Deadlines for write-in candidates approach, how some write-ins succeed

 

Voters who've perused their sample ballots for the Nov. 8 election and are unhappy with the choices listed for the non-partisan races for City Council and school and water boards have an opportunity to expand the fields by registering as write-in candidates.

Deadline to file a Statement of Write-in Candidacy with the county Registrar of Voters, 1300 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana, is 5 p.m. Oct. 25. Requirements include being a registered voter age 18 or older, but no fees or petition signatures are needed to file a statement.

Write-in candidacies are not accepted for contests in which the top two candidates from the June primary advanced to next month's general election, leaving council member, school trustee, water director, county schools superintendent and a judicial slot open to write-ins.

The county only tabulates write-in votes for candidates who've filed a statement. But in 1967 six write-ins were counted in Yorba Linda's first council election for five seats: Frank Sinatra, Cacus (sic) Clay, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Billy Barty and Nellie Smith.

Of course, write-in candidates face long odds – if they hope to actually win. Most of the listed candidates have filed campaign statements that were mailed with sample ballots, and they've paid for signs, mailers and automated phone calls.

But there are other reasons to seek write-in status. Two write-in candidates ran in the newly redrawn 59^th Assembly District in the June primary because six-year incumbent Phillip Chen was the only candidate to file for the two-year position.

Under the state's “top two” legislation, one of the two write-ins advanced to the Nov. 8 ballot. Leon Sit, a 19-year-old North Tustin resident and UCLA engineering student, won 551 votes, besting Libertarian Party official David Naranjo, who tallied 58 votes.

Republican Chen's count was 75,555 or 99.2% of the vote in the district that now includes Brea, Placentia, Yorba Linda, Villa Park, North Tustin, Chino Hills and portions of Fullerton, Anaheim, Orange and Chino.

Sit is taking his candidacy seriously: he's adopted a platform, built a website and paid some $1,000 to have his candidate statement mailed to voters with election materials. The district is 39.4% Republican, 32.7% Democratic and 27.9% others and no party preference.

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Residents who miss the Oct. 24 deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 8 election can register as a conditional voter from Oct. 25 through Nov. 8 to cast a provisional ballot.

Conditional registrations are taken at the Santa Ana registrar's office or at any of the vote centers listed on the county ocvote.com website. Voters can also check the status of their registrations at the site.

New citizens also can register to vote from Oct. 25 through Nov. 8 by providing proof of citizenship and declaring California residency. New citizen ballots are processed at the same time as vote-by-mail ballots.