N.J. judge gives absentee voters do-over

TRENTON, N.J., Jan. 31 (UPI) -- New Jersey residents who have already voted by absentee ballot for candidates who dropped out should get another chance to vote, a judge ruled Thursday.

Six candidates listed on the ballot for next Tuesday's primary have taken themselves out of the running. They include former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, a Democrat, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, who both withdrew Wednesday.

Superior Court Judge Vincent Grasso ruled in favor of the Ocean County clerk, Carl Block, The Star-Ledger of Newark reported. Block acted on behalf of absentee voters who think they have been disenfranchised.

Grasso said people who want do-over votes must go to their county clerk's offices by 3 p.m. Monday.

Giuliani and U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., were once so far ahead in New Jersey that few other candidates bothered to visit the state. By the time Giuliani ended his campaign, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had pulled even with him. Clinton continues to hold a lead over U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill, although it has shrunk.