Figure 1: What you will see in the voting booth for the 1st District
A reader asks how to cast a write-in vote for John LaFerla and if there is a paper ballot for write-in candidates.
There is no paper ballot. Once you check in at your polling station, you will be given a plastic card to insert into a touch-screen voting machine–and the list of candidates will appear for all offices.
The first choice will be for President, the next for the Senate race, and then the 1st District race options as seen in Figure 1.
BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING, remember that Wendy Rosen is no longer in the race—so a vote for her will not count for John LaFerla or any other candidate. You have to write-in LaFerla if you’ve chosen him as your candidate.
Next, touch the race-track shaped circle next to “Write-in” and a prompt will appear to type the name of your write-in candidate.
If you want to chose John LaFerla for the 1st District, TYPE IN, John LaFerla
Remember, in Maryland, a slight misspelling will not invalidate your vote. State law requires that you show intent. The write-in is also not case sensitive; so don’t worry about caps if you chose not to use them. Any discrepancies are determined by a list given to the Kent County Board of Elections to review.
BUT YOU MUST TYPE IN BOTH THE FIRST AND LAST NAME!!!
IF YOU NEED HELP, there are instructions in the wall of the voting booth, but you can also call a voting official to come over and help you if you are confused about anything.
Melinda Bookwalter says
Uh oh….I just read in the Kent Co Board of Elections official specimen ballot that one was to type in the LAST NAME first followed by the first name.
Does it matter???? I don’t want to screw this up, or anybody else to….
Sandra Bjork says
I checked with the Kent County Board of Elections. The instructions from the State Board are to enter last name, then first name, but as it stated in the article, it is the voter’s intent that is important. The instructions are on the county board’s website: http://www.kentcountyelections.org. Hope this helps.
Cheemoandia Blake says
.03 Write-in Voting Generally.
A. Any abbreviation, misspelling, or other minor variation in the form of the name of a candidate shall be disregarded in determining the validity of a write-in vote as long as the intended candidate can be determined.
B. Writing in only the last name of a candidate constitutes a valid vote, unless there is more than one filed candidate with the same last name for that office. If there is more than one filed candidate with the same last name for that office, writing in only the last name is not a valid vote.
B-1. Writing in only the first name or initials of a candidate constitutes a valid vote, unless there is more than one filed candidate with the same first name or initials for that office. If there is more than one filed candidate with the same first name or initials for that office, writing in only the first name or initials is not a valid vote.
C. Writing in the name of the candidate for Governor or the name of the candidate for Lieutenant Governor is sufficient to cast a write-in vote for the joint office.
D. Writing in the name of the candidate for President or the name of the candidate for Vice President is sufficient to cast a write-in vote for the joint office.
Frances Miller says
Aren’t you glad you live in a state that does everything possible to make sure every eligible citizen gets to vote, rather than using every possible trick–legal or otherwise–to disenfranchise its citizens? Thanks, Ms Blake, for all you and your staff do to make voting possible for everyone who has a right to vote. I hope the turnout this election does everyone in Kent County proud.
Diane Snyder says
My husband and I voted for John Laferla on first day of early voting in Berlin @ Gull Creek. I had to type his name 3 times and the voting machine would not accept it. After asking a poll worker to look at what was happening……the poll worker did see me type in Laferla,John.and it finally accepted it. While waiting in line 1-1/2 hours, in the parking lot there were people giving out instruction sheets on how to type in his name-the sheet said type in Laferla,John.
Now, I am not so sure after reading in this week’s Dispatch that there were no write votes for John Laferla.
There is something fishy going on in Wocester County…….
Diane P. Snyder
Wm. R. Snyder