Vote from Obama's dead grandmother still counts

The early ballot from Barack Obama’s dead grandmother will be valid in the US election, officials in Hawaii said.

State elections chief Kevin Cronin said state law typically would require an absentee ballot cast by someone who dies before Election Day to be discarded - but only be if certification of death is received from the state Department of Health before the election.

He said the absentee ballot sent by Mr Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, was received by the elections office on October 27. It was processed like any other absentee ballot or those ballots cast by early voters.

The elections office did not receive a list of deceased residents from the health department that included Mrs Dunham’s name before yesterday. She died on Sunday after a battle with cancer.