Knox County, Tennessee, holds a primary for partisan county offices on May 2, and a general election in August. 42 people have filed declarations of write-in candidacy in the May primary. This is because last week, the State Supreme Court upheld the county’s term limits law. Many incumbents whose names are already printed on the primary ballot will be disqualified after the primary, even if they win, because they have served enough terms already.

Therefore, lots of newcomers hope to win the primaries for these soon-to-be vacant seats. Because the term limits decision came after the ballots had been printed, it was too late to remove the disqualified incumbents, and too late for new candidates to get their names on the primary ballots. Hence, the newcomers are depending on write-ins. Thanks to Michael Morrison for this story.