Write-in candidate

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A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be possible to win an election by winning a sufficient number of such write-in votes, which count equally as if the person were formally listed on the ballot.

Contents

Writing in a name that is not already on the election ballot is considered a practice of the United States. However, some other jurisdictions have allowed this practice. In the United States, there are variations in laws governing write-in candidates, depending on the office (federal or local) and whether the election is a primary election or the general election; general practice is an empty field close by annotated to explain its purpose on the ballot if it applies. In five U.S. states there are no elections to which it can apply, under their present laws. Election laws are enacted by each state and in the District of Columbia, to apply to their voters.

How to write in the name

Some U.S. states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker, with the write-in candidate's name, to the ballot in lieu of actually writing in the candidate's name.

Write-in candidacies are sometimes a result of a candidate being legally or procedurally ineligible to run under their own name or party; write-in candidacies may be permitted where term limits bar an incumbent candidate from being officially nominated for, or being listed on the ballot for, re-election. They are also typically used when a candidate, often an incumbent has lost a primary election but still wishes to contest the general election.

In some cases, write-in campaigns have been organized to support a candidate who is not personally involved in running; this may be a form of draft campaign.

Write-in candidates may have to register as candidates

Write-in candidates have won elections on rare occasions. Also, write-in votes are sometimes cast for ineligible people or fictional characters.

Some jurisdictions require write-in candidates be registered as official candidates before the election. [1] This is standard in elections with a large pool of potential candidates, as there may be multiple candidates with the same name that could be written in.

The spoiler effect

In some cases, the number of write-in votes cast in an election is greater than the entire margin of victory, suggesting that the write-ins may have been sufficient to tip the balance and change the outcome of the election by creating a spoiler effect. [2]

Primary elections in the United States

Many U.S. states and municipalities allow for write-in votes in a partisan primary election where no candidate is listed on the ballot to have the same functional effect as nominating petitions: for example, if there are no Reform Party members on the ballot for state general assembly and a candidate receives more than 200 write-in votes when the primary election is held (or the other number of signatures that were required for ballot access), the candidate will be placed on the ballot on that ballot line for the general election. In most places, this provision is in place for non-partisan elections as well.

Write-in option in a referendum

A write-in option may occasionally be available in a multiple-choice referendum; for example in the January 1982 Guamanian status referendum.

Contrast from a blank ballot election system

2018 Finnish presidential election ballot Presidentinvaalit 2018 - aanestyslippu.jpg
2018 Finnish presidential election ballot

The term "write-in candidate" is used in elections in which names of candidates or parties are preprinted on a paper ballot or displayed on an electronic voting machine. The term is not generally used in elections in which all ballots are blank and thus all voters must write in the names of their preferred candidates. Blank ballot election systems reduce the cost of printing the ballots, but increase the complexity of casting and counting votes. Such systems are used in Japan, [3] and were used in the past in the French Second Republic [4] and in elections in the Philippines from World War II until the 2010 general election. [5] Some systems use a semi-blank ballot, such as Finland, where the voter must fill in a candidate's given number or letter from a separate ballot, but where there is a clear-cut arrangement with a circle or box with a description of how to vote for a given candidate. [6] Blank-ballot systems typically require candidates to be nominated in advance.

United States

Requirements for write-in candidates in the 2024 United States general election
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Registration not required
Registration required
Write-in not allowed for president, registration required for other offices
Write-in only allowed for substitutes
Write-in not allowed US write-in 2024.svg
Requirements for write-in candidates in the 2024 United States general election
 Registration not required
 Registration required
 Write-in not allowed for president, registration required for other offices
 Write-in only allowed for substitutes
 Write-in not allowed

The requirements to appear on the general election ballot as an independent candidate or to have write-in votes counted vary by state and by political office sought.

As of 2024, 40 states and the District of Columbia allow write-in votes on their ballots, including for president; Alaska, New Mexico and South Carolina allow write-in candidates for some offices but not for president; Mississippi allows write-in votes only to substitute a candidate listed on the ballot who was removed, withdrew or died; Arkansas, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, Oklahoma and South Dakota do not allow any write-in votes. Most of the jurisdictions allowing write-in votes require that the write-in candidates register by a certain date for their votes to be counted. Typically this registration consists only of a declaration of candidacy, but some states also require signatures of a certain number of voters, additional paperwork or fees. The deadline to register as a write-in candidate is usually later than to petition to be listed on the ballot.

2024 presidential general election

Requirements for independent candidates for president in the 2024 United States general election
State or districtPetition to be listed on ballotRegistration as write-in candidateSources
signaturesfeedeadlinesignaturesfeedeadline
Alabama5,000August 15Registration not required [7] [8]
Alaska3,614August 7Write-in not allowed for president [9] [10]
Arizona42,303August 17September 26 [11] [12]
Arkansas5,000August 5Write-in not allowed [13] [14]
California219,403August 9October 22 [15] [16]
Colorado12,000 [a] July 11July 18 [17] [18]
Connecticut7,500August 7 [b] October 7 [19] [20]
Delaware7,690 [c] September 3September 20 [21] [23]
District of Columbia4,573August 7November 12 [24]
Florida145,040July 15July 2 [25]
Georgia7,500June 21 [d] September 3 [e] [26] [27]
Hawaii5,798August 7Write-in not allowed [28]
Idaho1,000March 15September 6 [29] [30]
Illinois25,000June 24September 5 [31]
Indiana36,943July 1July 3 [32]
Iowa3,500 [f] August 24Registration not required [33] [34]
Kansas5,000August 5$20October 14 [35]
Kentucky5,000$500September 6$50October 25 [36] [37]
Louisiana [g] 5,000 [h] July 24Write-in not allowed [38] [39]
$500August 23
Maine4,000July 25August 27 [40] [41]
Maryland10,000July 1October 17 [i] [42]
Massachusetts10,000July 30September 6 [43]
Michigan12,000 [j] July 18August 31 [44]
Minnesota2,000August 20October 29 [45]
Mississippi1,000$2,500September 6Write-in only allowed for substitutes [46] [47]
Missouri10,000July 29October 25 [48] [49]
Montana5,000$1,740 [k] August 14$1,740September 10 [50]
Nebraska2,500August 1October 25 [51] [52]
Nevada10,096 [l] $250August 9Write-in not allowed [53] [55]
New Hampshire3,000 [m] $250August 7Registration not required [56] [57]
New Jersey800July 29Registration not required [58] [59]
New Mexico3,561June 27Write-in not allowed for president [60]
New York45,000 [n] May 28October 15 [61] [62]
North Carolina83,188 [o] March 5500July 23 [p] [65] [64]
North Dakota4,000September 3October 15 [66]
Ohio5,000August 7August 26 [67]
Oklahoma [g] 34,599July 15Write-in not allowed [68] [69]
$35,000
Oregon23,744 [q] August 13Registration not required [70] [71]
Pennsylvania5,000$200August 1Registration not required [72] [73]
Rhode Island1,000June 26Registration not required [74] [75]
South Carolina10,000July 15Write-in not allowed for president [76]
South Dakota3,502August 6Write-in not allowed [77]
Tennessee275August 15September 18 [78]
Texas113,151May 13August 19 [79]
Utah1,000$500June 18$500September 3 [80] [81] [82]
Vermont1,000August 1Registration not required [83]
Virginia5,000 [r] August 23October 28 [84] [85]
Washington1,000July 17 [s] November 5 [86]
West Virginia7,947$2,500August 1September 17 [87] [88]
Wisconsin2,000August 6October 22 [89]
Wyoming3,891$750August 26Registration not required [90] [91]
Notes
  1. Including at least 1,500 from each congressional district.
  2. July 31 if submitted to the Secretary of the State, or August 7 if submitted to town clerks.
  3. 1% of 768,978 registered voters as of December 31, 2023, [21] [22] rounded up to the next integer.
  4. Deadline to file list of candidates for presidential electors. Additional forms are required at later dates. [26]
  5. Deadline to file notice of candidacy. An additional form is required at a later date. [27]
  6. Including at least 100 from each of 19 counties.
  7. 1 2 Candidates qualify by providing either the signatures or the fee.
  8. Including at least 500 from each congressional district.
  9. Or 7 days after the candidate's campaign spends more than $51, whichever occurs first.
  10. Including at least 100 from each of half of congressional districts.
  11. Not required if the candidate is unable to pay.
  12. 1% of 1,009,503 votes for U.S. representatives in the 2022 general election, [53] [54] rounded up to the next integer.
  13. Including at least 1,500 from each congressional district.
  14. Including at least 500 from each of half of congressional districts.
  15. Including at least 200 from each of three congressional districts. [63]
  16. Deadline to file signatures with county boards of elections. They must also be filed with the state board of elections at a later date. [64]
  17. Or 1,000 in an assembly in one place and time.
  18. Including at least 200 from each congressional district.
  19. Deadline to publish notice of convention. Additional forms are required at later dates.

Presidential primary

U.S. Senate

Governor Strom Thurmond b&w crop.jpg
Lisa Murkowski 1 (cropped).jpg
Strom Thurmond (South Carolina, 1954) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska, 2010) are the only U.S. Senate candidates to win an election via write-in and defeat candidates with ballot access.

U.S. House of Representatives

State legislatures

Local government

Other elections

California's Proposition 14 impact on write-in candidates

In 2010, California voters passed Proposition 14 which set up a new election system for the United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, all statewide offices (governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state controller, attorney general, insurance commissioner, and superintendent of public instruction), California Board of Equalization, and for the California State Legislature. In the system set up by Proposition 14, there are two rounds of voting, and the top two vote-getters for each race in the first round (the primary, held in June 2004 – 2018 and March 2020–present) advance to a second round (the general election, held in November). Proposition 14 specifically prohibits write-in candidates in the second round, and this prohibition was upheld in a court challenge. [155] Another court challenge to the prohibition on write-in candidates in the second round was filed in July 2014. [156]

Although Proposition 14 prohibits write-in candidates in the second round of voting, it has created conditions that can make it easier for write-in candidates in the first round to advance to the second round. This generally happens in elections where only one candidate is listed on the ballot. Since in each race the top two vote-getters from the first round are guaranteed to advance to the second round, if only one candidate is listed on the ballot, a write-in candidate can easily advance to the second round, as the write-in candidate would only have to compete with other write-in candidates for the second spot, not with any listed candidates. In some jungle primary systems, if the winner in the first round wins by more than 50% of the vote, then the second (runoff) round gets cancelled, but in the system set up by Proposition 14, a second (runoff) round is required regardless of the percent of the vote that the winner of the first round received. Proposition 14 therefore guarantees that if only one candidate is listed on the ballot in the first round, a write-in candidate running against the one listed candidate can earn a spot for the second round with as little as one vote. [n 1]

The first election in which Proposition 14 went into effect was the 2012 elections.

Other countries

With a few exceptions, the practice of recognizing write-in candidates is typically viewed internationally as a tradition in the United States. [170] [171]

Protest

See also

Notes

  1. In the June 2012 election, write-in candidate Lee H. Chauser running in the 33rd Senate District won a spot in the runoff race with as few as 3 votes. See official election results
  2. In AD62, two write-in candidates received an equal number of votes (32), and tied for second place against the first-place finisher, incumbent Autumn Burke. Therefore, the two write-in candidates advanced to the general election within one race (see the Los Angeles Times story dated July 11, 2016 Write-in legislative candidates win spots on the November ballot, in some cases with only a handful of votes by John Myers)
  3. 1 2 Data is for the 14 distinct races in which the results for the two write-in candidates who advanced in AD62, one of whom received 17.2% and the other received 5.6%, are summed up to 22.8%. When treating the two candidates in AD62 as distinct candidates and averaging over 15 candidates, the average goes down to 26.6% and the min (obviously) drops to 5.6%

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