Absentee ballot glitch in Lucas County could allow Democratic voters to choose both presidential candidates (OH)
Toldeo Blade Staff    14 February 2008

Lucas County residents who have not sent back their absentee ballots for the March 4 primary election might want to wait a few days. Those who have already sent back their ballots could be asked to vote again.

The Lucas County Board of Elections has discovered an error in its ballot that could lead Democratic voters to vote for both presidential candidates.

Jill Kelly, director of the board, said the ballots — about 6,000 of them — are being reprinted and mailed out to all those who obtained absentee voter ballots.

She said the problem comes as a disappointment because the board has been trying to get absentee ballots out to voters as quickly as possible, and encouraging as many voters as possible to use the mail-in ballots prior to the election next month.

Thanks to a recent change in the law, anyone can vote by absentee ballot, as long as the ballot is returned before Election Day.

Ms. Kelly said the error is that Democratic voters might be asked to vote for delegates and alternates for their choice of presidential candidate both in the congressional district and statewide, using a format that applies in the Republican primary, but not in the Democratic primary.

It’s possible that a voter could vote in favor of either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in the congressional district race, and the opposite candidate on the state level.

Those ballots that are not corrected will be tabulated using just the voter’s choice at the congressional district level, Ms. Kelly said.