Then tell me that it was a typo!

What a bunch of crap!

Barack 'Osama' on Rensselaer County ballots
Election officials on both sides of aisle insist error on absentee ballots was a typo

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer
Last updated: 4:05 p.m., Friday, October 10, 2008

TROY — 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.''

Officials say the flawed ballots were sent to approximately 300 voters. On row 1A Barack Obama's name is spelled Barack Osama.

Is it a Freudian slip, intentional act or a mistake? Voters are sure to have opinions, and one pol pointed out that the letters 's' and 'b' are not exactly keyboard neighbors.

But even the county Democratic election commissioner is apologizing for what he calls a terrible mistake.

McDonough said the absentee ballots went out to voters in Brunswick, Nassau, Sand Lake, Schaghticoke and Schodack with the error.

So far three people have called to point it out, he said. Those people will get new ballots sent to them.

One Sand Lake resident who caught the misspelling, and who asked to remain anonymous, was skeptical.

''It's a little suspicious and at least grossly incompetent,'' the voter said. "If I crossed out the name and wrote in the right spelling my ballot would be invalid."

Freudian slip???

you do not cross off the name you write in the prober name in the write in area

What does this mean?

Maybe the first of many election lawsuits and vote challenges.

I just read a really good article on U.S. voting history in The New Yorker...I looked for it and I couldn't find it.

At any rate...it's not something we've gotten right every time. Voting history in the U.S. is fraught with deceptions, fraud and pure and simple cheating.

Am I getting this quote right, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

I have typed Osama instead of Obama on more than one occasion. When they say 'typo' they really just mean that switched it in their minds and typed the wrong thing. There's nothing sinister here.

parapraxis

"A Freudian slip - like saying one thing, but meaning a mother."

hahaha

Anyone who spends any time on a keyboard knows there is a huge physical distance between the b key and the s key.

Most typo's involve letters that are placed close to each other like the i and the o or people muddling up a word typing part of one word next to another.

Calling it a typo is a stretch I think.

At the very least the elections committee, the editor, the persons who put together the absentee ballot mailing packages and the printer all need to be changed.

You cannot tell me all the people who review those ballots during their production and mailing all missed that error.

Maybe their hatred will backfire on them.

You look for a conspiracy, you'll find a conspiracy.

The name was only typed once, and I can understand how it could be mistyped without any problem. Two names that are very similar and are in the news. They just got them switched around. It wasn't a missed key. It was a missed name.

And as far as proof reading... have you ever done it? Your mind sees what it expects to see, not what is written. Professional proof readers probably would catch this, but the people proof reading the ballots? I could show you an exercise that shows how these kinds of errors could be made. But regardless, these things do happen... even to professional proof readers.

Also, what is there to gain? You think these people WANT to look stupid? I'm pretty sure they don't. And that's exactly what they look like. But they're not. They made a mistake.

I like Obama. But this isn't an attack on him. And there's no way you can prove it is. Of course I can't prove it isn't. There's just no reason to get uptight about what was likely an honest mistake and has no advantage. We should be focusing on the issues.

Once upon a time I was a proofreader for an advertising company. I didn't make any mistakes.

so you're saying that you can't type something you didn't intend to b/c of something else that was in your head???? From what I've heard some joke about his name therefore, it wouldn't be so hard to type the wrong name. You seem to want a conspiracy and as Tng said, you'll get one.

I make typo's.... Tell me what do you think the education and intelligence is of those typing the names? I'm sure they're not editors or proofreaders...

Winx It kills you when it happens to you, doesn't it? I used to proof read radio psa and ad copy. It is amazing what gets by, despite your best intentions.

Seriously, I looked things over and over again. I didn't release anything unless it was perfect.

When I was much younger, I used to schedule A-B radio PSAs.
I even verbally participated in a few.

I was a dj in the '80's and wrote and voiced quite a few myself!