MISTAKES WILL HAPPEN…. Modern political campaigns, especially at the federal and statewide levels, have grown extremely sophisticated. With micro-targeting techniques and detailed voter vaults, the process through which candidates and parties reach voters has never been nearly as advanced as it is now.
But mistakes will happen.
The Republican National Committee recently mailed an estimated 200,000 absentee ballot request forms into Clark County [Nevada] — but a warning on the form instructs people who have never voted in “Washoe County” that they can only use the mail ballot under strict circumstances.
Once the error was discovered, the RNC folks checked with Clark County Registrar Larry Lomax, who told them the ballots could still be used.
The RNC is now financing a robocall from a former Nevada governor, apologizing for the error and explaining to voters what to do with the mistaken absentee ballot forms.
This news comes the same day as a separate embarrassing campaign error in Colorado.
The anti-abortion group Americans United for Life is urging voters to toss out Congressman Ken Salazar this election cycle. The only problem is, there is no Congressman Ken Salazar.
Colorado Rep. John Salazar is one of 12 Democrats targeted by the conservative-leaning group as part of an advertising blitz before Election Day. But AUL confused Salazar with his brother, former Colorado Senator and current Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, in a radio ad that went live this week…. In total, the 60-second spot blasts “Ken Salazar” five times.
And both of these stories come the same day as the revelation that Nevada’s Sharron Angle (R) and Louisiana’s David Vitter (R) used the identical stock anti-immigrant footage to try to scare white voters.
Campaigns are getting more sophisticated, but they’re not yet idiot-proof.
