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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Chicago: Voters are told pen had 'invisible ink' |
| 2008-02-06 |
| When it comes to election shenanigans, Chicago has been accused of just about everything. But invisible ink? Twenty voters at a Far North Side precinct who found their ink pens not working were told by election judges not to worry. It's invisible ink, officials said. The scanner will count it. But their votes weren't recorded after all. "Part of me was thinking it does sound stupid enough to be true,'' said Amy Carlton, who had serious doubts but went ahead and voted anyway. As it turns out, Carlton was one of 20 voters at the precinct who were given the wrong pen to use. They were also then told, apparently by a misinformed judge, that the pens have invisible ink, elections officials said. As a result, the votes were not counted. But officials insisted there were no dirty tricks involved. "This one defies logic,'' said Jim Allen, a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections. "You try to anticipate everything. But certain things just ... they go beyond any kind of planning you can perform.'' By late afternoon, five voters had been contacted and told to come back to the polling place to vote again. And elections staff had left messages at the homes of the rest, Allen said. Carlton and Angela Burkhardt, another voter who was told the same invisible ink story, spent a good part of the day calling and e-mailing the Board of Elections to get answers. "I am furious and devastated and I just feel stupid,'' Carlton said. "I feel so angry.'' Both women agreed that this election meant a lot. They had spent a good deal of time researching candidates. "I have been voting since I was 18,'' said Carlton, 38. "This is the most important election of my life so far.'' Burkhardt planned to go back to vote late Tuesday. She worried about those who might not be able to return. "I worry about the other people who were there,'' she said. "Maybe [they] can't get off work. I am a person of privilege. I can go back. What if you couldn't?" |
| Posted by:Delphi |
| #12 probably about time America should start having international election observers. You mean like Venezuela? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2008-02-06 22:21 |
| #11 thanks Leah! As Intelligent and Relevant™ as usual! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2008-02-06 22:10 |
| #10 probably about time America should start having international election observers. |
| Posted by: Leah Ashley 2008-02-06 22:08 |
| #9 Not to worry, Man cannot cheat fate. At the same time those shenanigans where taking place, bad weather in the states of the opposing candidate was causing havoc! Symmetry, balance, the ying-yang of time and unforeseen occurrence! |
| Posted by: smn 2008-02-06 17:14 |
| #8 /engage stereotypometer/"gotta ask'how many were blondes?' /disengage stereotypometer/ personal disclaimer: blonde grand-daughter led astray by her evil uncle who, in response to her comment regarding the apparent non-working white crayon on a white sheet of paper, told her that the batteries were low and go see her mother (his sister) for replacements. fireworks were priceless!!! |
| Posted by: USN,Ret. 2008-02-06 14:44 |
| #7 I guess you tend to appreciate the process more when people are trying to blow you up for participating. |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2008-02-06 14:28 |
| #6 Isn't it amazing how Iraqis with limited experience in the process with the aid of soldiers and Marines, were able to do in a very short period of time under far more perilous circumstances that the old political machines back home haven't accomplished in many lifetimes - a clean election. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-02-06 13:36 |
| #5 Jinns. Ink-stealing jinns. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2008-02-06 12:34 |
| #4 Twenty voters? Gosh, that's significant. What on earth would they have done faced with the butterfly ballots used in Florida in 2004? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2008-02-06 12:34 |
| #3 if you are stupid enough too fall for that then you are too stupid too vote |
| Posted by: sinse 2008-02-06 12:14 |
| #2 I am a person of privilege. Actually, lady, you kinda sound like an...asshole. I guess "privleged" don't necessarily mean "smart". Probably why it was so easy to pull Ye Olde Invisible Ink Trick on you. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-02-06 11:47 |
| #1 But officials insisted there were no dirty tricks involved. In Chicago? Oh, perish the thought... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-02-06 11:42 |