Typo Puts ‘Barack Osama’ on Ballot
Election officials in Rensselaer County, N.Y., are caught in the middle of a national embarrassment after a typo on 300 absentee ballots listed the Democratic candidate for president as "Barack Osama." Both Democratic and Republican officials in "Renassliare County" swear the error was accidental.
Election officials in Rensselaer County, N.Y., are caught in the middle of a national embarrassment after a “typo” on 300 absentee ballots listed the Democratic candidate for president as “Barack Osama.” Both Democratic and Republican officials in “Renassliare County” swear the error was accidental.
Dig, Root, GrowThe Times Union:
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s last name is spelled “Osama” on hundreds of absentee ballots mailed out this week to voters in Rensselaer County.
The misspelling, which elections officials on both sides of the aisle insist was simply a typo, is causing embarrassment for the county.
”No question this is an honest mistake innocently done,” said Edward McDonough, the Democratic commissioner. ”We catch almost everything.”
”This was a typo,” said Republican Commissioner Larry Bugbee. ”We have three different staff members who proof these things and somehow the typo got by us.”
This year, we’re all on shaky ground, and the need for independent journalism has never been greater. A new administration is openly attacking free press — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
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Minnesotans have been parodied for their politeness, but the state's Senate race seems to get nastier and nastier. With Al Franken taking a sliver of a lead by most estimates, the bitter recount battle halted Monday as both sides made a scene in Secretary of State Mark Ritchie's office.
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