No Chads, at Least, but Confusion Is Likely as New York Goes to Polls
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: February 21, 2004
fter the 2000 election, it became hard to find anyone who would say that voting in America was as straightforward as one man, one vote. And to many, the presidential primary season adds another layer of mystery to what it means to cast a ballot.
Trust New York to throw another twist or two into the process.
When voters go to the polls on March 2 to help pick a Democratic nominee to challenge President Bush, they will find nine candidates on the ballot, including Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, who pulled out of the race on Feb. 3, and Congressman Richard A. Gephardt, who dropped out last month.
That is because New York election law prevents removing any qualified candidate after a certain point unless they die or are declared mentally incompetent.
That may not be too confusing, since many people will know who is in and who is out. But even political insiders are confused by other details of the process, including delegate selection and the question of whether votes for a withdrawn candidate will count. And if insiders are confused, election watchdogs say, many people who enter the voting booth next month are bound to be puzzled....cont'd
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/21/nyregion/21ballot.html