Wake GOP Chairman challenges Clay Aiken vote

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Aiken is no longer a Wake voter

Singer Clay Aiken has withdrawn his name from Wake County voter rolls, ending an official inquiry into his qualifications to vote in the county.

In a preliminary hearing Wednesday, the Wake Board of Elections decided probable cause exists that Aiken is not qualified to vote in Wake, because he lives in Chatham County. But because the board received a letter from Aiken rescinding his registration, it voted unanimously not to schedule a full hearing on the challenge.

Aiken's voting habits came to light after he posted an item on his Web site referring to new members of the Wake school board as "selfish idiots." Election records show that Aiken voted in that contentious Wake election in October. He was registered to vote using his mother's North Raleigh address.

Voting places

Give Clay Aiken credit for taking a stand, although not for where he took it. The Triangle-area (more about that below) pop singer stood up, if intemperately, for his belief in a diverse Wake County Public School System by voting in North Raleigh at the October school board elections and, afterwards, by publicly disparaging the insurgent winners.

Celebrities tend to avoid local political controversies, so Aiken's involvement was notable, even if his name-calling was not, as he's acknowledged. The larger issue concerns his voting place. Although his mother lives in North Raleigh, Aiken has built a house in Chatham County - and that, the Wake Board of Elections decided after hearing a Republican-backed challenge, is where he really lives and should vote - not in Wake.

The parties involved seem satisfied with the low-key, no-penalty resolution of the case. Certainly Aiken's one vote didn't swing the election, but it's vital that people vote where they live, and that systems be put in place to avoid any possibility

Aiken to change voter registration

Pop singer Clay Aiken on Wednesday withdrew his Wake County voter registration, ending an official challenge to his qualification to vote in Wake County.

Aiken owns a home in Chatham County, but kept his voter registration in Wake County, using his mother's address. On Wednesday, the Wake County Board of Elections in a preliminary hearing decided that probable cause existed that Aiken was not qualified to vote in Wake County, but decided against sending the matter to a full hearing.

In a blog post earlier this week, Aiken said he still considers Raleigh to be his home but wrote that he'll change his voter registration "rather than get into a technical dispute."

GOP contests Aiken vote

The Wake County Republican Party on Friday challenged pop singer Clay Aiken's vote in this fall's school board elections, prompting a hearing that could strip him of his registration.

The "American Idol" runner-up and graduate of Leesville Road High in Raleigh last week lambasted the victorious GOP-backed school board candidates as "selfish idiots."

Party Chairman Claude Pope said, however, the party's move is not meant to retaliate against Aiken, and should not be taken as a criticism of his comments. Rather, he said, the challenge is intended to wipe out confusion about voting laws. Aiken lives in a Chatham County mansion but remains on Wake's voting rolls at his mother's Raleigh address - the precinct where he voted in October.

The voters have spoken, and so has Clay Aiken

The new Wake County school board majority has an unexpected foe: Clay Aiken.

The tousle-haired "American Idol" runner-up, Leesville Road High School grad and single father used his blog to call the recently elected board members "selfish idiots."

His cyber-ambush on the Republican-backed board members, who oppose busing policies meant to encourage diversity, sparked a minor backlash. One board member made fun of his hit "Invisible." A conservative activist promised to investigate his voting habits. Board member Deborah Prickett, who has called for an end to busing, said that she plans to keep all her Aiken CDs despite the unpleasantness.