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.
Your support matters…The 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.”
Independent journalism is under threat and overshadowed by heavily funded mainstream media.
You can help level the playing field. Become a member.
Your tax-deductible contribution keeps us digging beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that unearths what's really happening- without compromise.
Give today to support our courageous, independent journalists.
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.
Still locked in a bitter recount battle for the right to represent Minnesota in the upper house, Al Franken's lawyer says he might take the matter directly to the U.S. Senate, which the Constitution allows to be the "Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members."
While Minnesota gets ready for a recount, it looks like one way or another the state's U.S. Senate race will be decided in court. With bad memories of Florida, Al Franken and Norm Coleman's campaigns are already arguing about whose vote should count and why.
New rule changes and the increased popularity of absentee voting might mean results from Tuesday's election won't be known for some time.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.