"Ballot snafu endangers votes"

The Cincinnati Enquirer offers this report, which begins:

About one-third of the absentee ballot applications received at the Hamilton County Board of Elections have been ruled invalid because Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign printed a version of the form with an extra, unneeded box on it.

In a narrow interpretation of Ohio law, Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner says many of the McCain forms have not been completed properly. If the box stating the person is an eligible elector -- or qualified voter – is not checked, Brunner said, the application is no good.

This is unfortunate, and occurred through no fault of the voters. I hope that a court reverses Sec. Brunner. If you are a Democrat and you disagree, just imagine that the Secretary's name was Blackwell and the candidate who made the error was named Kerry.

Posted by Rick Hasen at September 11, 2008 08:31 PM