How many other people are in this kind of situation and don’t even know it? Michael Kinsley, a validly registered voter in Seattle who also suffers from Parkinson’s disease, discovers that his vote almost didn’t count, because the signature on his absentee ballot didn’t match his voter registration:
Michael Kinsley founded Slate, edited the LA Times opinion pages, and pens columns for the Washington Post. He’s made a career off having strong opinions about politics, but for all that, Kinsley almost didn’t get to vote in this election. After mailing in his absentee ballot, he got a call from a campaign volunteer at the local Obama field office. The King County Board of Elections pulled his ballot because the signature didn’t match his registration.
“I’m not too surprised, my handwriting’s pretty bad,” says Kinsley. He first registered to vote in King County in 1996, when he moved here to start Slate.
Until the call came, Kinsley says he had no idea his vote might not count. After hearing about the problem, he called up King County elections and asked how to fix it. He needed to fill out another form and send in a copy of his driver’s license. Kinsley says he might not have bothered but for the tight Governor’s race.
“I don’t think Obama really needs the help here,” he says. “I’m doing it for Christine Gregoire, whom I’ve never met.”