Commissioner write-in candidates not valid

DAVENPORT – Two Lincoln County Commissioners are running unopposed for re-election this fall, but each seat had a curious number of “write-in” opponents in the primary election.

As of the count on August. 11, the Commissioner 1 seat held by Mark Stedman had 34 write-in candidate votes, or 2.53 percent of the overall total. Stedman pulled 97 percent of the vote with 1,309 votes.

The Commissioner 2 seat held by Scott Hutsell had 52 write-in candidate votes, making up for four percent of total votes cast. Hutsell received 95 percent of the vote, or 1,206 votes.

The identity of the write-in candidates will remain something of an election mystery. According to the Lincoln County Elections Department, the write-in votes were counted as invalid and invalid write-in names are not recorded.

“We only had two valid write-in candidates in the primary, Rich Millard for Governor and Gregory Allen for Lt. Governor,’ said Norm Caley, Lincoln County Elections Deputy. “The county commissioner write-in candidates didn’t file with the elections department, so those votes were rejected. We don’t keep track of the invalid candidate names.”

In order to be considered a legitimate write-in candidate, candidates must file with an election officer before 8pm on election day. For federal, state or court office, the write-in candidate must file with the Washington Secretary of State. All other write-in candidates for county or local office must file with their county elections department. The candidate must submit the filing fee associated with that office, or make a declaration that they are unable to pay the filing fee. Write in candidates who file 19 days or more before the election do not have to pay a filing fee.