early and often

‘Barack Osama’ on Hundreds of Upstate Absentee Ballots

Barack Obama has had it up to here with his own weird names!

This week, hundreds of absentee ballots were sent out to voters who are registered in Rensselaer County with the names of two presidential candidates on them: John McCain and Barack Osama. Yep, that’s right, Osama.

Both Democratic and Republican officials insist this is a typo, but according to the Albany Times-Union, everyone feels pretty embarrassed. Roughly 300 voters received the ballots. “Is it a Freudian slip, intentional act or a mistake?” asks the paper. “Voters are sure to have opinions, and one pol pointed out that the letters ‘s’ and ‘b’ are not exactly keyboard neighbors.”

Is it weird that during this freakishly contentious week, a minor screwup like this seems kind of fun?

Barack ‘Osama’ on Rensselaer County ballots
[Times-Union via VV]

‘Barack Osama’ on Hundreds of Upstate Absentee Ballots