Monday marked the opening of the filing period for potential write-in candidates during the November 4 Presidential General Election.
Write-in candidates are those who wish to run for an available office, but did not file within the normal filing period. These candidates are not included in the Sample Ballot & Voter Information Pamphlet or the ballot. Instead, these candidates are listed on informational materials at the polling places and can be “written in” in the space provided.
Because write-in candidate names are not included on the ballot, results on Election Night do not depict the number of votes going to those candidates. The results are not reflected until the Statement of the Vote is published and the results are certified, which happens no later than 28 days after the election.
To vote for a write-in candidate, the candidate must be certified (the candidate has to have filed) or the vote won’t be included in the tabulation. In order to select a write-in candidate on a ballot, voters must remember to do two things:
1) fill in the box next to “Write In Candidate”
2) write (or electronically spell out, if using the eSlate) the full name of the candidate in the space provided.
The filing period for write-in candidates ends October 21. For more information, please contact Candidate Filing Officer Lupe Sanchez at lsanchez@smcare.org.
