Online voting joke results in threats

PINE KNOLL SHORES, N.C., Nov. 6 (UPI) -- A North Carolina man who joked on Facebook about voting four times for president will not face any charges, prosecutors say.

Carteret County District Attorney Scott Thomas said his office will not seek charges against Jim Turner, 69, of Pine Knoll Shores, who posted Friday to President Barack Obama's Facebook page: "I have voted once in Beaufort, once in Henderson, twice in Emerald Isle, and will vote in my precinct in Pine Knoll Shores. I will do whatever it takes to save our country from the world envisioned by Mitt [Romney] and his fear mongering followers," WCTI-TV, New Bern, reported Tuesday.

However, the State Board of Elections determined Turner had yet to vote at all in the current election.

"We have talked with Mr. Turner and learned that he is a senior citizen who made an unfortunate attempt at a joke," the board said in a statement.

North Carolina is considered a swing state where polls indicate Obama and Romney are in a dead heat.

The comment went viral during the weekend, and Turner said he and his family are receiving death threats as a result of the post.

"My concern now turns not to the controversy but to the safety of my family," Turner said in a statement. "I have received threatening phone calls and many calls urging me to turn myself in."

"My daughter says 69 year old men without basic computer knowledge should not play on Facebook," Turner said. "She's right!"