With voting starting Monday for the November presidential election, election officials and local candidates want everybody to know that it's legal and perfectly normal to "split your vote" on the ballot.

"It's okay to split your vote in the General Election," said Judge Jim Burton, Wilkes County's Supervisor of Elections. "You have to choose parties only in the primary."

Therefore, each voter's ballot will have all the names, Democratic and Republican, and voters may vote for the whole party, or vote for each candidate, no matter which party.

"You can vote for a Democrat for President and a Republican for Sheriff," Judge Burton said, "or a Republican for president and a Democrat for Sheriff. You can flip-flop back and forth voting for Republican or Democrat, whichever you want, all the way down the ballot. It's legal, and it's pretty common."

Republican candidate for Wilkes County Sheriff Jeff Johnson said he's been frustrated as he campaigned around the county. "They say, 'Well, I'd vote for you, but I'm a Democrat.' But they can! I tell them a Democrat can vote for a bunch of Democrats and for a Republican on the same ballot, and it's legal. Just touch the box by each name you like, all the way down. It's easy."