No Republicans filed to run against Tennessee Senate Democratic leader Jim Kyle in District 28 this year. The Shelby County Election Commission recorded 80 write-in votes in the August primary election, but the Tennessee Dept. of State Elections Division seems to assume there was no winner. How many write-in votes does a candidate need in order to win? Or are they even really counted at all? Why isn’t the list of write-in candidates available online?
Ok, so that was more than one question.
You have to file papers as a candidate and pass the minimum requirements. I think (IIRC) that the Tennessee Republican party has to vet you as well, at least on the state level. (Or was that requirement just a proposal in the wake of that Hart idiot?)
Just because a handful of people write in your name doesn’t make you an official Republican candidate.
Yes, you have to file papers and pass the requirements to appear on the ballot, but write-in candidates obviously don’t do that. So the question is, what if all, or a majority, or at least a plurality, of the write-in votes were for an individual who meets the age, residency and other requirements for office? Does that person become the Republican nominee? I don’t think the Party could disqualify the rightful winner of the primary. So I wonder, did any of these write-in candidates get more than one vote? And if so, who got the most? And will that person appear on the general election ballot. And if not, why not?
I don’t think the Party could disqualify the rightful winner of the primary.
Ha! Never over-estimate what local Republicans might do. They’ll surprise you every time.
By statute, you have to file a request 50 days in advance to have write-in votes for you counted.
Then, unless SOMEONE is on the primary ballot, you have to get at least 5% of the number of registered voters in the district to get the nomination.
http://michie.com/tennessee/lpext.dll/tncode/656/b0d/b5b