At least six chartered buses carried mostly poor, black men from as far as Philadelphia to hand out inaccurate voter guides in Baltimore and Prince George's County yesterday as part of an effort by backers of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and U.S. Senate candidate Michael S. Steele to woo black voters.

The glossy voter guide, paid for by the Ehrlich and Steele campaigns, pictured three of Maryland's most prominent black Democrats above the words "These are OUR Choices," even though two were not on yesterday's ballot and the other was running unopposed. Inside, under the heading "Democratic Sample Ballot," it listed mostly Democratic candidates as the preferred choices -- along with Ehrlich and Steele, who were not identified as Republicans.

Several people who distributed the fliers said they were recruited at a Philadelphia homeless shelter and told they would be paid $100, plus two meals, for the day.

Shareese DeLeaver, an Ehrlich spokeswoman, said the group "Democrats for Ehrlich" arranged for distribution of the fliers. She said she did not know how the people were chosen or where they came from.

How much do you have to believe in your cause to think that confusing voters is a valid tactic? This coupled w/ Micheal Steele's blue "DEMOCRATS" bumper stickers are misleading and hurt democracy. Why would you want to win a race that way? I guess it's always easier to win a race if you have no ethics. It's not that I hate republicans, I just think that republicans patronize US.