In most states, write-ins for president in the general election are only tallied statewide for write-in candidates who filed a declaration of candidacy. But around the nation, some county election officials go beyond the requirement of the law, and record all the write-ins. This means that there can never be a final complete total of all presidential vote returns. Anyone who has the patience to visit county election offices is likely to find tallies that don’t appear on the official state returns.

For example, Rowan County, North Caorlina made available a list of all write-ins for president, and this newspaper story has information about that. In North Carolina, Jade Simmons was the only write-in candidate who filed. Few write-in candidates file for write-in status in North Carolina, because the state requires them to also submit a petition of 500 names, but a rather early deadline.