The ballots, which originally were marked official, were changed after Person County Board of Elections Director Brenda Whitlow spoke with the people handing them out and advised them that, if they were going to continue the practice, the ballots had to be marked as “sample,” in accordance with state law. Whitlow said she also instructed the campaigners, neither of whom she knew, to mark through the word “official” from the tops of the ballots.

On the marked sample ballots under “Presidential Preference,” the circle by Barack Obama’s name is filled in. In the U.S. Senate spot, Kay Hagan is marked as the candidate of choice. Brad Miller’s name has a blackened circle by it in the “U.S. Congress District 13” spot on the “sample ballot,” as does Bev Purdue’s name in the “Governer” box.

Under “Lieutenant Governor,” Hampton Dellinger’s name is accompanied by a blackened circle and June St. Clair Atkinson’s name has a blackened spot by it under the “Superintendent of Public Instruction” heading.

In the box marked “N.C. Senate District 23,” the circle by Moses Carey Jr.’s name is blackened.

Under the heading “County Commissioner” there are five names — Jimmy B. Clayton, Ray Jeffers, Samuel H. Winstead, Mike Barrett and David Brooks — and the ballot states that “You many vote for three.” The only name with a blackened circle by it is Ray Jeffers.

All other Democratic state offices and the nonpartisan court of appeals judge spots show a candidate pick as well.

Whitlow told The Courier-Times, after an employee of the newspaper had been handed one of the “sample” ballots, that she had received countless complaints on Monday and Tuesday from voters who were offended by the marked ballots.

She said that she contacted the North Carolina State Board of Elections shortly after hearing the first complaints and apprised officials there of the circumstances. She also asked the state what she could do to remedy the situation.

She said state elections officials informed her that, so long as the ballots were marked as samples and that the word “official” was scratched out, the practice was within the law.

The state cited First Amendment rights, Whitlow said, in telling her that there was nothing she could do to stop what some folks here were calling “harassment” at the polls.

Whitlow said the campaigners were at the Person County Public Library polling site and at the Board of Elections on Monday and Tuesday morning. She said, about mid-afternoon yesterday, that she had not heard any complaints from the Timberlake site.