By Joe Crowe | Friday, 04 Nov 2016 12:51 PM
A vote for a write-in candidate will not count in most states, according to The Washington Post.
Some voters choose write-ins as a form of protest, or because they simply can't decide, but many states have differing rules on whether write-in votes are counted, and which ones. In 32 states, only write-in candidates who have previously filed with the state will be officially counted, The Post reports.
Only eight states allow write-in votes for anyone without filing with the state beforehand. Eight other states have no space for write-ins on their ballots.
The Post notes it is "extremely unlikely" for any write-in candidate to win the popular vote, but in those 32 states, they would only be counted if they registered. States often throw votes for unregistered candidates into a category for "all others" and do not add them up individually.
The states that allow voters to write in anyone: Alabama; District of Columbia; Iowa; Mississippi; New Hampshire; New Jersey; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Vermont; Wyoming.
The states that have no write-in option: Arkansas; Hawaii; Louisiana; New Mexico; Nevada; Oklahoma; South Carolina; South Dakota.
GOP Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire and Rob Portman of Ohio have said they would write in Donald Trump's vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence instead of the real estate mogul.
But Portman's vote would not count because Pence is not registered as a write-in, but Ayotte's vote for Pence would be counted, because her state allows it.
In addition to the Democratic and Republican candidates, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson is available as an option in every state.
Other prominent candidates are not an option in all the states. For instance, Green Party's Jill Stein is on the ballot in all the states except six, but she is available as a write-in for three of the remaining states, reports The Post.
Independent candidate Evan McMullin is on the ballot in 11 states, including his home state of Utah, and 24 states allow him to be officially written in.
Constitution Party option Darrell Castle is available in 46 states and the District of Columbia, and independent candidate Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente is an option in 35 states and D.C.
Castle has faced obstacles getting on the ballot in California, Texas, and Oklahoma, telling The Post, "Those states are virtually impossible for a party like mine because they cost so much money."
The Federal Election Commission reported that write-in votes have increased more than 500 percent since 1984, when 19,315 write-ins were cast nationwide. In 2012, that number was 136,040.
According to McClatchy DC, a campaign to write-in Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was picking up momentum amid issues over Hillary Clinton's email probe.
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/Write-In-Votes-Election/2016/11/04/id/757086/
