My mom. Jerry Garcia. Jesus. None of the above.
Those were some of the names that Bartholomew County voters wrote in as alternatives to President Donald Trump, Democrat Joe Biden and Libertarian Jo Jorgensen in Tuesday’s presidential election.
A total of 84 Bartholomew County voters — less than 1% of the overall vote — typed or scribbled in their own preferred choices for president, with some voters making attempts at humor or just snubbing their noses at the major party candidates.
Several of the write-in votes were for rapper Kayne West, who conceded defeat on Wednesday, and Ralph, a possible reference to a character on the television show the Simpsons.
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Additionally, at least one Dead Head went truckin’ over to the polls and selected two members of the Grateful Dead — Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir — even though Garcia died in 1995.
Many of the other submissions were more serious, with voters selecting former presidential candidates or members of current and former presidential administrations.
Among those votes were former Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang; former GOP presidential nominee Sen. Mitt Romney; and Condoleeza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. national security adviser during the George W. Bush administration.
One write-in vote was for Scott Andrews, although it is unclear if that was in reference to the former local candidate for Bartholomew Superior Court 2 Judge.
“In past elections, we have seen cartoon characters, singers, actors, professional athletes and famous historical presidents like Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy listed as write-ins,” said Bartholomew County Clerk Jay Phelps. “I think for some voters it is comical to list these as write-ins, and for others, they are protest votes against the major party presidential candidates who they do not care for.”
However, most of the write-in votes in Bartholomew County were not officially tallied because just 16 of the 84 votes were for certified write-in candidates, including Brian Carroll of the American Solidarity Party and Howie Hawkins of the Green Party, who each received eight votes.
Indiana has specific rules for write-in candidates and how to count write-in votes. Only votes cast for a declared write-in candidate can be counted, according to the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office.
Individuals who wished to become official write-in candidates in Indiana for the Nov. 3 presidential election had to file a declaration of intent with the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office by July 6, certifying that they had no political affiliations or were not affiliated with the Democratic, Republican or Libertarian parties.
In Indiana, there were 11 certified write-in candidates for Tuesday’s election.
Phelps said his office does not track how many votes each unofficial write-in candidate receives, but records the every name selected by voters for historical purposes. That means it is not known precisely how many votes were cast for West or members of the Grateful Dead.
The votes cast for Carroll and Hawkins were counted and accepted as legitimate votes, Phelps said.
However, far fewer write-in votes were cast in Bartholomew County this year compared to 2016, when there were 325 write-in votes, according to county records.
“In (2016), I think you probably had a little bit more dissatisfaction with both (major party) candidates, whereas with this one, they wanted to be sure their vote applied to either Biden or Trump,” Phelps said.
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Besides the major party candidates, Bartholomew County voters wrote in the following people as their choice for U.S. president:
- My Mom
- Dr. Steven Reynold West
- Rock DeLa Fuente
- Andrew Yang
- Mitt Romney
- Howie Hawkins
- Brian Carroll
- Mark Charles
- Temkai Jordan Clark
- June Krebbs
- Kanye Omari West
- Bernie Sanders
- Devon Ripple
- Marion Dyas
- Jesse Reynolds
- Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir
- Ben Carson
- Condoleeza Rice
- Tamara Watson
- None of the Above
- Scott Andrews
- Jesus
- Marques Johnson
- Benjamin Eric Sasse
- Ralph
- Shalee Mullis
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The official write-in candidates certified by the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office for the Nov. 3 presidential election included:
- Brian Carroll (American Solidarity Party)
- Randall F (Independent)
- Howie Hawkins (Green Party)
- Shawn Howard (Independent)
- James L. Johnson, Jr. (Other)
- Abram Loeb (Independent)
- Valerie McCray (Independent)
- Deborah Rouse (Independent)
- Joe Schriner (Independent)
- Christopher Stried (Independent)
- Kasey Wells (Independent)
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