KY clerk apologizes for ‘hanging chad’ costume on Halloween, first day of early voting
Halloween comes just once a year, and this year it fell on the first day of no-excuse early voting in Kentucky.
For one day, politics and the democratic process intersects with costumery — not always for the better.
Laurel County Clerk Tony Brown, who dressed up as a “hanging chad,” learned the hard way Thursday.
Hanging chads were made infamous after the 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Bush was declared victor after winning more electoral college votes, despite Gore winning the popular vote. But before a winner was declared, during the fraught, multi-week paper ballot recount in Florida, the general public learned about hanging chads.
Back then, before electronic voting was ubiquitous, people relied on hole-punching paper ballots to cast votes. Some ballots left clear holes, while others retained the piece of paper that had been punched through. Sometimes the punch looked like a dent — dimpled chads — and other times the circular hole dangled off the back of the ballot — hanging chads. Both resulted in an uncounted vote.
Brown dressed as the latter. But he wore a shirt that said, “Hi! I’m Chad,” while donning a noose around his neck.
Thursday evening, Brown issued an apology on the county clerk’s office Facebook page.
“I want to apologize for my Halloween costume today. I was trying to be funny and make a joke about Bush/Gore election, and I did not think about how that could be offensive and insensitive,” he wrote. “It was poor judgment on my part, and I am truly sorry that I hurt people I care about.”
That wasn’t the only reason Brown found himself under scrutiny this week.
Earlier on Thursday, Laurel County’s election process made separate election-related news after a voter posted a viral TikTok video allegedly showing their vote for Republican Donald Trump allegedly being counted as a vote for Democrat Kamala Harris.
Video of the incident swiftly recirculated across social media, where unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud continue to be peddled by Trump and his supporters, especially since his 2020 re-election loss, which Trump still erroneously refers to as “stolen” from him.
Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office dispatched someone to look at the ballot-marking machine. On Thursday afternoon, Brown said in a Facebook post that after several minutes of trying, the investigator re-created the issue once, but couldn’t do it a second time.
Coleman later assured voters of the security of Kentucky’s election system, posting on X, “All Kentucky voters can have confidence that our elections are secure and any potential issues will be addressed quickly.” The machine was pulled from use.
On Brown’s apology post, those who commented were understanding and thanked him for his apology, with at least one person calling the costume “unprofessional and distasteful.”
Others were overwhelmingly supportive, saying his costume was “hilarious” and bemoaning how “sensitive” people are these days.
“It’s Halloween . . . no apologies today, dear friend,” wrote one.
“Anyone who knows you, knows you!” another wrote. “They also know your big ol’ heart. I’m sorry you have had such a difficult day.”
In total, 1,769 people voted in Laurel County on the first day of early voting. Coupled with absentee by-mail voting, that amounts to 7% of Laurel County residents, Brown’s office said on Facebook.
Several Laurel County residents tried to buoy Brown amid his office’s dealings on Thursday, with one saying, “I’m so sorry Tony. Those of us that know you know that you would never do anything that you thought would hurt someone. I know it’s been a very stressful day with early voting, machine glitches and now this.”
Brown, who was first elected clerk in 2018, did not immediately return a Friday phone call from the Herald-Leader.
This story may be updated.
