Swensen went to lunch after the hearing, and even before the meal was over, she received word that the Supreme Court had reversed Henriod. She called county workers, who immediately began changing absentee ballot booklets to include Ivory's name.

The county has three absentee voting stations where voters can cast their ballots before Nov. 2. Those ballot booklets now have two identical stickers with Ivory's name on them, one on top of the other. Workers put on the first sticker Wednesday morning, blacked out Ivory's name Wednesday afternoon, then put on the second sticker Thursday afternoon.

"We have had more variations on this ballot than we have had candidates," Chief Deputy District Attorney Karl Hendrickson said.

Swensen said automated telephone calls will be placed to all the election judges (three per precinct) Saturday and Monday telling them to affix the Ellis Ivory sticker to their ballot booklets before Tuesday's election. She may send out postcards as a further reminder.

Hendrickson said he is still unsure how the votes for Ivory during the time the candidate was on, then off, then back on the ballot will be counted. Those votes will likely total more than 1,000.

"We actually haven't sorted through those issues yet," he said. "We would like to wait for the full (Supreme Court) decision."

With all of the political and legal maneuvering, Swensen and her employees have been putting in "12-, 14-, 16-hour days." Has she ever seen an election like this?

"No, and I don't think anyone else has either. This is one of a kind."

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com