Letter To The Editor: Sheriff Urges Citizens To Refrain From Phony Write-In Votes

​Dear Editor,

With the upcoming presidential election, and it being a volatile one at that, there are a lot of high emotions and opinions about who should or shouldn't be running for office.  This will sometimes prompt a protest "write-in" vote for a fictional character such as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, or sometimes people write in local folk heroes, a pet's name, or any other number of names because they don't want to vote for anyone who is an actual candidate for the office.  

Unfortunately, this year there are several people who have filed as write-in candidates for some of the offices up for election, including President of the United States.  What this means is, that when you check the Write-in box and write "Daffy Duck", someone actually has to check that ballot to see if it is a legitimate vote for a write-in candidate for president.

If you want to cast your vote for one of the people who has filed as a write-in candidate, by all means go ahead, but it demeans the democratic process when you vote for Dracula, and it causes problems for your local election commission and delays the process of getting the elections results out there.

Sincerely,

Shane A. Doyle
Edmonson County Sheriff and Member of the Election Commission