Dead goldfish offered the vote in Illinois
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press Writer – Tue Oct 21, 6:03 am ET
CHICAGO – The only "agent of change" Princess ever supported was the person who freshened the water in her fishbowl.
So election officials in Chicago's northern suburbs want to know why voter registration material was sent to the dead goldfish.
"I am just stunned at the level of people compromising the integrity of the voting process," said Lake County Clerk Willard Helander, a Republican, who said she has spotted problems with nearly 1,000 voter registrations this year.
Beth Nudelman, who owned the fish, said Princess may have landed on a mailing list because the family once filled in the pet's name when they got a second phone line for a computer.
"There was no fraud involved," said Nudelman, a Democrat who supports Barack Obama. "This person is a dead fish."
The paperwork sent to a "Princess Nudelman" likely came from the "Women's Voices, Women Vote" project, which sent nearly 1 million mailings to Illinois households in August using a list that mistakenly included some pets, said Sarah Johnson, a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit group that encourages single women to vote.
The mailing list, purchased from a vendor, included names from warranties, magazine subscriptions and other sources, Johnson said. The group attempted to screen out obvious pet names.
"Fido's not going to be left on there, but if a cat is named is Polly, she may be," Johnson said. Princess could be a person's name, she insisted. "I went to high school with two Princesses."
Nudelman said the only address on the registration card was the Lake County clerk's office. She said she wrote election officials a humorous note explaining why the fish was ineligible to vote...
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