May go down in history as Ohio’s worst elections official. His directives were so late, erratic and restrictive, Democrats charged he was working to suppress the vote. Issued a ruling (later rescinded) that registrations should be rejected if they were on paper of the wrong thickness. Meanwhile, served as honorary co-chair of the Ohio Bush-Cheney campaign. The End: Ran for governor in 2006; lost by 24 percentage points. The Part: Eddie Murphy mixing his Nutty Professor persona with Samuel L. Jackson’s Biblical vengeance in Pulp Fiction, or Samuel L. Jackson doing the reverse.

Secretary of State, 2007

Best Moments: Fired old Cuyahoga County elections board. Clarified key election rules. Released study of voting systems’ security flaws. Worst Moments: Pushed for new voting systems that the state wouldn’t pay for and that would lose votes. Fought with Republicans in Legislature and on election boards. DEFENSE: “I’m coming at this as a former judge and someone who cares deeply about making sure voters have confidence in the election system.” The Part: Strong woman, seems organized and in control, until anxiety leads to hasty decisions — Julianne Moore, combining her turns as FBI agent Clarice Starling in Hannibal and as Boogie Nights’ panicky porn queen, Amber Waves.

Sounded smart; terrible manager. Ignored complaints about poll chaos in 2004, so the problems got worse in 2006. Didn’t prepare poll workers for electronic voting. Oversaw a botched presidential recount that led to criminal charges against employees. The End: Quit before he was fired in February 2007. The Part: A brilliant computer nerd, oblivious to crisis: perhaps Ken Leung, science team member on Lost and Uncle Junior’s unstable buddy on The Sopranos.

pictured: Bob Bennett, 1998-2007

Ignored complaints that thousands of votes were lost in 2004. Defended workers indicted on charges of taking illegal shortcuts in 2004 recount. Chose the flawed $21 million Diebold touchscreens. The End: Fired by new secretary of state in March 2007. The Parts: Three men and one woman ignoring dire warnings, filibustering in self-defense: Michael Moore, clean-shaven, doing an ironic, campy Bob Bennett?