scottmurray asked: I just feel like voting is the only way I can help change something. Could you explain a "Write-In" Campaign? I also agree with your stance on Johnson, and I understand what you are saying about the electoral college problem.
Well, then you have more faith than I do that anyone other than the nice old ladies and the voting machines bother to look at the write in tallies :P
A write-in campaign usually occurs when for one reason or another the candidate can’t get ballot access but still has the campaign structure and funding in place to rally supporters into action. When I say “write-in campaign” as opposed to “write-in candidate,” I’m making the (possibly not universally held — I’m not sure) distinction between an organized, campaign-led effort and a grassroots effort.
For instance, in Michigan, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter failed to file the paperwork to run again for his seat this year. His GOP primary challenger, a Ron Paul supporter named Kerry Bentivolio, did file the paperwork in time and suddenly found himself left alone in the race. (This is actually a somewhat amusing story, as stories of elections paperwork go.) The Michigan Republican establishment, not fond of Bentivolio and his Ron Paul-supporting ways, backed a write-in campaign for a candidate named Susan Cassis. She had to run as a write-in because it was also too late for her to file.
Ultimately, Bentivolio won, even though Cassis had the backing of the party. It’s not incredibly surprising that Cassis lost, though, because write-in campaigns typically do not succeed. To my knowledge, they’re even less successful when not organized by an official campaign (as writing in Ron Paul would be). There are, of course, some exceptions, but they’re mostly major party candidates.
Regardless, it’s not exactly a reliable election strategy.
