U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky admits she voted twice in the same election.
But don’t call the feds just yet — the congresswoman’s “early and often” voting was only for her dog, Ellie.
The 3-year-old mutt, a rescue dog, has been selected from hundreds of entrants as a finalist for the, er, prestigious title of “Cutest Dog on Capitol Hill.”
“I’m Ellie’s campaign manager,” said the Evanston Democrat, who is urging supporters to vote for Ellie against 11 other political hounds at healthyanimals.org before the Sunday night deadline. “We’re running a nationwide campaign.”
The competition is part of the 21st annual running of Pet Night in Washington, D.C.
Schakowsky, who along with her husband Robert Creamer is using Facebook to rally support (her staff is not involved on taxpayer time, she said), admitted, “I voted once on my cellphone and once on my laptop — there’s no rules against it!”
Ellie faces tough competition from dogs including Roxy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy. But spoilsports at the Animal Health Institute, which organizes the competition, declined to identify which politicians or their staffers owned the other finalists.
That means the powerful owners of five cats and five “exotic” pets who are also up for prizes, including “Pickles” the hedgehog, remain a mystery. We deserve to be told!
