Notable write-in candidates will be on ballots this year, but voters won’t see those results until after Election Day.
“Those are not counted until the audit occurs within 10 days of the election. So that’s just by state code that those votes are not tallied until the audit occurs,” Secretary of State Kris Warner said on MetroNews Talkline, referring to the process often called canvassing.
House Finance Chairman Vernon Criss is running as a write-in candidate in the Parkersburg area after losing the Republican primary to newcomer Charles Hartzog. The Democrat in the race for House District 12 is Dennis Rempel. A Libertarian, Stephen Thomas Smith, is also on ballots for that district.
Former state Delegate Ken Reed filed as a write-in candidate for District 15, which covers Hampshire and Morgan counties and part of Berkeley County. Reed lost the Republican Primary to incumbent state Senator Darren Thorne. The Democrat on general election ballots for the district will be Elizabeth Ferris.
Multiple write-in candidates are running for Fayette County’s House District 50, a seat vacated by former Republican Delegate Elliott Pritt after his arrest on charges relating to sexual exploitation of a minor. The timing of Pritt’s withdrawal as a candidate meant the Republican Party was blocked from replacing him on ballots.
The Democrat on District 50 ballots is Matthew Anderson. Also on ballots are candidates Stacey Hensley of the Constitution Party and Tom Louisos, an independent and former county commissioner. Write-in candidates include William Vest, the current Republican officeholder who was appointed to replace Pritt, plus write-ins Eric Walton and John Pino.
There are write-in candidates for other races as well, including a U.S. Senate race where independent Rio Phillips, who came in fifth in the Democratic primary will aim to take on Republican incumbent Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Democratic candidate Rachel Fetty Anderson.
It’s plenty for voters to sort through.
Ballots have a blank line for each race that says “Write-in, if any.”
The secretary of state said a write-in may be counted “as long as the intent is known. When you write in that name, it could be the person’s first name, the person’s last name, it does not have to be spelled correctly — but as long as those that are auditing the election know what the intent was there to count that vote.”
Some of the races with write-in candidates could be competitive.
In Parkersburg, Criss has built years of name recognition and had a healthy run of fundraising, according to the most recent filings. Criss has a little less than $6,000 on hand to spend on the race, while the Democrat Rempel reported $2,994 available, Libertarian Smith had more than $20,000 on hand and Republican Hartzog had $490 banked.
In the Senate race in the Eastern Panhandle, Reed reported $18,834 on hand while the incumbent, Thorne, reported $18,400 on hand. The Democrat, Ferris, reported having $10,655 still to spend.
The general election is Nov. 3. Early voting starts Oct. 21, next week.