'Osama' Ballots Spark Probe by NY County

"Barack Osama" appears on 300 Rensselaer County absentee ballots, and the upstate New York county’s government wants to know why. Legislators from both parties have ordered an investigation into the board of elections, which prints its own ballots rather than contracting out the work. The board says at least four proofreaders—two Republicans and two Democrats—missed the misspelling, reports the Albany Times Union.

"It's unfortunate that it happened," said the minority leader, a Barack Obama supporter. "The Obama campaign was certainly very understanding." Alerted to the trouble Friday, just as it blew up into a national story, a campaign spokesman responded, "We're glad officials are working to correct this error and we assume it won't happen again."