Some of the candidates names were off the ballot and it ultimately did not count. So no.
They took their names off the list and/or did not follow the procedures to get their names added. So, as far as that goes, yes it was a fair election.
That's like saying that if a runner is told that a race is scheduled to start at some time, then the time is later changed and the runner is not informed of the change, resulting in the runner missing the race, and then saying that it was the runner's decision not to show up and thus it was fair race and fair that they "lost".
No, since that wasn't the case. The agreement was that none of the candidates were going to campaign in the state. Obama chose to remove his name from the ballot, though no one told him to. So, using your example, it would be like the runners agreeing to run without shoes, but one runner decided to cut his feet off all together.
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