A Full-Blown Clusterf**k

This is getting really out of control. Apparently, some absentee ballots in Ohio don't have Kerry/Edwards on the ballot. This election is turning into a major, MAJOR problem - from the faulty early voting fiasco in Florida to this. If Kerry wins this election - and he WILL win the election - it will be a tribute to his strength of overcoming the most ridiculous odds in the history of democracy.

Kerry left off some absentee ballots
By Barry M. Horstman
Cincinnati Post staff reporter



Some absentee ballots distributed to Hamilton County voters do not include the name of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, local election officials confirmed today.

Because of a printing error -- limited, election officials believe, to only a few ballots in the Forest Park area -- absentee ballots recently mailed out exclude the Democratic presidential ticket of Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards.

"It's a screw-up," said Tim Burke, chairman of the Hamilton County Board of Elections. "This just feeds the paranoia that's out there. The tragic thing is that even though I think we will have a very fair and accurate count here, this will cause people to question the accuracy of our operation."

Although election officials believe only two voters have received the inaccurate ballot to date, Burke said he is worried that the mix-up "will open us up to all kinds of questions and concerns." He also conceded that some may question whether the problem is, indeed, limited to only a few ballots.