In Calumet City, the election tension isn't just about who will win in Tuesday's Democratic primary. The other cliff-hanger has been waiting to see who will be on the ballot.

That should not be the case.

Calumet City police Sgt. Pam Cap was officially removed from the ballot as a mayoral candidate, but because the final decision didn't come until Tuesday, her name appears on the ballot anyway. The came is true of City Clerk candidate Kellie Nelson.

Calumet City's election board removed Cap on the grounds that an active police officer cannot run for office. Nelson was booted for filing nominating petitions that said she was running for "clerk" rather than "city clerk."

The latter is clearly a case of nitpicking that robs voters of a choice on the ballot.

What makes this worse is that Calumet City's election board is comprised of incumbents.

It is poor public policy to have incumbents rule on whether their opponents belong on the ballot.

It's possible, of course, that an independent election board could consist of the incumbents' puppets, depending on who appointed the board and where their allegiances lie, but at least that's closer to providing fairness than now exists.

Cap and Nelson now plan to focus their energy on conducting a write-in campaign for the April 7 general election.

After that election, however, they should focus on seeking a change in Illinois law to establish independent election boards.

In the meantime, Cap and Nelson will appear on the ballot, but any votes cast for them on Tuesday or during early voting won't count.

This protracted legal battle does a disservice to the voters trying to make up their minds for Election Day and does even worse damage to voters who want to cast their votes early but don't know whether their votes will count. Only the lawyers benefit from the appeals, certainly not the taxpayers and the candidates who foot the bills.

These election shenanigans must be put to an end.