Gavin Roselles, a write-in candidate for Sheriff of Powell County Sheriff in the November 4 election, received 1,142 write-in votes. However, election officials won’t credit him with 238 votes in which the voter only wrote the candidate’s surname on the ballot. In addition, Roselles was not credited with an unknown number of other ballots, in which the voter wrote him in but didn’t blacken the circle next to the write-in line.
Because the incumbent, the only candidate whose name was printed on the ballot, received 994 votes, the incumbent was declared the victor, despite the obvious intent of the majority to elect Roselles. See this story.
The Montana Secretary of State’s interpretation of Bush v Gore is deeply flawed. Bush v Gore said, “Having once granted the right to vote on equal terms, the state may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person’s vote over that of another.” Yet Montana has not treated all voters equally in this instance. Thanks to Mike Fellows for the link.
Write-in candidates have an uphill ballot to begin with, and when one is engaged in such, pains should be taken to make sure the voters are educated as to what is required of a write-in vote. This helps eliminates errors which occurred in Mr. Roselles’ race.
One thing is to settle on using your name in the most simple manner, but in a manner that it will be considered your legal name. Avoid using middle initials.
In your campaign flyers or brochures, emphasize that the bubble must be filled in or the X made in the box – using an illustration to emphasize this. Even taking a few seconds of your radio or TV advertisements should likewise emphasize the correct way to have a complete write-in cast and be counted.
Most voters already know – usually – why one is running as a write-in. So don’t spend valuable space and time telling the voters what you stand on issues, but instead use the time and space training the voters how to correctly write-in the name.
Mr. Roselles is coming across an NOT a sore loser. This will be remembered by the voters of jurisdiction, and perhaps next time he will have a better chance of winning.
As a general rule, voters don’t like SORE LOSERS.
The MORONS in the Florida regime in 2000 did NOT have a definition of a LEGAL vote — as noted in Bush v. Gore.
Thus the 2002 Fed Law REQUIRING the MORON States to have such a definition – in USA elections.
Thus – a write-in voter must know what in Hell he/she is doing in making a LEGAL write-in vote.