OntheWilderSide

KW: Perhaps because I am a poet, I find writing in to be a powerful tool, even if the idea or candidate I write in does not win. At least I get to express what I believe and what I demand (in order to get my vote the next time.) The usual people who see my write-ins are the folks at the Board of Elections, people who have patronage jobs and some amount of power in the bureaucracy. When a write-in voter gets even more lucky, her candidate wins and/or her message makes it to the press. As happened in Pennsylvania this year, and in Suffolk County once upon a time…

(excerpt from) The York Daily Record
Write-ins beat candidates on ballot in some towns
In Franklintown, the mayor ran a write-in campaign and won with just one vote.
by Teresa Ann Boeckel / Updated: 11-17-2009

In a few races around York County, write-in winners edged out candidates on the ballot during the Nov. 3 election.

In Franklintown, Mayor James Adams won with 52 write-ins, beating Republican Dennis Palmer by one vote…

In Yoe, tax collector Connie Crull won as a write-in, garnering 112 votes to Joan Schall’s 20…

Voters cast more than 11,000 write-ins during the Nov. 3 election.

Here are some serious and not-so-serious write-ins for several races:

Court of Common Pleas Judge: Andrea Marceca Strong, Michael Flannelly, Bruce Blocher, John Ogden, Susan Emmons, None of the above and John Wayne.

District attorney: Stan Rebert, Edward Paskey, Anybody but Tom, Bill Graff, Charlie Robertson, Santa Claus and Christy Fawcett.

Dover Area School District: Holy Ghost, God, and The Messiah.

Central York School District: Michelle Obama, No more tax increases and Cut taxes

Hallam borough council: Buck, my cat; Ella, my cat; Ginger, my cat.

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Once upon a time in Suffolk County…

(excerpt) as published in Boog City and Onthewilderside
Monkeywrenching with Minnie the Cat
by Kimberly Wilder

…But even smaller monkeywrenching moves have proven entertaining and fruitful. In another district, a Right-To-Life Republican and a weaselly Democrat both started write-in campaigns for our line. Local Green Party member Wendy Fuchsberg decided to show how she felt about them by writing in a better candidate—her cat, Minnie. Wendy’s cat received mention in Newsday in an article about other important write-ins, like Rudolph Giuliani. No Suffolk County Greens won any elective offices, but we sure got a lot of press for our candidates and issues. And I think our noodling and monkeying exposed the major parties and taught them some lessons…

Filed under: Ballot issues, election, Election 2009, elections, grassroots democracy, local, Long Island Politics, News, politics, progressive politics, write-in vote Tagged: | Connie Crull, electoral activism, Mayor James Adams, None of the Above, voting, write-in