Mickey Mouse has gotten so many votes for president through the years, you’d think he’d officially run by now. But there’s more to write-in votes than picking your favorite community member or a random name.
In the past, write-in candidates weren’t required to register for races that had no candidates appearing on the ballot. Now in Montana, for Federal, State-wide, State-District or Legislative races, a “Write-In Declaration of Intent” must be submitted to the county election administrator office by 5:00 p.m. and no later than 55 days prior to the election. Only registered write-in candidate votes will count. Of course, you can still write in any name, but non-registered write-ins are not counted.
When at the polls, you can ask an election worker for a list of write-in candidates to help make sure you spell your candidate’s name correctly.
Reilly Neill is an officially registered write-in candidate for Montana’s US Congress District 2, in Eastern Montana, opposing Troy Downing and John Driscoll. While write-in candidates do no need to declare a party affiliation, Neill was a member of the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 62 as a Democrat. And she’s travelling the entirety of the district to bring energy and talk about the issues at hand as we vote for our next representative to the federal House.
You can find out more on https://www.neill4congress.com/, and find links to her social media profiles for more detailed information about her travels and the issues she’s fighting for.