Who, being of sound mind and body, would run for election in Arkansas as a write-in candidate?
The lore about write-in candidates has always exceeded their capacity to produce electoral shock waves. It is a rarity across these United States indeed for a write-in candidate to navigate his or her way into public office. In Arkansas, it's practically unheard of.
There are always exceptions. In 1958, for example, the integration of public schools set the stage for a contest of U.S. Rep. Brooks Hays' campaign for a ninth term in Congress. Hays had taken what was viewed as a moderate position on the question of racial integration. Dale Alford, a Little Rock ophthalmologist and staunch opponent as a school board member of integration at Little Rock's Central High School, launched a write-in campaign to unseat Hays with just a few days left before the election. By using pre-printed stickers handed out to voters, Alford carried the election and ultimately served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
There are other cases, elsewhere, that show the unique nature of successful write-in campaigns. In 2010, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski suffered defeat in the GOP primary by a Tea Party candidate. She then turned around and ran as a write-in candidate, beating the Republican and the Democrat in the race to reclaim her seat. She became only the second U.S. senator (behind South Carolina's Strom Thurmond in 1954) to reach the office through a write-in campaign.
For every success, though, there are thousands of write-in candidates around the country who get paltry numbers of votes. In Arkansas and elsewhere, filing as a write-in almost always guarantees a candidate will be as well known after the election as before.
At a recent meeting of the Washington County Election Commission, the plight of write-in candidates arose as the commission continued its never-ending (and underappreciated) work to ensure fair and accurate elections. It seemed a peculiar thing, if only insomuch that it seemed write-in candidates merited about as much attention as voters usually give them. But details matter, as they should, to the people putting on elections.
It turns out the subject has come up at several recent meetings as commissioner Jim Estes observed the requirements for write-ins are so onerous, he felt any successfully certified as registered candidates ought to at least be listed.
He noted how state law demands that write-in candidates not only register with the state, but they have to contact the election commissions in every county in which they wish to be a candidate. For statewide offices, that amounts to 75 different commissions.
"They've done all the filing, just like candidates of the more recognized political parties," Estes said. "Why can't we put them on the ballot?"
The answer, of course, is that they're write-in candidates -- as in written in by the voter. Ballots don't list them. In races in which write-in candidates have been qualified, there's simply a space where the voter can provide the name for whom he is voting.
Another commissioner noted there's a likely reason things are so tough for write-in candidates: The rules are made by lawmakers, most if not all of whom are typically either Democrats or Republicans. Making it easier for write-ins isn't in their parties' interests.
State rules do give voters the benefit of the doubt when they're writing in a candidate's name and get it slightly wrong or misspelled. Minor variations aren't to be used as excuses to toss aside a vote if the voter's intention can be discerned. So, if someone named "Bozo the Clown" has met all the requirements and a voter casts a write-in vote for "Bozo, Clown" the vote is likely to be counted. But if the voter gets his face-painted entertainers mixed up and writes in "Krusty the Clown," the vote is rejected. Being a clown is apparently not enough of a distinguishing characteristic amid the other possible choices on the ballot.
But let's not pretend write-ins would suddenly be a huge factor if the rules were eased. It's not that hard already if a candidate is committed to the task. After all, Elvis Presley did it.
Not the king of Rock'n'Roll. Lord'a'mighty, wouldn't that be something? This is an Arkansan from Star City. He joins Dan Nelson, Jason Tate and Michael Woodard as write-ins in Arkansas' governor's race vs. the party candidates -- Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington Jr., Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Democrat Chris Jones.
Since the questions came up, Washington County's election coordinator asked the state Board of Election Commissioners whether, at least, counties could post write-in candidates' names on voting machines. No way, state officials said.
In other words, it's not up to the state or counties to make life easier for candidates in need of name recognition. That's the job of each candidate, whether they've collected so many millions of dollars from out-of-state donors they've set a state record for fundraising or can hardly manage to pay for gas to get across town for a Political Animals Club meeting.
Election officials do make the names of write-in candidates available on their election notices, available at every polling place. But beyond that, it's up to the candidates. Anything more by the officials in charge of elections might be taken as promoting candidates, and they should, and do, steer clear of that.
So now, it's possible we've written more about write-in candidates today than has been written in decades. But, hey, if you don't like the name actually appearing on the ballot, look up the write-ins. They'll appreciate being noticed.
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2022-09-16 10:01:29Z
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