Even though Tuesday’s ballot deadline has passed there is still an opportunity to get your name in the candidate pool through a write-in campaign.
Wausau City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde says those who are interested have until noon on the Friday before the election to register their intent with their local clerk. “They’ll file a campaign registration statement with the filing officer. For that city, that’s me. For the school [board,] it would be with their filing officer. For the County [Board] it would be with the County Clerk.”
Bernarde says the statement includes information about the candidate along with bank account information for campaign finance purposes. She adds that just like the other candidates you must provide statements on any campaign-related funds that come into or out of your accounts unless those funds are exempt. You must also declare if you have a campaign treasurer.
“They are certifying that they are going to follow the proper campaign finance rules,” said Bernarde.
Once you register it’s up to you to get your name out there to your neighbors just like the candidates that will appear on the April ballot. However, there is one extra step as voters will have to spell the name properly on their ballot for it to count. They can’t be one or two letters off and have it count all the same. Also if the number of ballot candidates for an office is greater than or equal to the number of seats that are up for election, only registered write-in candidates will be counted. Meaning someone’s write-in vote for Mickey Mouse or Elvis won’t count if there are two candidates up for one City Council seat.
Wausau has just one declared candidate in five of its 11 Alder races. The Mayor’s race and District 4 Alder races will require a primary on February 20th.
The last day to register as a write-in candidate will be March 29th. The spring election is April 2nd. Those who would like more information on running as a write-in candidate for a local race should talk to their local election clerk or the election filing officer for the position that they are interested in.
