If you write in the same name as one of the printed names on the ballot,

[begin_within]

then what happens? Does the person who had their name printed on the ballot get that vote? Or is the name you wrote in automatically considered a different person?

[LisaM]

1. Well in Florida in 2000 it was considered an "overvote".

And they literally did not count votes that were punched for Gore, and where they'd also written in "Gore".

It may seem simple enough that you shouldn't both punch and write in a name. But I can see how it could easily be construed that you are supposed to both punch the vote and write it in as a back up. I also think that it's clearly within the context of honoring the "spirit of the law" to count that vote, since voter intention is clear.

I think people also forget that with our hodge podge of systems, people might be voting on a particular type of ballot for the first time and be more liable to make a "mistake" like that.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. It depends.

If you write in a Republican, it counts. If you write in a Democrat, it's a spoiled ballot.
Those were the rules applied in FL 2000. No shit. Ballots punched for Gore & with Gore's name written in were declared spoiled.

[begin_within]

3. And ballots punched for Bush but had Bush handwritten were counted?

[Jackpine Radical]

4. I have no way of proving it.

[Frank Cannon]

5. Well, it's complicated

Like the other posters above said, if you wrote Gore's name in and punched for him, you overvoted, but if you did the exact same thing with Bush, you were in the clear, more often than not. It's a long, ugly story, but you can Google the whole thing pretty easily.

[Spangle]

7. It was an overvote

The 'reader' picked it up as an over vote and the ballots wasn't check for confirmation. Bush votes were thrown out as well as Gore's. But Gore lost the most over it.


However, the Florida state law states that the ballot is supposed to be looked at to try and determine who the voter was trying to vote for. The law was written we were coming away from simple voting and was trying to ensure that every type of voter would be protected.

The way the law was written, if a person voted for Bush, but wrote in "Micky Mouse', and "Micky Mouse' wasn't an office write in canidate, then the write in was ignored and the vote for Bush was to be counted. Yes, an overvote that contains an actual vote and a false write in can still be counted.

Those that vote for Bush and wrote in Bush and those that Voted for Gore and wrote in Gore.. those were votes by law that should have been counted. One would have to be an idiot not to be able to figure out the "intent" of the voter. THe SOE's broke the law when they were not counted. How long that practice had been going on, who knows. But we (the public) found out in the 2000 election that it was going on. Yet, not one SOE was held accountable or arrested. Which means it must have become standard procedure without changing the law on the books. (and the public didn't know)

Over votes that were really votes, Gore won Florida by a landslide.

[Igel]

6. If you don't cast the vote for the name on the ballot,

but write it in, you've indicated one preference. You've indicated it strangely, but it's not an overvote. It's the same as if you cast a vote for a name on the ballot and *didn't* write it in. You've voted for one item on the ballot either way.

If you cast a vote for a name on the ballot *and* write it in, it's sometimes considered an overvote. Depends on who's doing the counting and how election law reads. Individual BOEs have the final say in how to count and how to interpret election law, subject to any later litigation.

[Pirate Smile]

8. Overvote and thrown out, unless there is a recount and they decide

to follow the voter's intent but the Republicans would challenge it (at least they did in 2000).

Definitely NOT the way to vote if you want your vote to be counted.