not receive the nomination of their respective parties. Because Cheek got enough signatures, his name is actually printed as a choice on the ballot as UNA (unaffiliated?) while Monks name, because he got some but not enough signatures, is validated to be literally written into the blank space provided on the ballot (as opposed to someone writing in Donald Duck, etc.) Sample Ballot (pdf file) Nifong is part of a straight ticket vote. Most of the straight ticket votes are DEM unopposed. I would expect the Repubs to be paying enough attention to vote for the one REP candidate and then vote separately for DA. But will they just "check Cheek" (there's a campaign slogan) or remember to write down "M-O-N-K-S" and check that box. Alternately, are the Dems who don't like Nifong (let's pray there are some) willing to separately check off the 5 DEM candidates in order to mark Cheek (I assume they won't vote for Monks).

I was wrong about coloring in the bubble- voters DO have to check off each candidate separately to vote for Cheek. Repubs can do it very easily so if enough Dems get the picture, it will happen. BTW, this was posted by Locomotive Breath.