Minnesota Poll officials spurn anti-terror poster as profiling propoganda

• The document warns to watch out for unusual packages and unexplained odors, ranging from fruity/flowery to sharp/pungent, as possible bomb threats. It also says the typical homicide bomber might have shaved or short hair and the smell of unusual herbal/flower water or perfume, indications of "purification purposes."

Posters warning poll workers to be on the lookout for shaved heads and the smell of flower water will be absent from many polling places across Minnesota today in the midst of a dispute between Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer and local election officials. The cautionary posters, issued last week by Kiffmeyer in conjunction with state homeland security officials, are meant to be a line of defense against terrorist attacks. But no other state apparently has produced such warnings on the eve of elections, and many local elections officials in Minnesota say they may unduly raise alarms among poll workers and unfairly single out certain voters. So some local officials are simply refusing to distribute the posters."Frankly, it smacks of profiling," said Pat O'Connor, Hennepin's lead election official. One DFL state senator labeled the warnings as "bizarre" and a possible "Chicken Little attempt" to discourage people from voting.[more ]