Hoffman's lost votes

Yesterday, Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman suggested the President Obama should send federal Justice Department monitors to our usually-quiet district to make sure that the Working Families Party didn't "steal this election" by submitting fraudulent ballots.

I'll admit being a little thick at times, but something really hit me when I was reading that that hadn't before.

Mr. Hoffman won't have a ballot. It's not fraud. It's geography. His wife, Carol, won't have a ballot, either. That's because they live in Lake Placid, which is in the 20th Congressional District. That's two lost votes for Mr. Hoffman right there.

The National Republican Congressional Campaign and Dede Scozzafava's campaign have made Mr. Hoffman's residency an issue, but I haven't heard any potential voter having heartburn over it.

I don't bring it up for that reason. I'm mentally preparing myself for covering the Election Day chaos. And I'm thinking: There's going to be zero B-roll of Mr. Hoffman flinging back a curtain and emerging with a big old thumbs up on Election Day morning that we can show voters. There's going to be no footage of Mr. Hoffman standing outside where he's just voted, talking to the media about his confidence in the voters that they'll deliver him victory, etc.

It's going to be weird. Because the cameras will be rolling in Gouverneur to document Dede Scozzafava drop her ballot in the new voting machines. And they'll be in Plattsburgh for Bill Owens.

I'm pretty certain this was the way it was for Jim Tedisco when he ran in the 20th district special election. So it's not unprecedented. It's just odd.