Write-in candidate
Encyclopedia
A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election
whose name does not appear on the ballot
, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it 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 his or her own name or party. 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 rarely win, and votes are often cast for ineligible people or fictional characters. Some jurisdictions require write-in candidates be registered as official candidates before the election. 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.
Many states and municipalities allow for write-in votes in a partisan primary 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.
tradition.
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
whose name does not appear on the ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...
, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. Some states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it 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 his or her own name or party. 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
Draft (politics)
In elections in the United States, political drafts are used to encourage or pressure a certain person to enter a political race, by demonstrating a significant groundswell of support for the candidate. A write-in campaign may also be considered a draft campaign.-The movement to draft Dwight D....
campaign.
Write-in candidates rarely win, and votes are often cast for ineligible people or fictional characters. Some jurisdictions require write-in candidates be registered as official candidates before the election. 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.
Many states and municipalities allow for write-in votes in a partisan primary 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.
United States
Typically, write-in candidates have a very small chance of winning, but there have been some notable write-in candidates in the past.Presidential primaries
- In 1928, Herbert HooverHerbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
won the Republican Massachusetts presidential primary on write-ins, polling 100,279.
- In 1940, Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
won the Democratic New Jersey presidential primary with 34,278 write-ins.
- In 1944, Thomas DeweyThomas DeweyThomas Edmund Dewey was the 47th Governor of New York . In 1944 and 1948, he was the Republican candidate for President, but lost both times. He led the liberal faction of the Republican Party, in which he fought conservative Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft...
won the Republican Pennsylvania presidential primary with 146,706 write-ins. He also won the Oregon Republican presidential primary with 50,001 write-ins.
- In 1948, Harold StassenHarold StassenHarold Edward Stassen was the 25th Governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943. After service in World War II, from 1948 to 1953 he was president of the University of Pennsylvania...
won the Republican Pennsylvania presidential primary with 81,242 write-ins.
- In 1952, Robert TaftRobert TaftRobert Alphonso Taft , of the Taft political family of Cincinnati, was a Republican United States Senator and a prominent conservative statesman...
won the Republican Nebraska presidential primary with 79,357 write-ins.
- Also in 1952, Estes KefauverEstes KefauverCarey Estes Kefauver July 26, 1903 – August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S...
won the Democratic Pennsylvania presidential primary with 93,160 write-ins.
- Also in 1952, Dwight Eisenhower won the Republican Massachusetts presidential primary with 254,898 write-ins.
- In 1956, Dwight Eisenhower won the Republican Massachusetts presidential primary with 51,951 write-ins.
- In 1960, Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
won the Republican Massachusetts presidential primary with 53,164 write-ins.
- Also in 1960, John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
won the Democratic Pennsylvania presidential primary with 183,073 write-ins, and he won the Democratic Massachusetts presidential primary with 91,607 write-ins.
- In 1964, a write-in campaign organized by supporters of former U.S. Senator and vice presidentialVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
nominee Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
won Republican primaries for President in New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, defeating declared candidates Barry GoldwaterBarry GoldwaterBarry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
, Nelson RockefellerNelson RockefellerNelson Aldrich Rockefeller was the 41st Vice President of the United States , serving under President Gerald Ford, and the 49th Governor of New York , as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions...
, and Margaret Chase SmithMargaret Chase SmithMargaret Chase Smith was a Republican Senator from Maine, and one of the most successful politicians in Maine history. She was the first woman to be elected to both the U.S. House and the Senate, and the first woman from Maine to serve in either. She was also the first woman to have her name...
.
- In 1968 in the Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire, incumbent President Lyndon Johnson did not file, but received write-ins totaling 50% of all Democratic votes cast. Senator Eugene McCarthyEugene McCarthyEugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...
, who campaigned actively against Johnson’s Vietnam war policies, was on the ballot. He received an impressive 41% of the vote and gained more delegates than the President. Johnson was so stunned that he did not run for reelection.
- Consumer advocateConsumer protectionConsumer protection laws designed to ensure fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional...
Ralph NaderRalph NaderRalph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
ran a write-in campaign in 1992 during the New Hampshire primaryNew Hampshire primaryThe New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...
for the presidential nomination of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Declaring himself the "none of the aboveNone of the aboveNone of the Above or against all is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of all of the candidates in a voting system...
candidate" and using the Concord PrinciplesConcord PrinciplesRalph Nader's Concord Principles were offered in 1992 as an invitation to the Presidential candidates to improve civic dialogue and the democratic institutions of the United States....
as his platform, Nader received 3,054 votes from DemocratsDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and 3,258 votes from RepublicansRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Senate
- Republican William Knowland was elected in 1946 to the U.S. Senate from California, for a two-month term. The special election for the two-month term featured a November ballot with no names printed on it, and all candidates in that special election were write-in candidates.
- Democrat Strom ThurmondStrom ThurmondJames Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
was elected in 1954 to the United States SenateUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in South CarolinaSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
as a write-in candidate, after state Democratic leaders had blocked him from receiving the party's nomination. - In 2010 incumbent Alaska Senator Lisa MurkowskiLisa MurkowskiLisa Ann Murkowski is the senior U.S. Senator from the State of Alaska and a member of the Republican Party. She was appointed to the Senate in 2002 by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski. After losing a Republican primary in 2010, she became the second person ever to win a U.S...
lost the Republican primary to Joe Miller. Following her defeat she ran in the general election as a write in candidate. Murkowski had filed, and won, a lawsuit requiring election officials to have the list of names of write in candidates distributed at the polls and subsequently won the election with a wide enough margin over both Miller, and Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidate Scott T. McAdams, to make moot the write-in ballots that had been challenged by Miller.
House of Representatives
- In 1918, Peter F. Tague was elected to the U.S. House as a write-in independent Democrat, defeating the Democratic nominee, John F. FitzgeraldJohn F. FitzgeraldJohn Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was an Irish-American politician and the maternal grandfather of three prominent United States politicians—President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Senators Robert Francis Kennedy and Edward Moore Kennedy.-Early life and family:Fitzgerald was born in...
. - In 1930 Republican Charles F. Curry, Jr.Charles F. Curry, Jr.Charles Forrest Curry, Jr. was a U.S. Representative from California and the son of Charles Forrest Curry....
was elected to the House as a write-in from Sacramento, California. His father, Congressman Charles F. CurryCharles F. CurryCharles Forrest Curry was a U.S. Representative from California and the father of Charles Forrest Curry, Jr.....
Sr., was to appear on the ballot, but due to his untimely death his name was removed and no candidate's name appeared on the ballot. - Democrat Dale AlfordDale AlfordThomas Dale Alford, Sr. was an ophthalmologist and politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas who served as a conservative Democrat in the United States House of Representatives from Little Rock from 1959 to 1963....
was elected as a write-in candidate to the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in Arkansas in 1958. As member of the Little Rock school boardLittle Rock School DistrictThe Little Rock School District is a school district in Little Rock, Arkansas. As of the 2009-2010 school year, the district includes 50 schools, and had an enrollment of approximately 25,000 students...
, Alford launched his write-in campaign a week before the election because the incumbent, Brooks HaysBrooks HaysLawrence Brooks Hays was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of Arkansas....
, was involved in the incident in which president EisenhowerDwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
sent federal troops to enforce racial integrationRacial integrationRacial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
at Little Rock Central High SchoolCentral High School (Little Rock)Little Rock Central High School is a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Central High School was the site of forced school desegregation during the American Civil Rights Movement.Central is located at the intersection of Daisy L...
. Racial integration was unpopular at the time, and Alford won by approximately 1,200 votes, a 2% margin. - Republican Joe Skeen was elected as a write-in candidate to Congress in New Mexico in November 1980 after the incumbent Democrat, Harold Runnels, died in August of that year. No Republican filed to run against Runnels before the close of filing, and after the death, the New Mexico Secretary of State ruled that the Democrats could have a special primary to pick a replacement candidate, but the Republicans could not have a special election, since they had nobody to replace. Runnels' widow lost the special primary, and launched her own write-in candidacy, which split the Democratic vote and allowed Skeen to win with a 38% plurality.
- Ron PackardRon PackardPackard was only the third person to be elected to Congress as a write-in candidate. The two previously successful congressional write-in candidates were U.S. Rep. Joe Skeen in 1980 and Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1954. Upon being sworn in, Packard joined the Republican caucus...
of California finished in second place in the 18 candidate Republican primary to replace the retiring Clair BurgenerClair BurgenerSinclair Walter "Clair" Burgener was an American Republican politician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1973-1983.-Early life:...
. Packard lost the primary by 92 votes in 1982, and then mounted a write-in campaign as an independent. He won the election with a 37% plurality against both a Republican and a Democratic candidate. Following the elections, he re-aligned himself as a Republican. - Democrat Charlie WilsonCharlie Wilson (Ohio politician)Charles A. "Charlie" Wilson is the former U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the Ohio State Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives...
was the endorsed candidate of the Democratic Party for Ohio's 6th congressional districtOhio's 6th congressional districtOhio's 6th congressional district is currently represented by Representative Bill Johnson . This district runs along the southeast side of the state, bordering Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania...
in Ohio to replace Ted StricklandTed StricklandTheodore "Ted" Strickland was the 68th Governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ....
in 2006. Strickland was running for Governor and had to give up his congressional seat. Wilson, though, did not qualify for the ballot because only 46 of the 96 signatures on his candidacy petition were deemed valid, while 50 valid signatures were required for ballot placement. The Democratic Party continued to support Wilson, and an expensive primary campaign ensued - over $1 million was spent by both parties. Wilson overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary as a write-in candidate on May 2, 2006 against two Democratic candidates whose names were on the ballot, with Wilson collecting 44,367 votes, 67% of the Democratic votes cast. Wilson faced Republican Chuck Blasdel in the general election on November 7, 2006, and won, receiving 61% of the votes. - Democrat Dave Loebsack entered the 2006 Democratic primary in Iowa's second congressional district as a write-in candidate after failing to get the required number of signatures. He won the primary and in the general election he defeated 15 term incumbent Jim LeachJim LeachJames Albert Smith "Jim" Leach is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa. In August 2009, he became Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities ....
by a 51% to 49% margin. - Jerry McNerneyJerry McNerneyGerald "Jerry" McNerney is an engineer, energy specialist, and the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
ran as a write-in candidate in the March 2004 Democratic Primary in California's 11th congressional districtCalifornia's 11th congressional districtCalifornia's 11th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. Based in Northern California, it encompasses parts of San Joaquin, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara counties....
. He received 1,667 votes (3% of the votes cast), and, having no opposition (no candidates were listed on the Democratic primary ballot), won the primary. Although he lost the November 2004 general election to Republican Richard PomboRichard PomboRichard William Pombo is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, having represented California's 11th congressional district from 1993 to 2007...
, McNerney ran again in 2006 (as a candidate listed on the ballot) and won the Democratic Primary in June, and then the rematch against Pombo in November. - Shelley Sekula-GibbsShelley Sekula-GibbsShelley Sekula-Gibbs is a physician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives representing from November 13, 2006, until January 3, 2007. She has also served as a City Councilwoman in Houston, Texas for three terms...
failed as a write-in candidate in the November 7, 2006 election to represent the 22nd Texas congressional district in the 110th Congress110th United States CongressThe One Hundred Tenth United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the second term of President George W. Bush. It was composed of the Senate and the House of...
(for the full term commencing January 3, 2007). The seat had been vacant since June 9, 2006, due to the resignation of the then representative Tom DeLayTom DeLayThomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
. Therefore, on the same ballot, there were two races: one for the 110th Congress, as well as a race for the unexpired portion of the term during the 109th Congress109th United States CongressThe One Hundred Ninth United States Congress was the legislative branch of the United States, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, from January 3, 2005 to January 3, 2007, during the fifth and sixth years of George W. Bush's presidency. House members...
(until January 3, 2007). Sekula-Gibbs won the race for the unexpired portion of the term during the 109th Congress as a candidate listed on the ballot. She could not be listed on the ballot for the full term because Texas law did not allow a replacement candidate to be listed on the ballot after the winner of the primary (Tom DeLay) has resigned. - Peter Welch, a Democrat representing VermontVermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
's sole congressional district, became both the Democratic and Republican nominee for the House when he ran for re-election in 2008. Because the Republicans did not field any candidate on the primary ballot, Welch won enough write-in votes to win the Republican nomination.
State legislatures
- Charlotte BurksCharlotte BurksCharlotte Gentry Burks is a farmer and Democratic party politician in Tennessee who has represented the 15th District as State Senator since 1998....
won as a Democratic write-in candidate for the Tennessee State Senate seat left vacant when the incumbent, her husband TommyTommy BurksTommy Burks was a farmer and Democratic Party politician in Tennessee, United States. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1970 until 1978, and in the Tennessee State Senate from 1978 until his murder in 1998.-Biography:Born in Cookeville, Tennessee, Burks was one of the most...
, was assassinated by his opponent, Byron LooperByron LooperByron Looper , is a former Republican politician in Tennessee. In order to advance his political career, he legally changed his middle name from "Anthony" to ""...
, two weeks before the elections of November 2, 1998. The assassin was the only name on the ballot, so Charlotte ran as a write in candidate. - Carl HawkinsonCarl HawkinsonCarl Hawkinson is a former state legislator, State's Attorney, and Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety in the State of Illinois.-Public Offices:Carl Hawkinson served as Knox County States Attorney from 1976 to 1983...
of Galesburg, IllinoisGalesburg, IllinoisGalesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County....
won the Republican primary for State Senator from Illinois's 47th District in 1986 as a write-in candidate. He went on to be elected in the general election and served until 2003. Hawkinson defeated another write-in, David Leitch, in the primary. Incumbent State Senator Prescott Bloom died in a home fire after the filing date for the primary had passed. - Several members of the Alaska House of RepresentativesAlaska House of RepresentativesThe Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of about 15,673 people . Members serve two-year terms without term limits...
were elected as write-in candidates during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly from rural districts in the northern and western portions of the state. Factors in play at the time include the newness of Alaska as a state and the previous absence of electoral politics in many of the rural communities, creating an environment which made it hard to attract candidates to file for office during the official filing period. Most of the areas in question were largely populated by Alaska nativesAlaska NativesAlaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
, who held little political power in Alaska at the time. This only began to change following the formation of the Alaska Federation of NativesAlaska Federation of NativesThe Alaska Federation of Natives is the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska. Its membership includes 178 villages , thirteen regional native corporations, and twelve regional nonprofit and tribal consortiums that contract and run federal and state programs...
and the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement ActAlaska Native Claims Settlement ActThe Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, commonly abbreviated ANCSA, was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 23, 1971, the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve the long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in...
. Known examples of successful write-in candidates include Kenneth A. Garrison and FatherSociety of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
Segundo LlorenteSegundo LlorenteSegundo Llorente Villa, S.J. was a Spanish Jesuit, philosopher and author who spent 40 years as a missionary among the Central Alaskan Yup'ik people in the most remote parts of Alaska...
(1960), Frank R. Ferguson (1972), James H. "Jimmy" Huntington (1974) and Nels A. Anderson, Jr. (1976). The incumbent in Llorente's election, Axel C. Johnson, ran for re-election as a write-in candidate after failing to formally file his candidacy paperwork. Johnson and Llorente, as write-in candidates, both outpolled the one candidate who did appear on the ballot. Ferguson and Anderson were both incumbents who launched their write-in campaigns after being defeated in the primary electionPrimary electionA primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
. Anderson's main opponent, Joseph McGill, had himself won election to the House in 1970 against a write-in candidate by only 5 votes. - After failing to receive the Republican Party's 1990 Wilson PakulaWilson PakulaA Wilson Pakula is an authorization given by a political party to a candidate for public office in the State of New York which allows a candidate not registered with that party to run as its candidate in a given election....
nomination, incumbent and registered Conservative New York State Senator Serphin MalteseSerphin MalteseSerphin R. Maltese is a former Republican New York State Senator representing New York's 15th State Senate District, located in southern and central Queens. From 1986 to 1988, he was the chairman of the Conservative Party of New York....
won the party's nomination as a write-in candidate.
Local government
- Julia Allen of Readington, New JerseyReadington Township, New JerseyReadington Township is a Township located in the easternmost portion of Hunterdon County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,126...
won a write-in campaign in the November 2005 elections for the Township Committee, after a candidate accused of corruption had won the primary. - Tom AmmianoTom AmmianoTom Ammiano is an American politician and LGBT rights activist from San Francisco, California. Ammiano is a Democrat who has served as a member of the California State Assembly since 2008, representing the 13th district...
, President of the San Francisco Board of SupervisorsSan Francisco Board of SupervisorsThe San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
, entered the race for MayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
as a write-in candidate two weeks before the 1999 general election. He received 25% of the vote, coming in second place and forcing incumbent Mayor Willie Brown into a runoff electionTwo-round systemThe two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
, which Brown won by margin of 59% to 40%. In 2001, the campaign was immortalized in the award-winning documentary filmDocumentary filmDocumentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
See How They Run. - John R. BrinkleyJohn R. BrinkleyJohn Romulus Brinkley was a controversial American medical doctor who experimented with xenotransplantation of goat glands into humans as a means of curing male impotence in clinics across several states, and an advertising and radio pioneer who began the era of Mexican border blaster radio...
ran as a write-in candidate for governor of Kansas in 1930. He was motivated at least in part by the state's revocation of his medical license and attempts to shut down his clinic, where he performed alternative medical procedures including transplantation of goat glands into humans. He won 29.5% of the vote in a three-way race. Brinkley's medical and political career are documented in Pope Brock's book Charlatan. - Donna FryeDonna FryeDonna Frye was a member of the San Diego City Council, representing District 6. Her term ended December 6 2010.Frye was born in 1952 in Pennsylvania, the second of three children...
ran as a write-in candidate for Mayor of San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
in 2004. A controversy erupted when several thousand votes for her were not counted because the voters had failed to fill in the bubble next to the write-in line. Had those votes been counted, she would have won the election. - Michael JarjuraMichael JarjuraMichael Jarjura is the Mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut.He was first elected in 2001 and reelected in 2003. In 2005, he was elected to a third term as a write-in candidate after losing the Democratic primary...
was re-elected Mayor of Waterbury, ConnecticutWaterbury, ConnecticutWaterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
in 2005 as a write-in candidate after losing the Democratic party primary to Karen Mulcahy, who used to serve as Waterbury's tax collector before Jarjura fired her in 2004 "for what he claimed was her rude and abusive conduct toward citizens". After spending $100,000 on a general elections write-in campaign, Jarjura received 7,907 votes, enough for a plurality of 39%. - James Maher won the mayorship of Baxter Estates, New YorkBaxter Estates, New YorkThe Village of Baxter Estates is a village in Nassau County, New York, United States, in the town of North Hempstead. The population was 999 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Baxter Estates is located at ....
on March 15, 2005 as a write-in candidate with 29 votes. Being the only one on the ballot, the incumbent mayor, James Neville, did not campaign, as he did not realize that there was a write-in campaign going on. Neville received only 13 votes. - Beverly O'Neil won a third term as Mayor of Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
as a write-in candidate in 2002. The Long Beach City City Charter has a term limitTerm limitA term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
amendment that says a candidate cannot be on the ballot after two full terms, but does not prevent the person from running as a write-in candidate. She finished first in a seven-candidate primary, but did not receive more than 50% of the vote, forcing a runoff contest. In the runoff, still restricted from the ballot, she got roughly 47% of the vote in a three-way election that included a second write-in candidate. - Michael SessionsMichael SessionsMichael Sessions is the former mayor of Hillsdale, Michigan, a city of about 8200 people. He was elected November 8, 2005. He was sworn into office on November 21. Elected at the age of 18, he is among the youngest mayors in United States history.-Campaign:Sessions' $700 war chest from his summer...
, an 18-year-old high school senior, won as a write-in candidate for Mayor of Hillsdale, MichiganHillsdale, MichiganHillsdale is a city in the state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,305. It is the county seat of Hillsdale County, and is run as a council-manager government....
in 2005. He was too young to qualify for the ballot. - Anthony A. WilliamsAnthony A. WilliamsAnthony Allen "Tony" Williams is an American politician who served as the fifth mayor of the District of Columbia for two terms, from 1999 to 2007. He had previously served as chief financial officer for the District, managing to balance the budget and achieve a surplus within two years of...
, then incumbent Mayor of Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
was forced to run as a write-in candidate in the 2002 Democratic primary, because he had too many invalid signatures for his petition. He won the Democratic primary, and went on to win re-election. - In the November 8, 2011, election for Commonwealth's AttorneyCommonwealth's AttorneyCommonwealth's Attorney is the title given to the elected prosecutor of felony crimes in Kentucky and Virginia. Other states refer to similar prosecutors as District Attorney or State's Attorney....
of Richmond County, VirginiaRichmond County, VirginiaRichmond County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state in the United States. As of 2010, the population was 9,254. Its county seat is Warsaw. The rural county should not be confused with the large city and state capital Richmond, Virginia, which is over...
, 16-year incumbent Wayne Emery has been certified the winner as a write-in candidate over challenger James Monroe by a margin of 53 votes (2.4%) out of 2,230 votes cast, after his petitions were challenged and his name was removed from the ballot.
Others
- Aaron SchockAaron SchockAaron Schock is the United States Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Peoria and includes part of Springfield. At the age of , Schock is currently the youngest U.S. representative and the first member of the U.S. Congress born...
was elected to the District 150 School Board in Peoria, IllinoisPeoria, IllinoisPeoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
in 2001 by a write-in vote, after his petitions were challenged and his name was removed from the ballot. He defeated the incumbent by over 2,000 votes, approximately 6,400 to 4,300 votes. He went on to serve in the Illinois House of RepresentativesIllinois House of RepresentativesThe Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from...
, and was elected to the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 2008. - John Adams became an Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County, CaliforniaOrange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
judge in November 2002 after running along with 10 other write-in candidates in the primaries on March 5, 2002 against incumbent Judge Ronald Kline. After the filing deadline in which no candidate filed to run against Kline, a computer hacker discovered that Judge Kline had child pornography on his home computer. Kline got less than 50% of the vote in the primaries, requiring a runoff between him and write-in candidate John Adams (who actually received more votes than Kline). After some legal maneuvers, Kline's name was removed from the general elections, leaving the general election a runoff between Adams and Gay Sandoval, who was the second highest write-in vote getter. Charges against Kline were eventually thrown out. - On September 15, 2009, four write-in candidates in the Independence PartyUnited States Independence PartyThe Independence Party, or Independence League or National Independence League, was a short-lived minor American political party formed by newspaper publisher and United States Representative William Randolph Hearst in 1906 as the successor to the Municipal Ownership League, which had dissolved...
primaries for various offices in Putnam County, New YorkPutnam County, New YorkPutnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the lower Hudson River Valley. Putnam county formed in 1812, when it detached from Dutchess County. , the population was 99,710. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of Carmel...
defeated their on-ballot opponents. - In a May 2011 school board election for the Bentley School Board in Michigan, Lisa Osborn ran as a write-in candidate and needed just one vote to win a seat. However, she did not receive any votes, even from herself. She explained herself by saying that she was at her son's baseball game and did not have time to go to the polls.
Other countries
With a few exceptions, the practice of recognizing write-in candidates is typically viewed internationally as an AmericanPolitics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
tradition.
- Several cases of elected write-in candidates took place in the 2006 Swedish municipal elections. Due to Swedish electoral law, free ballots are provided for any party that received more than 1 percent of the votes in one of the two latest parliamentary elections, irrespective of whether the party actually stood any candidates in the municipality. In some municipalities, voters cast a sufficient number of ballots for the nationalist Sweden DemocratsSweden DemocratsThe Sweden Democrats is a political party in Sweden, founded in 1988. SD describes itself as a nationalist movement although others use the term far-right. Since 2005, its party chairman is Jimmie Åkesson, while Björn Söder is the party secretary and parliamentary group leader. An Anemone...
to allow them to get a seat on the municipal council. (Municipal councils in Sweden are relatively large, with even the smallest municipalities, numbering just a few thousand inhabitants, required to have a council of at least 31 members.) In case the party did not field any eligible candidates, people whose names were written in were elected, though many subsequently resigned their seats. In places where no candidates were written in, the seats were left empty.
- A bizarre incident involving a fictitious write-in candidacy occurred in the small town of PicoazáPicoazáPicoazá is an urban parish in Portoviejo Canton, Manabí Province, Ecuador. It is situated on the western side of the city of Portoviejo and has a population of nearly 19,000.-History:...
, EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
in 1967. A company ran a series of campaign-themed advertisements for a foot powder called Pulvapies. Some of the slogans used included "Vote for any candidate, but if you want well-being and hygiene, vote for Pulvapies", and "For Mayor: Honorable Pulvapies." The foot powder Pulvapies ended up receiving the most votes in the election.
- In Brazil, until the introduction of electronic votingElectronic votingElectronic voting is a term encompassing several different types of voting, embracing both electronic means of casting a vote and electronic means of counting votes....
in 1994, the ballot had no names written for legislative candidates, so many voters would protest by voting on fictional characters or religious figures. However, those votes were not considered because Brazilian law stipulates that a candidate must be affiliated to a political party to take office.
Pop culture
- Mad Magazine has satirically called to vote for Alfred E. NeumanAlfred E. NeumanAlfred E. Neuman is the fictional mascot and cover boy of Mad magazine. The face had drifted through American pictography for decades before being claimed and named by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman...
as a write-in candidate for every U.S. presidential election from 1960 to 1980 with slogans like "You could do worse-and you already have" and "There are Bigger Idiots running for office!".
- In the 1980 U.S. Presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 1980The United States presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent, Ronald Reagan, as well as Republican Congressman John B. Anderson, who ran as an independent...
, rock star Joe WalshJoe WalshJoseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands, the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles, and has experienced notable success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B...
ran a mock write-in campaign, promising to make his song "Life's Been Good" the new national anthem if he won, and running on a platform of "Free Gas for Everyone." Though Walsh (then aged 33) was not old enough to actually assume the office, he wanted to raise public awareness of the election. (In 1992, Walsh purportedly ran for vice-president, in his song "Vote For Me", a track on his album Songs for a Dying PlanetSongs for a Dying PlanetSongs for a Dying Planet is the tenth studio album by Joe Walsh, released in 1992 .-Reception:Writing for Allmusic, critic Vincent Jeffries wrote the album "fulfills [those] expectations to a degree, but the songwriter's weakened comedic instincts and extreme sincerity make Songs for a Dying Planet...
, which was released that year.)
- During the 2000 United States Congress Elections, filmmaker Michael MooreMichael MooreMichael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
led a campaign for voters to submit a ficusFicusFicus is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes, and hemiepiphyte in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone. The Common Fig Ficus is a genus of...
tree as a write-in candidate. This campaign was replicated across the country and was recounted in an episode of The Awful Truth.