Confusion Over Michigan Primary

Detroit (WWJ)  -- With Michigan's presidential primary elections just days away, there has been alot of confusion about the absence of Democratic names on the absentee ballots.  Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Tuesday January 15th.  

WWJ's Florence Walton reports Detroit City Council President and Election Commission member Ken Cockrel Jr. has been getting an earful about absentee ballots.

"They don't understand where's Obama, where's Edwards, where's some of these other candidates, and then uncommitted--what does that mean," Cockrel told Walton.  

Cockrel says it's tragic the way the absentee ballot has been printed up because names of several candidates are not included on the Democratic primary ballot.

The names of Barack Obama, John Edwards, Dennis Richardson Joe Biden will not appear on the ballot.  The campaigns took their names off the ballot to satisfy Iowa and New Hampshire, which were unhappy Michigan was challenging their leadoff status on the primary calendar with a January 15th vote.

If voters write in a name of a candidate, their ballot will not count.  Click here for more on the Michigan presidential primary.  Click here for election information from the Michigan Secretary of State office.  Click here to see a sample of the ballot.

Cockrell says absentee voters who have already mailed their ballots and written in names may be able to go to the Election Commission headquarters and fill out a new ballot.

Congressman John Conyers, who has endorsed Barack Obama, tells WWJ's Jayne Bower his office has been flooded with calls about the Democratic ballot. 

Conyers admits the ballot is "confusing."  He says his office will be working overtime to get the word out to voters to vote uncommitted. 

Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer has told voters that if they plan to vote in the Democratic primary and they don't want to vote for any of the candidates on the ballot, they should vote "uncommitted." 

The Democratic National Committee's Rules Committee last month stripped Michigan of its 156 national convention delegates as punishment for scheduling an early presidential primary in violation of party rules. State party officials had until Saturday to come up with an alternative to the Jan. 15 contest, but declined to do so.

Brewer has said he expects the eventual Democratic nominee to seat delegations from Michigan and Florida, which also has been stripped of its delegates by the Rules Committee.