ANGLETON — When Shelle Gaul checked her ballot after voting straight party, she noticed the person checked for president was not her choice.

Still using the electronic ballot, the Angleton resident scrolled back to the top of the ticket and corrected the error while voting at the Angleton location this week.

“I noticed the part for president was changed from straight party, so I went back and changed it,” Gaul said. “I was glad I did catch it. I just wondered how many more people have done the same thing.”

While Gaul’s trouble is not very common in Brazoria County, it does bring up a question, County Clerk Joyce Hudman said.

A widely circulated e-mail message telling people to vote straight party, and vote again for their choice for president should be ignored, Hudman said. The e-mail message states if people vote a straight-party ticket, they also must mark the box for a presidential candidate separately.

In electronic voting machines, that would remove the mark from beside the voter’s presidential choice, she said. The same works with any choice.

“We had someone in West Pearland say when they voted straight party, the president was not selected,” Hudman said. “If you vote for a candidate after already voting, it will de-select their name.
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