Election commissioner to be suspended

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2835&u_sid=10306009

Published Thursday | April 10, 2008
Election commissioner to be suspended
BY BETSY FRIEDRICH
THE KEARNEY HUB

KEARNEY, Neb. — The Buffalo County Board voted Tuesday to formally reprimand Election Commissioner Glenda DeBrie and suspend her without pay for five days.

The reprimand is the result of three recent mistakes by DeBrie's office, two during the March 11 special bond election and one in preparation for the May 13 primary.

DeBrie, who has been election commissioner for 14 years, answered questions from the board during a session that was open to the public at her request.

"I'm not saying I haven't made a mistake, and I hate it more than anybody," DeBrie said. "I don't think there's anybody who felt worse about it, but it happens. I don't know anybody who at one point or another hasn't made a mistake. In all the years that I've been here, this is the first formal complaint that I've had."

The first incident cited by the board as cause for the reprimand involved typos in the special election sample ballot published in the Kearney Hub as a public notice. A corrected ballot ran the day before the election.

The board also cited a discrepancy between the outcome of the special election announced by DeBrie's office on election night and the actual number of votes cast.

FULL story at link.