Am I being too cynical or could this only happen in America?
James R Butler ran for office but it's his son, James J who's been accidentally elected.
According to all the reports, James J, the son, has no choice but to remain elected whether he likes it or not. His resistance is hindered by the fact that he shares not only the same address but also the same birthday as James R, his father. So, according to the records, JJ is categorically the one who stood for office and therefore becomes the reluctant winner. Imagine how the news must have affected his poor old dad.
Here's the offending section of the ballot paper.
Having been involved with the printing of ballot papers in a previous life, I can virtually guarantee that this could not have happened in the UK. There are simply too many checks and double checks made on every part of each ballot paper to allow an error like this to slip through.
But, to get back to the story, I wonder what JJ was doing when he heard the news that he'd been elected instead of his old man. Playing golf? Supervising the barbie? Casually watching TV?
An old episode of Dallas perhaps?
The one in which we find out who shocked JR.
I'm pretty sure that, under UK law, there would be the small problem of a missing form and signature that had to be done by the prospective candidates, not to mention the candidate's deposit, so - no form, no election.
ReplyDeleteBut it's an interesting thought: waking up to find yourself the town mayor when you were planning on a day with a glass of wine and a nice book.
To be handed power on a plate rather than toast and marmalade sounds like a great way to start the day.
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