Illinois Governor Candidate Whitney Listed as 'Whitey' on Some Ballots

[Pepper]

Politics Daily:

Illinois Governor Candidate Whitney Listed as 'Whitey' on Some Ballots

Tom Diemer

Uh-oh. A Green Party candidate for governor of Illinois named Whitney will appear as "Whitey" on a section of the electronic ballot in about two dozen Chicago wards, about half of them in predominantly African American areas.

Rich Whitney's name is misspelled on some touch-screen electronic voting machines on the review screens -- where voters check their choices after making initial selections, a Chicago Board of Elections spokesman told the Chicago Sun-Times. The name is spelled properly on the first screen voters see after entering booths.

[Pepper]

http://www.popfi.com/2010/10/15/vote-for-the-rich-whitey/

I’m not sure which aspect of this is worse. The 23 districts are in predominantly black neighborhoods, which is bad. To make matters worse, the city says there isn’t enough time to reprogram the machines to say Rich’s true name. In true Green Party fashion, Rich is considering legal action.

 

“I don’t want to be identified as ‘Whitey.‘ If this is happening in primarily African-American wards, that’s an even bigger concern,” said Whitney.

[Pepper]

[Election Board Chairman Langdon Neal said Thursday of the "Whitey" mistake.]

 

"This was … not the kind of error that we would tolerate at the Chicago Board of Elections. ... We are very, very sorry and apologize, and we're embarrassed."

 

 

As long as you are very, very sorry, that's OK then. If it it were only very, I'd be very, very suspicious.

[clearvision]

"This was … not the kind of error that we would tolerate at the Chicago Board of Elections. ... We are very, very sorry and apologize, and we're embarrassed."

That is mighty white of them to apologize.