Electoral vote for Edwards dubbed a "Senior Mistake" says 83 yo Elector

Vote for Edwards instead of Kerry shocks Minnesota electors
Dane Smith, Star Tribune
December 14, 2004

Voting irregularities were few in Minnesota this year -- until it really counted.
Defeated Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry likely is going to get one less electoral vote nationally than he should have -- 251 instead of 252 -- because of an apparent mistake Monday by one of Minnesota's 10 DFL electors.

One of the 10 handwritten ballots cast for president carried the name of vice presidential candidate John Edwards (actually spelled "Ewards" on the ballot) rather than Kerry.
"I was shocked ... this will go in the history books," said Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, who presided over a ceremony that normally is uneventful.
Kiffmeyer said she was unaware of any other such apparent mistake in Minnesota, although there have been cases in other states of "faithless electors" casting ballots for candidates other than those to which they were committed.

Electoral voting in MinnesotaRichard SennottStar TribuneThere was stunned silence after the announcement that Edwards had gotten a vote for president, but none of the 10 electors volunteered that they voted for Edwards as a protest, nor did anyone step forward to admit an error.

"It was perhaps a senior moment," said elector Michael Meuers, 60, a Bemidji marketing consultant for a health care firm, the second-youngest member of the Minnesota delegation to the Electoral College.

Meuers said he was certain that the Edwards ballot wasn't his, but he noted that "both the candidates were named John, and the ballots looked pretty much alike."

This year's DFL Party electors were typical -- senior party activists typically chosen for their long years of service. They ranged in age from 52 to 83.

"These are not paid political professionals," said Bill Amberg, the DFL Party's communications director. "It was clear that everybody thought they had voted for Kerry, and all 10 of these folks were for Kerry during the pre-nomination period. There is no sign of protest."

Kiffmeyer, a Republican and the state's chief election official, said that there apparently is nothing that can be done once the secret ballots are cast.

"It's not that important, since we're not at a 269-to-269 tie in the electoral vote," said DFL Party Chair Mike Erlandson. "This isn't the biggest story in America today. It's the recount in Ohio and the questions that so many people have over voting machines."

Minnesota's electors typically cast their votes in the Governor's Reception Room at the State Capitol, and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Kiffmeyer appeared with them in the morning to thank them for their services.

Several of them acknowledged that their duty was perhaps an archaic formality but that it was nevertheless a significant and solemn step in the process.

"It's the symbolism of it, the fact that I am now representing the entire 4th Congressional District and the will of its majority," said elector Matthew Little of Maplewood, an 83-year-old activist and a longtime Minnesota civil rights leader.

Little, born and reared in North Carolina, came to Minnesota in 1948, the year Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey, then running for the U.S. Senate, delivered a historic civil rights speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Little later became the top official of the Minnesota NAACP.

Although the electors expressed regret that Kerry did not win nationally, most of them also said they took pleasure in casting the votes that keep Minnesota in the Democratic column for the eighth straight presidential election, the longest Democratic streak of any state.

Or can you post this in 2004 Election Results and Discussion. Thanks.

Will try to find link and move the post.

in the other discussion thread too. And since it isn't a copyright link, you can post all of the email. I believe that's okay.

Fact the it may have been received via e-mail doesn't negate copyright.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5134791.html

Read the story.

Sometimes this board is extremely unfriendly.

Didn't mean to be unfriendly. Just concerned that the elector mistake may be placed at feet of Matt Little because he happens to be the oldest, when any number of them may have had a senior moment.

And we're all under a lot of stress.

Thanks for posting the story, KC. I would have missed it otherwise.

60-year-old Michael Meuers suggested it was perhaps a senior moment. 83-year-old Matthew Little said no such thing.
Matthew Little is one of the most esteemed African-American civil rights leaders in Minnesota.

MINNESOTA'S DFL ELECTORS

•Chandler "Harry" Stevens, 69, of Austin, retired businessman

•Frank Simon, 60, of Chaska area, retired electrician

•Tim O'Brien, 60, Edina, lawyer

•Matthew Little, 83, Maplewood, retired civil rights leader

•Everett Pettiford, 52, Minneapolis, union business agent

•Sonja Berg, 60, St. Cloud City Council member

•Lil Ortendahl, 69, Osakis, retired registered nurse

•Vi Grooms-Alban, 72, Cohasset, retired teacher

•Michael Meuers, 60, Bemidji, marketing

•Jean Schiebel, 67, Brooklyn Center, homemaker and volunteer

DFL Party Chair Mike Erlandson: "This isn't the biggest story in America today. It's the recount in Ohio and the questions that so many people have over voting machines."