[zebrahead]

I’m not a lawyer but throwing out votes less than perfect spelling is offensive to me. This is common sense. “Mercowski” or “Mircowski” is obviously an attempt to spell Lisa’s last name. There’s no gray area to me.

[KansasGirl]

[I’m not a lawyer but throwing out votes less than perfect spelling is offensive to me.]

Ignoring the law is offensive to me...especially when it is done to provide for a specific outcome. There is NO DOUBT in my mind here that if Joe Miller were the write-in candidate the name would have to be spelled exactly right including the dot over the i!

[kosciusko51]

But wait. What if there is an Alaskan citizen with the name Lisa Mercowski or Lisa Mircowski? Why is this a vote for Murcowski? That is why it has to be exact.

[butterdezillion]

What if there was a Murkowski and a Mercomski running and they spelled Mercowski? Would you know they didn’t accidentally turn their m upside down, or that their handwriting just wasn’t so legible?

There’s a lot of gray area that can come in if you don’t have a set standard.

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Accepting votes with less than perfect spelling is offensive to me.

[CarmichaelPatriot]

I’m not a lawyer but throwing out votes less than perfect spelling is offensive to me. This is common sense. “Mercowski” or “Mircowski” is obviously an attempt to spell Lisa’s last name. There’s no gray area to me.

What's offensive to me is a candidate losing their party's primary then running as a write-in candidate.

What's also offensive to me is giving the same weight to the vote of someone who can't even spell the name of the person they're voting for.

Don't get me started on how offended I am about the tribes bribing or strong-arming their members to write in for Leeza...

[Soul Seeker]

You know what’s offensive to me? People who can’t even spell the name of the politician they voted for having their ballot honored when the rules were established before the election the name needed to be correct to forestall a “Florida hanging chad” effect where people “discern” voter intent.

Despite the jokes I’ve made it’s not that hard to learn how to spell the name of the legislator you are voting for. Seems like that should be a minimum requirement when voting.

[MortMan]

I’m not a lawyer but throwing out votes less than perfect spelling is offensive to me. This is common sense. “Mercowski” or “Mircowski” is obviously an attempt to spell Lisa’s last name. There’s no gray area to me.

So you oppose the rule of law as it existed before the election? That is what you have said here, as your sentiments are directly opposed to the actual laws in place.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I’m not a lawyer but throwing out votes less than perfect spelling is offensive to me. This is common sense. “Mercowski” or “Mircowski” is obviously an attempt to spell Lisa’s last name. There’s no gray area to me.

Well, if we're not careful we all can get gulled into giving special rights to our "betters."

Senator Murkowski just has to live with the fact that the law is written to favor nominees of parties over write-in candidates. Now if you can show that Ms. Murkowski herself would has ever have wanted it any other way, maybe I might have a trace amount of sympathy. But since obviously she would always have the (R) beside her name, I very seriously doubt she ever, in her wildest dreams, thought that she would want a sucker write-in-candidate to have an even break.

You are advocating giving this particular write-in candidate an even break, because she is an incumbent. Some of us think that incumbents should be term limited, rather than being given advantages in relection contests.

[Onelifetogive]

I’m not a lawyer but throwing out votes less than perfect spelling is offensive to me. This is common sense. “Mercowski” or “Mircowski” is obviously an attempt to spell Lisa’s last name. There’s no gray area to me.

The point is that the law requires the exact spelling. The solution is to change the law for future elections, not to overlook it for this one.

The principle of "Rule of Law" is FAR more important than the outcome of one race in one state during one election...

[gogeo]

I’m not a lawyer but throwing out votes less than perfect spelling is offensive to me. This is common sense. “Mercowski” or “Mircowski” is obviously an attempt to spell Lisa’s last name. There’s no gray area to me...

So...

---The law gets tossed out because it's not a gray area to you?

---The law gets ignored because it's not a gray area to you?

How does this work in the real world?