Voting for Donald Duck no longer an option
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“We all welcomed it because it got old counting all the votes for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck,” said Election Administrator Donna Yates. “Last time, we had one person write in “anyone but” a certain candidate. I almost fell out of my seat laughing, but it kind of gets old having to count all the frivolous write-ins.”
The new state law does not prevent people from mounting a write-in campaign or winning office by write-in as the option will still be open to voters during all elections. Instead, the law requires anyone wanting their votes counted as a write-in must notify the election office in writing no later than 20 days before an election.
“Folks can still vote for Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck if they want to, but those votes just won’t be counted,” Yates said. “And yes, we get votes for Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck all the time. Or, a favorite is “none of the above.” If a person wants their votes counted, then they must notify us by the deadline otherwise those write-ins will be disregarded.”
Yates said the new write-in law could come into play in some elections for offices like constable or in races in smaller towns when sometimes no one qualifies to run on the ballot. Specifically, Yates noted some Viola city elections have been decided by write-ins. However, under the new law, a person could not be legally elected by write-in without advanced written notification.
The only municipal election to be held this year, which is the Centertown city election Dec. 6, has already seen its incumbents qualify. They include Mayor Arthur Lorance and aldermen Paul Holder and Rob Jones. This will mark the last year Centertown will hold a separate election. During future Centertown elections, the voting will be held at the same time as other elections.