“Osama” on the Ballot in Upstate New York
Yup, strange as it may be in Troy, NY, county officials in the area around New York’s state capitol, Albany, are getting a lot of votes cast by absentee ballot for Barrack ‘Osama’. It seems a spell checking program has by default chosen ‘Osama’ as the proper spelling for Senator Barrack Obama’s surname when voters hit the spell checking function on secure online voting forms.
State election officials are blaming a default spelling error, and apologized, saying they are trying to fix the ‘glitch; in the Adobe Acrobat system form which has no memory setting to accept Obama as acceptable in the pre-designed form for absentee voters who fill out online and then print out the ballots to be mailed in.
A simple solution offered is to print out the ballots and then hand-write the proper name. But in a time of tension over the ACORN voter registration scandal, the idea of any defect in something as sensitive as ballots has voters worried if, at some future point, the absentee ballots might be questioned if hand written.
It is inexplicable for some that Osama Bin Laden, one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, and certainly New York’s most wanted fugitive in respect to the horrible terror attacks of the September 11, 2001, would be on a ballot in upstate New York where the stigma of 9/11 is still strong and some scars are still raw over post 9/11 alleged ‘crackdowns’ and law enforcement scrutiny of the large Muslim-American population in communities there.
Election officials, however, are quick to point out even Windows or Mac-based software spell checkers still do ‘Osama’ for ‘Obama’ unless the user updates the spell checker to accept the new word. Obama campaign officials are not happy over the glitches. But have so far declined to comment officially beyond saying it is a simple and understandable error but adding that steps to fix it should have been taken as soon as the Senator become the Democratic Candidate.
Blame the computer for Obama-Osama goof, officials say Albany Times Union
Here, in this case, in upstate New York, election officials could have dealt with the problem during the primaries. Some are quick to point out that the problem only affects absentee ballots. In other states – California, New Jersey, New Mexico and Florida – reports of the ‘Obama – Osama’ error, on both printed ballot and (self-printed) mail-in forms, had a similar error. So for now, unless you choose to accept the spelling of ‘Obama’ into your spell check system of your document writer, you too could be voting for Osama.
Somewhere in a cave in Afghanistan or Pakistan, perhaps a bearded man is grinning? But isn’t ready to turn in his turban and robes for a suit and tie in Washington DC. To be on the safe side, some Democratic party state level groups have chosen not to fight technology and have petitioned state level election officials to accept the ‘misspelling’ of Barrack ‘Osama’ as valid.
But ‘Obama’ bin Laden will not accepted, so say election officails. That’s both an insult and injury to a Senator who has earned the right to have his name spelled and put right on the ballot, even the electronic ones.
Overall, however, the Absentee ballot voting is going fast and quick with larger numbers of Democrats to Republicans taking part. Expect some uproar over that. But it could also be that considering by-and-large conservatives seem to choose regular polling place voting to new technology and absentee balloting, this is expected to take hold more and more as voters like the idea of casting ballots by mail.
DC Residents Can Cast ‘Absentee’ Votes Today
Washington Post, United States - By Hamil R. Harris Voting in the presidential election starts today in the District of Columbia. According to the DC Board of Elections and Ethics, …
MSNBC - The Politico checks takes a magnifying glass to key swing counties in McCain’s must-win states, and the news is not good for the GOP nominee. …
TheChronicleHerald.ca, Canada - By LEE-ANNE GOODMAN The Canadian Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shahid Muhammad is a taxi driver who can speak with passion and authority for hours about politics, …
Globe and Mail, Canada - Up to 30 per cent of ballots expected to be cast before Nov. 4; Democrats hope to capitalize on trend Outside George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa yesterday, …
Dallas Morning News, TX - John McCain, down in the polls, desperately needed a game-changing moment last night. Though more aggressive than in two prior debates with Barack Obama, …1 out of 4 Voters Could Cast Ballots Early
The Weekly Standard - A growing number of Americans now cast their ballots early. In 2004, more than one out of five voters (22.5%) cast ballots either through absentee or some …
However, considering the ACORN scandal, and voter poll purging issues raised on both sides of the politcal fence, expect some ‘guffaw’ and tight scrutiny over allegations of manufactured ballots cast in voting centers outsourced ‘somewhere out there’, Democrats have been highly organized in the absentee vote overseas.
Expect record numbers, most analyst say, from the over 7 million overseas Americans. Here in Manila, the National Broadcasting Corporation’s effort to get Fil-Americans active came in the form of ads and an election coverage of the conventions. Other networks have also been pushing the ‘get out and register’ and “take part from wherever you are” campaign.
There has been some concern raised however as to the integrity of such ballots on both sides. But, by and large, most absentee voters are diligent and follow the rules, knowing clear and well that any fraud with absentee ballots mailed carries stiff legal penalties when ballots cross state lines, and international ones as well. Officially, the oldest law enforcement agency of the USA – the Office of the US Postal Inspector General – investigates and prosecutes any violation of absentee ballot scams or even reports of such acts.
The FBI also would step in, in cases where organized ‘criminal enterprises’ take any acts into anything dealing with interstate communications or legal forms. So while some might be tempted to give their candidate boost with an extra form, DON’T. One, the vote would be ‘soiled’ and voided and, two, anything involving the US mail is a federal offense. As cons say, ‘hard time’ is not worth the crime.
Anyhow, the voting has started, the race is nearing its end and soon a winner will be declared.
As always, may the best man win. And may you, my dear reader, if you can legally so, cast your vote absentee or in person wisely. God bless us each and everyone.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Leave your response!
You must be logged in to post a comment.