whats the deal with write in's?

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Asguard, Nov 6, 2008.

  1. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    someone wrote here that you can write in a candiates name if you dont like the ones on the ticket. Whats the deal with this?
    are they required to serve if they get the most votes or is it a donkey vote (ie doesnt count) like writing "all electrol counters can suck my cock" on the ballot paper?
     
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  3. milkweed Valued Senior Member

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    If you write in correctly, the vote counts. I believe spelling counts, if memory serves me right regarding a governor write in some years back. If writing in a presidential candidate, you must include the name of the running mate or its invalid.

    No one is required to serve, in that all candidates have the option of resigning their office. Not sure if they can just straight up refuse to be sworn in, but probably they can.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write-in_candidate
     
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  5. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    interesting, how does this work with voting computers?
     
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  7. cosmictraveler Be kind to yourself always. Valued Senior Member

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    For example, if a North Carolina resident chooses to vote for Ralph Nader, the vote will not count at all. Nader is not on the ballot and is not a qualified write-in candidate.

    "According to North Carolina law, in order to qualify as a write-in candidate for the president's race, the candidate must submit the proper documents and signatures to qualify," says Mike Ashe, Director of the Durham Board of Elections.

    Even though Nader did not meet the August 9 deadline for write-in candidates, Green Party supporters do not think their votes should just be thrown away. Others think the process works.

    "If having his name was that important, then they should have gone to any lengths to make sure his name was on the ballot," says voter Keturah McCall.

    "I guess it's a decision each person will have to make as to whether they will, in effect, be wasting their vote," says voter Rusty Washam.

    Each ballot is electronically scanned, so even if you did decide to write in a name, the computer will not be able to read it.

    "This is the law, and this is what we have to do," Ashe says. "We have no options there."

    On the 2000 ballot, there are two places for write-in candidates. One is the bipartisan race for the Soil and Conservation Director. The other is for the presidential race.

    The only "qualified" write-in candidate for that election is David McReynolds of the Socialist Party.

    http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&star...53368/&usg=AFQjCNFnfHa--rtjlGPcAAGxoR9OZgshSw


    Regardless of which state you live in, voting for a write-in contender is much more complicated than scribbling whatever name you please on the dotted line at the bottom of the ballot. Thirty-five states require that a write-in candidate must submit some form of affidavit and, sometimes, a filing fee at least one month before the election. In North Carolina, these candidates must circulate a petition. Then their names are posted on a list at the polling place, though not on the official ballot. All other write-in votes are tossed.

    DESIGN TROUBLE. For third-party candidates who want to demonstrate that their platform has won some support, the widely varying registration rules create problems. And nobody has had a tougher time than Nader. The Presidential hopeful, who initially planned to be on the ballot in all 50 states, has ended up on only 35 and has relied on write-in registration for 13 more.

    Nader ran into trouble with the write-in regulations in Ohio, where he was kicked off the official ballot after the write-in submission deadline. That means any Ohio votes for him will be thrown away. "They basically screwed us," says Kevin Zeese, a Nader spokesperson.

    Once an office-seeker is registered as a write-in, their voters will run into more trouble. States with punch-style "chad" ballots, usually don't provide a space for such candidate, but instead require that votes be written inside the secrecy envelope. The punch-style Illinois absentee ballot comes folded over a Styrofoam block, and the write-in space is on the foam side, hidden from view. That can confuse voters, third-party advocates argue

    http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&star...38.htm&usg=AFQjCNGFWhfgpYGDWAFUL6OvdNUiVroSpA
     
  8. Asguard Kiss my dark side Valued Senior Member

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    23,049
    ok so why not abolish this practice and put all candiates on the ballot paper like they do here?

    http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2004/guide/deak.htm

    if you look at this page and flick down to "2004 BALLOT PAPER (7 Candidates)" you will see all the candiates who were running in 2004 in the seat of Deakin (sorry couldnt find the actual paper)
     
  9. superstring01 Moderator

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    12,110
    Here in Ohio they are "touch tone" and a keyboard pops up and you type the name and any other pertinent information.

    ~String
     
  10. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    54,036
    In Oregon, we have mail-in paper ballots. You can write in anyone you want, even yourself. They will get the office if that person gets the majority, although that is unlikely.
     

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