Chile Flag Vs. Texas Flag: Similarity Gains Attention During Mine Rescue

As the international media focuses on Chile with the dramatic mine rescue underway, a startling new gaffe has come to light: officials in Texas' Atascosa County have been sending absentee voters information packages with the Chilean flag proudly displayed in lieu of their home state's banner.

As the Associated Press reports, the flags, admittedly, are remarkably similar. Both have a white stripe on top and red on the bottom, plus a single star in the middle of a blue field. However, on Chile's flag, the blue is only in the top left corner, whereas on Texas's, the blue is displayed all along the left side.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, Texas voter Troy Knudson caught the slip. He said election officials congratulated him "for preventing future Atascosa voters from seeing the flag mistake." Meanwhile, local elections authorities have blamed a previous employee for the mixup. As elections administrator Janice Ruple notes, "We just never caught it."

View the two flags below.

CHILE FLAG:

TEXAS FLAG:

Comments

[wedgeworth1]

10:39 AM on 10/15/2010

And here, I made a joke about it a couple of days ago. Not realizing it would become news.

I asked if anyone else noticed the TX flag at the mining camp, and also said, "just kidding..."

Silly Atascosa County...

[Sara Lira]

09:10 AM on 10/15/2010

Ok, now it's time to redesign the Texas flag... what could possibly symbolize Texas? ...ideas???

[wedgeworth1]

10:44 AM on 10/15/2010

Smile when ya say that, pilgrim...

...Foat Wuth, Ah Luv Yew...

[Sara Lira]

09:07 AM on 10/15/2010

I kept wondering about the flag.. PROUD TO BE A CONVERTED TEXAN

[Fenarkleman]

01:34 PM on 10/14/2010

Hola, y'all.

[gennarogama]

01:31 PM on 10/14/2010

to their credit though, at least they did not use the Cuban Flag

[mytwocents02]

01:14 PM on 10/14/2010

And who said U.S. education isn't working?

[Paul Houston]

09:22 AM on 10/14/2010

Hmmm, what is that Homer Simpson would say? "Doh!"

[gennarogama]

09:11 AM on 10/14/2010

meanwhile, the Texas Tea Party decides to nominate Pinochet as POTUS Candidate in 2012.

[Tony R]

11:00 AM on 10/14/2010

Pinochet died in 2006 you ignoramus.

[Jan S]

12:03 PM on 10/14/2010

Zombie Pinochet

[gennarogama]

12:49 PM on 10/14/2010

that was a joke, you HS dropout

[iktomi]

08:58 AM on 10/14/2010

"Meanwhile, local elections authorities have blamed a previous employee for the mixup."

Its amazing that the "Guy that quit last week" always gets blamed.

If Im not mistaken, They are quite Conservative in Atascosa County.

Signed: A Texan

[janie@atthelake]

10:40 AM on 10/14/2010

Fellow Texan here.....yes atascosa is red...............

[DonTampa58]

08:57 AM on 10/14/2010

Admittedly when I first saw all the flags in Chile, my first thought was, "What's with all the Texas flags?" However, I'm a Floridian and don't see the Texas state flag on a daily basis. What's funnier (or sadder depending on your viewpoint) is that some election official in Texas doesn't even recognize their own state flag.

[gennarogama]

08:50 AM on 10/14/2010

you know your are in the South when...

[Sara Lira]

09:08 AM on 10/15/2010

You have to speak Spanish otherwise you won't find a job! how sad is that?

[Oso Wallman]

07:41 AM on 10/14/2010

The far reaching arm of NAFTA!

[mamapower]

04:25 AM on 10/14/2010

Here I thought the joke, "Texans are dumb", was actually a joke.

[Sara Lira]

09:08 AM on 10/15/2010

nOT COOL

[Mik McAllister]

12:04 AM on 10/14/2010

Just wait til p'Rick Perry finds out about this.

[happycow1]

09:50 PM on 10/13/2010

Looks like Plegerism...ha ha ha

[Tony R]

11:10 AM on 10/14/2010

It's spelled plagiarism ha ha ha.