New Ohio Ballot Problems

Initially I thought the ballot problem in Cuyahoga County, OH seemed to be just a mistake. Now other problems are emerging and I have noticed yet another I have yet to see referenced. This post from Spoons led me to this from Wizbang. Please see documentation there. But it would appear that the ballot was changed significantly, even as regards the ordering of the candidates. This makes no sense as there can be only ONE official ballot. And even if there could be a different version for absentee voting, it makes no sense at all to change the order of the candidates. I think this needs to be evaluated in the context of "would the mix-up lead someone down a certain path - ie casting a vote for x when you wanted y" - who would actually benefit given the alternate order for the names on the differing "official" ballots?

Update: I've heard from the Rooftop Report that their understanding is that names are rotated in placement on these ballots to prevent someone from simply always voting for the top listed candidate. If true, it would seem to me to render the entire thing meaningless, as it would also impact the arrow situation across every ballot. I am not an expert on ballot construction, so I claim no definitive answer on this, one way or another at present.

Comments

[Bill K]

The ballots are different so one candidate isn't always at the top. Figuring that some people might just vote for the first person on the list. The numbers (in this case Kerry 6, Bush 4) stay the same, but the names appear in a different order from ballot to ballot.

This is what I understand at least.

[Kevin]

This is why I really hate people. If you are taking the time to go vote, what are the odds that you are going to vote for the first person on the list, since you can't make up your mind? The answer: Slim to none, and Slim's outta town.