Friday, August 22, 2008
Dear Election Partners:
We’ve received many questions about tallying and certifying write-in candidates. Another advisory on this subject will be issued early next week, but we felt you should receive the following information as soon as possible. This email covers two subjects:
- For counties inspecting the ballots correctly, undervotes and overvotes need not be considered in determining if write-ins for individual candidates must be tallied.
- A write-in need not be individually tallied if the name is not a registered voter in the district.
Do I need to tally individual write-in votes for an office other than PCO?
Step 1. The method to determine if write-ins should be tallied depends on the answers to the following questions about your pre-inspection process:
- Did you inspect all ballots for write-in votes without a target area marked?*
- Were these ballots duplicated with the write-in target area properly marked to allow your tabulation system to tally it as a write-in vote?* **
- Were all overvoted offices examined? If an overvote was not a true overvote, was the ballot duplicated according to the rules in the Voter Intent Manual?*
*This exception does not pertain to poll site ballot counters. Ballots tabulated the poll sites must be tallied according to Step 3.
**For digital scan systems, such as HART, the resolving process is the same as the duplication process.
Step 2. If the answers to all of the above questions were “yes”, you may tally your declared and undeclared write-in votes in the following manner: If not, go to Step 3.
One candidate in a race:
If the number of write-in votes exceeds onepercent of votes cast for all candidates (including write-ins) in an office, then write-in votes must be tallied for individual candidates. If the number of write-in votes does not meet this 1% threshold, individual write-in votes for declared or undeclared write-in candidates need not be tallied.
The number of undervotes or overvotes does not need to be considered because your pre-inspection process has already reviewed these ballots for possible write-in votes.
Two or more candidates in a race
If the number of write-in votes exceeds the total votes cast for the second place candidate in the race, then write-in votes for individual candidates must be tallied. The number of overvotes and undervotes need not be considered. The top two candidates must also receive at least one percent of total votes cast for candidates.
Step 3. If any answer to questions 1, 2, or 3 was “no”, you must use the following method to tally your declared and undeclared write-in votes. Ballots tabulated at poll sites must be tallied by this method:
One candidate in a race:
Add the number of write-in votes + overvotes + undervotes. If this number exceeds onepercent of votes cast for candidates (including write-ins), all ballots in the district must be inspected for write-in votes.
If after inspection the total number of write-in votes meets or exceeds 1% of the total votes cast for all candidates (including write-ins) in the race, write-in votes for individual candidates must be tallied.
Two or more candidates in a race:
Combine the number of write-in votes + overvotes + undervotes. If this number exceeds the number of votes of the second place candidate in the race, all ballots in the district must be inspected for write-in votes. The top two candidates must also receive at least one percent of total votes cast for candidates in question.
If after inspection the total number of write-ins exceeds the total votes cast for the second place candidate in the race, write-in votes for individual candidates must be tallied.
If individual votes must be tallied, are votes for all write-ins reported?
After applying the rules in the Voter Intent Manual, individually tallied votes should equal the total number of write-in votes cast for an office.
When tallying individual votes, tally the votes for each candidate. If the voter has written someone who is not registered to vote in the district, the vote may be accounted for in a general category, such as “other” or “uncertified”.
Checking the VRDB to verify a write-in name is registered in a district is optional. If no one by that name is registered, the vote may be added to the general category described above. Please be aware that actual voters have names the same as fictional characters such as “Mickey Mouse”, “Santa Claus”, and “Anyone Else”. Please check the VRDB before determining a write-in is not a registered voter in the district.
This email contains a lot of information. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact anyone in the Certification and Training Program.
Sincerely,
Sheryl Moss
Office of the Secretary of State
Phone: (360) 902-4146