Cole tragedy doesn't prevent captain from voting

Navy Cmdr. Kirk Lippold voted Monday by absentee ballot.

Now the rush is on to get his ballot from Norfolk, Va., to the Carson City election office by seven tonight.

Lippold didn't exactly put off absentee voting until the last minute.

Since Oct. 12, the Carson City native in command of the USS Cole has had to deal with the aftermath of an explosion on his ship that killed 17 sailors serving under him.

Since then he and his sailors have returned to their Norfolk home base while a Norwegian ship is bringing the disabled Cole home.

A call to his mother on Friday started a curious chain of events that ultimately involved Rep. John Ensign's campaign office and Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover.

Lippold's mother, Bee Staheli of Carson City, said she and her son had only a brief talk Friday - maybe two or three minutes - just enough to hear his voice saying he was fine.

Staheli said there was no mention of his absentee ballot Friday. Yet she asked how to get a duplicate later that same day when Ensign's campaign phone bank called shopping for votes.

When Ensign's people figured out who Lippold and Staheli were, deputy campaign manager Scott Bensing called Staheli and asked for Lippold's fax number.

Staheli said she called Lippold on Saturday and told her son to call Bensing.

In the meantime, Ensign's office contacted Glover, who is responsible for ballots in Carson City.

Lippold had already requested an absentee ballot and one was sent out. But Lippold either didn't get it or it got lost in the confusion aboard the Cole following the explosion.

"What we did is we used a provision so that we could fax him a duplicate ballot, but he must mail it back to us," Glover said.

Now, next-day express mail has to live up to its name for Lippold's vote to count.

Staheli said Lippold, a 1977 Carson High School graduate, has voted regularly. Throughout his Navy career, he has registered to vote in Carson City.

"It's his right to vote," Staheli said. "He just feels it's very important as a citizen to vote."

Bensing said: "I think it's a real good election-day story. Even with what he's been through, this shows how important it is to him to vote."