Ron Paul wins Republican presidential straw poll in Illinois

Ron Paul wins Republican presidential straw poll in Illinois

(AFP) – 11 hours ago  

CHICAGO — US Representative Ron Paul of Texas won a statewide Republican presidential straw poll in Illinois with 52 percent of the vote, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported.

Businessman and Tea Party favorite Herman Cain came second with 15 percent of the online vote and 35 percent of the in-person vote -- the local newspaper reported.

Cain scored high despite accusations of sexual harassment leveled against him by several former female employees.

The candidate has dismissed the charges as false.

The newspaper said former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney matched Cain's in-person voting score at 35 percent.

But Romney won only seven percent of the online vote, while Paul earned eight percent of the in-person vote, the report said.

Paul had 66.5 percent of online votes. Cain was not given an average figure for the two polls that could be compared with Paul's overall 52 percent winning number.

"I congratulate Congressman Paul on his victory," The Daily Herald quotes Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady as saying. "It is clear Illinois Republicans are gearing up for a tremendous election year in 2012."

Whitney is 'Whitey' on some ballots

October 14, 2010

BY DAVE McKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief

SPRINGFIELD -- The last name of Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney is misspelled as "Whitey" on electronic-voting machines in nearly two dozen wards -- about half in predominantly African-American areas -- and election officials said Wednesday the problem cannot be corrected by Election Day.

The misspelling turned up on touch-screen machines in 23 wards overall. Whitney's name is spelled correctly on the machines' initial screens showing all of the candidates' names, but it is misspelled on review screens that later show a voter his or her choices, said Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections.

"This is a difficult situation. We'll make the best of it. But the important thing is the name is spelled correctly where it counts, and that's where people are making the selection," Allen said.

Allen said there is not adequate time to reprogram and test machines before Nov. 2. He predicted about 90 percent of the ballots cast that day will be on paper ballots, where Whitney's name is spelled properly.
The city election board plans to post a "candidate-neutral" list at polling places, showing the correctly spelled names of all candidates on the ballot, Allen said.

The snafu, however, has Whitney contemplating legal action to force a fix.
"I don't want to be identified as 'Whitey.' If this is happening in primarily African-American wards, that's an even bigger concern," Whitney told the Chicago Sun-Times. "I don't know if this is machine politics at play or why this happened."

"In any event, whether it is or not, this has to be disconcerting to a voter, and I wonder how this will impact the vote."