{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Write-in Candidates Offer Voters Another Choice — and a Challenge","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":431,"description":"As voters head to the polls Tuesday, some may be thinking beyond the names printed on their ballots. Write-in candidates — those whose names must be physically written in by voters — have influenced close races before and could do so again this year.“Even though they are not printed on the ballot, they’re going to contest the office anyway,” said Jacob Neiheisel, associate professor of political science at the University at Buffalo and an expert on political communication and elections.Neiheisel said many voters use write-ins symbolically.“We think of them sometimes as protest votes,” he said. “Somebody doesn’t like their options, and in most places there’s no ‘none of the above’ option. So they just write in a friend, a neighbor — Mickey Mouse isn’t all that unusual.”But sometimes, write-ins are part of serious, well-funded campaigns. “It’s rare, but write-ins do win,” he said.When Write-ins Can CompeteNeiheisel pointed to a recent example in Buffalo. Then-Mayor Byron Brown lost a primary but campaigned as a write-in — and won.“He had a lot of money, a lot of airtime,” Neiheisel said. “Couple that with the fact that he’d already served four terms as mayor — name recognition and resources really helped him out.”Successful write-in candidates are usually established figures who have held office before and can run competitive campaigns even without ballot placement, he said.The Communication HurdleGetting voters to remember and correctly write a name is a major challenge.“It’s really, really hard,” Neiheisel said. “You have to come up with clever slogans.”In Brown’s case, his campaign encouraged voters to “write down Byron Brown” — a phrase that “just rolls off the tongue,” he said.New York also allows voters to use rubber stamps in the booth to enter a candidate’s name — though stickers are banned because they can jam voting machines.“There was a challenge to it here, but it was ultimately allowed,” Neiheisel said.Strengthening Democracy — or Risking...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}