A write-in candidate for President in the November 2008 general election does not have to do anything to have their votes counted.

All write-in votes will be counted.

To be recognized as a write-in candidate for President in the 2008 General Election in Alaska, write-in candidates must file with the Division of Elections the following form:

Letter of Intent
Write-In Candidate for President and Vice President (.doc).

Write-in votes will not be counted unless the Letter of Intent has been filed.
(AS 15.25.105)

For the November 4, 2008 General Election, the Write-in Candidates' Letter of Intent must be filed no later than October 30, 2008. [AS 15.25.105 (c)]

Division of Elections - Director's Office
Whitney H. Brewster, Director
240 Main Street, 4th Floor
PO Box 110017
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0017
Phone: (907) 465-4611
http://www.elections.state.ak.us

GENERAL INFORMATION

To be recognized as a write-in candidate for the 2008 General Election, write-in candidates must file with the Division of Elections a Letter of Intent form. Write-in votes will not be counted unless the Letter of Intent has been filed. (AS 15.25.105)

For the November 4, 2008 General Election, the Write-in Candidates' Letter of Intent must be filed no later than October 30, 2008. [AS 15.25.105 (c)]

A write-in vote is the writing in of the candidate’s name with the oval filled in next to the name. A blank space is provided for each race on the General Election ballot for this purpose. To be a valid write-in vote, the voter must write in the name as it appears on the Write-in Candidate’s Letter of Intent or write in the last name of the candidate. Either way, the voter must mark the oval next to the candidate’s name for the vote to be counted.

[6AAC 25.070 (c)]

Following are the qualifications for the office of President and Vice President of the United States:

PRESIDENT / VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 35 years of age; a natural born citizen, and a 14-year resident of the United States.

In a presidential race, the President and Vice President run as a team, and one vote is a vote for the team. Space is provided for the voter to write in the names of choices for both offices.

The Division of Elections uses an Optical Scan and Touch Screen ballot tabulation system. Pre-printed stickers with candidates' names may not be used on the ballot. [6AAC 25.070 (a)]

The Director of the Division of Elections prepares all official ballots to facilitate fairness, simplicity, and clarity in the voting procedure, to reflect most accurately the intent of the voter, and to expedite the administration of elections. With respect to write-in candidates, Alaska law requires a provision to be made for voting for write-in candidates within each section of the official ballot of the General Election. (AS 15.15.030)

The candidate must check with the Federal Election Commission for financial reporting requirements.

Arizona

The candidate must submit the following to the Secretary of State's Election Office:

Required Document: A Nomination Paper / Affidavit of Qualification for the presidential candidate.

Required Document: A Nomination Paper / Affidavit of Qualification for the vice-presidential candidate.

Required Document: A Write-In Candidate Presidential Elector Nomination Paper / Affidavit of Qualification for each of 10 electors who must be residents of the state of Arizona.

4) A cover sheet on which the presidential candidate designates in writing that he is running for President, who his vice-presidential running mate is, and the names of the 10 presidential electors that are pledged to him. This cover sheet should also reference that the nomination papers for the presidential candidate, the vice-presidential candidate and each of the 10 electors are enclosed.

Here is an official information sheet from the Arizona Secretary of State's Election Office.

ALL NOMINATION PAPERS MUST BE NOTARIZED

The deadline is September 25, 2008 5:00 PM

Mary C. Fontes

Election Office Manager

Arizona Secretary of State

1700 W. Washington Street, 7th Floor

Phoenix, Arizona 85007-2888

NO WRITE-IN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ALLOWED.

The Arkansas Secretary of State's Elections Division Webster says this:
"Write-in Candidates
Write-in candidates are not allowed in presidential, municipal, or primary elections. [ACA §§7-5-525, 7-8-302, 14-43-202]"
www.arkansas.gov/sbec/pdfs/2007-Handbook-Final.pdf
It turns out that none of those election codes referenced actually contain any language referring to write-in candidates for President. Furthermore, the election law regarding write-in candidacy has remain unchanged since at least the early 70s. However, there is legal precedent for Arkansas allowing write-in presidential candidates in at least 1972, for Schmitz/Anderson of the American Party, and 1976, for Eugene McCarthy.
“American Party Loses Bid for Ballot Spot” Northwest Arkansas Times 1972
“Eugene McCarthy”
Northwest Arkansas Times 1976
when asked about this, the legal counsel of the Arkansas Secretary of State's office was not impressed. It did not seem to matter to him that 1) Arkansas is among only a small handful of states that is currently not allowing write-in Presidential candidates, or 2) that there is a precedent in Arkansas for allowing write-in presidential candidates. The question put to him was: if the law has remained unchanged since 1972, why is it that the Arkansas Secretary of State allowed Schmitz-Anderson to qualify as a write-in Presidential ticket in 1972 in Arkansas, and Eugene McCarthy to qualify as a write-in Presidential candidate in 1976 ... and yet now is saying that presidential write-ins are not allowed?
In South Carolina, the prohibition of write-in presidential candidates is actually spelled out clearly in their election laws, but there is nothing of the sort in Arkansas. There is in fact clear precedent, and a strong national context for allowing Presidential write-ins in Arkansas, but they are not being allowed.

A candidate must file the following with the California Secretary of State’s Office by October 21, 2008:

Required Document: A “Statement of Write-In Candidacy for President of the United States” form.

Required Document: 55 “Declaration of Write-In Candidacy Presidential Elector” forms, each of which must be notarized.

The declarations of write-in candidacy must be filed with the Secretary of State in person or by mail. Please send your documents to:

Office of the California Secretary of State
Elections Division
ATTN: Candidates & Elections
1500 11th Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814

Please indicate on the envelope “Declaration of Write-In Candidacy.” The Declarations of Write-In Candidacy must be received by the Secretary of State no later than October 21, 2008 (E-14). § 8652

By August 26, 2008, a write-in candidate for President must file the following with the Colorado Secretary of State Elections Division:

Required Document: An “Affidavit of Intent for Write-In Designation and Declaration of Qualification” for the presidential candidate. NOTARIZATION REQUIRED.

Required Document: An “Affidavit of Intent for Write-In Designation and Declaration of Qualification” for the vice-presidential candidate. NOTARIZATION REQUIRED.

Required Document: The “Acceptance of Presidential Electors” form. 9 ELECTORS REQUIRED.

Colorado Secretary of State
Elections Division
1700 Broadway, Sate. 270
Denver, CO 80290
Ph: (303) 894-2200 x 6312
Fax: (303) 869-4861

By October 21, 2008, the write-in presidential candidate must file the following with Connecticut Secretary of State, Legislative & Elections Administrative Division:

Required Document: A “Registration of Write-In Candidacy for President/Vice-President” form. The Elections Division said that the candidate can use as many copies of the form as he or she needs to give to the various electors and to the vice-presidential candidate. When sending them all in to the Elections Dept., the forms should just be all stapled together.

Send to:

Secretary of the State

Legislative & Elections Administrative Division

30 Trinity Street, P.O. Box 150470

Hartford CT 06115-0470

There are no requirements in the state of Delaware. Voters can just write in the candidate's name, and the vote will be counted.

A write-in candidate for President and Vice-President of the United States shall file with the Board on or before 5:00 p.m., on October 28, 2008 (the seventh day preceding the election), his or her list of presidential electors on the forms prescribed and provided by the Board, pursuant to the United States and District of Columbia, if he or she is to qualify as a write-in candidate and have the assistance of poll watchers and count observers on election day.

THE CANDIDATE WILL NEED 3 ELECTORS.

THESE FORMS WILL BE AVAILABLE STARTING JUNE 26, 2008.

WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THEY DO NOT REQUIRE A NOTARY.* *2/13/08

A presidential write-in candidate may have a blank space provided on the general election ballot for their name to be written in if:

1) The candidate files an Oath of Candidate (Form DS-DE 85) with the Division of Elections between 8 a.m., July 1 and Noon, July 8, 2008.

Form DS-DE 85 may be downloaded from the Division of Elections website at

http://election.dos.state.fl.us/forms/pdf/DSDE85.pdf

2) Not later than August 29, 2008, the candidate submits a list containing the names and addresses of 27 persons to serve as electors to the Department of State.

NO NOTARIZATIONS REQUIRED.

The Oath of Candidate form must be filled out and signed by both Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates.

For Georgia, in order to be eligible as a write-in candidate for President, there is a multi-step process:

1) You need to send a formal letter of intent to run as a write-in candidate for President and Vice-President, accompanied by a request for the forms that you will need to fill out. You send this letter to:
Mike McCarthy
Director of Elections
Sec. of State Elections Division
2 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE
West Tower, Ste. 1104
Atlanta, GA 30334

2) You also need to publish a notice of your intent to run for President as a write-in candidate in a newspaper of general circulation in the state of Georgia, which would be the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. You need to get an affidavit of publication from the paper, and a copy of the publication itself. You can publish this notice anytime between JANUARY 1, 2008 and SEPTEMBER 1, 2008.

THE PUBLICATION NEEDS TO CONTAIN THE CANDIDATES NAME, THE OFFICE HE IS RUNNING FOR, AND THE DATE OF THE ELECTION. USE THE LANGUAGE OF THE FORM PROVIDED BY THE ELECTIONS OFFICE, BUT YOU ONLY NEED THESE THREE ITEMS OF INFORMATION, NOT THE ADDRESS, ETC.

3) Complete and send the form received from the GA elections division to them, accompanied by the affidavit of publication and a copy of the newspaper notice itself. All of this is due by September 1, 2008, but can be filed at any time before then.

Presidential write-ins are not allowed in the state of Hawaii.

The candidate needs to fill out and turn in the EC-12 Declaration of Intent for Write-In Candidate form by October 21, 2008. If the candidate is not affiliated with a party, he/she would put "No" or "None" in the blank asking for party. For the notary, have a notary in your state notarize. The notary can cross out the word Idaho and write in the state they are in.

To qualify as a write-in candidate in the entire state of Illinois, the candidate has to submit a "Declaration of Intent to be a Write-in Candidate" form to every jurisdiction (i.e. County) in the state and with each of the 8 Board of Elections Commissioners. There are 102 Counties in Illinois, so the candidate needs to file 110 forms total. Each one has to be signed and notarized individually. The Declaration of Intent form is available from the Illinois State Board of Elections. Call (312) 814-6440.

The candidate can also submit the Declaration of Intent forms only to those counties in which he/she wants to run. Here are the 10 most populous counties in Illinois, plus Chicago’s own board of elections:

Chicago Board of Election Commissioners
69 W. Washington Suites 600/800
Chicago, Illinois 60602
cboe@chicagoelections.net

Cook County
69 W. Washington, 5^th Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60602
Call the Clerk's Office: (312) 603-0906
electioninfo@cookcountygov.com

DuPage County
421 N. County Farm Road
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
(630) 407-5600

Lake County
18 North County Street
Waukegan, Illinois 60085
(847) 377-2400
cntyclk@co.lake.il.us

Will County
302 North Chicago Street
Joliet, Illinois 60432
(815) 740-4794.

Kane County
719 South Batavia Avenue
P. O. Box 70
Geneva, Illinois 60134
(630) 232-5990
elections@co.kane.il.us

Winnebago County
404 Elm Street
Rockford, Illinois 61101
Elections: 815-319-4252

McHenry County
County Clerk
2200 North Seminary Ave
Woodstock, IL 60098
Phone: 815/ 334.4242
Fax: 815/ 334.8727

Madison County
Madison County Clerk’s Office
157 North Main Street, Suite 109
Edwardsville, IL. 62025
(618) 692-6290

St. Clair County
St. Clair County Clerk's Office
#10 Public Square, 2nd Floor
Belleville, IL 62220
618-277-6600 x2380

Sangamon County
County Complex
200 South 9th Street
Springfield, Illinois 62701
217-753-6740

By July 3, 2008, the candidate will need to submit the following to the Indiana Election Division:

Required Document:

A “CAN-3” Form (see instructions below). MUST BE NOTARIZED

Required Document:

A list of Presidential electors, residents of Indiana. The candidate must list at least 1 elector, name(s) only, and no more than 11. The sheet that contains this list should make reference to the “CAN-3” Form like this, or words to this effect: "This list is incorporated by reference in the CAN-3 form executed by me on (this date)."

Mail to:

Indiana Secretary of State
Elections Division
302 West Washington Street
Room E-204
Indianapolis, IN 46204

INSTRUCTIONS for CAN-3 Form:

On questions 1, 7, and 8, concerning residence, simply include the
correct information regarding your residence, but cross out "Indiana",
and insert the name of the applicable state.

With regard to the presidential electors needed, Indiana Code
3-8-2-2.5(f) states that a write -in candidate must list at least 1
candidate for presidential elector, and may not list more than the total
number of presidential electors to be chosen in Indiana (11). This list
would be considered part of the CAN-3 document, which is notarized by the candidate. You may wish to include a statement to the effect of
"This list is incorporated by reference in the CAN-3 form executed by me on this date", or words to that effect.

Brad King
Co-Director
Indiana Election Division
(317) 232-3939
(800) 622-4941

There are no forms or applications to fill out, just let people know that you want them to write your name in on the General election ballot & how you want your name written.

Kim Gezel
Administrative Assistant
Elections Division
Secretary of State
515-281-0145
515-281-7142 Fax

An “Affidavit of Write-in Candidacy” for the offices of president and vice-president shall be filed with the secretary of state no later than 12:00 noon on October 27, 2008.

Kansas Secretary of State
Elections & Legislative
Memorial Hall, 1st Floor
120 SW 10th Avenue
Topeka, KS 66612-1594

The candidate must submit the following to the Kentucky Secretary of State:

1) A “Declaration of Intent to Be a Write-In Candidate” form, which will require the following information:

a) Both President and Vice-President must sign the one form.
b) The names of 8 electors pledged to the Presidential candidate.

2) A filing fee of $50, by check made payable to “Kentucky State Treasurer”.

The form and fee are due by 4pm, Kentucky time, October 24, 2008.
The form is available by request from the Kentucky State Board of Elections: 502-573-7100

Mail white and yellow copies of the form to:

Trey Grayson, Secretary of State
Suite 148, State Capitol
700 Capitol Avenue
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-3493

Attn: Mary Sue Helm, Angela Evans, or Kim Bagwell

Louisiana does not allow write-in voting for President and Vice-President.

The 2008 President, Vice-President and Electors forms are available from the Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions: 207-624-7736, and will need to be filled out as follows:

1) A write-in candidate for the general election may indicate a party or political designation by writing that party or political designation in the appropriate space on the “Declaration of Write-in Candidacy”. The candidate may indicate the name of a qualified party (Democratic, Green Independent, or Republican), or choose a political designation that meets the following requirements:

• May not exceed three words in length;
• May not incorporate the candidate’s name, or the designation or an abbreviation of the designation of a party that is qualified to nominate candidates by primary election; and
• May not consist of or comprise language that is obscene, contemptuous, profane or prejudicial, promotes abusive or unlawful activity or violates any other provision of Maine law with respect to names.

2) The “Declaration of Write-In Candidacy” form and a consent form for each of the 4 electors named on the “Declaration” form must be submitted no later than October 29, 2008.

Bureau of Corporation, Elections and Commissions
Julie Flynn, Deputy Secretary of State
101 State House Station
Augusta, Maine 04333

3) Two of the four electors must be from the 1^st and 2^nd Congressional Districts respectively; the other two can be from anywhere in Maine.

4) The Electors Consent forms must be notarized.

Candidates must file a “Certificate of Candidacy – Write-In Candidate General Election” with:

MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS
P.O. Box 6486
Annapolis, MD 21401-0486

410-269-2840
Toll Free 800-222-8683
info@elections.state.md.us

A filing fee is NOT required for a write-in candidate.

The candidate may file the Certificate of Candidacy by mail. All required documents should be mailed together. It is important to note, the Certificate of Candidacy must be notarized.

Deadline is the Wednesday before the General Election,
October 29, 2008. If mailed, the appropriate election office must receive the Certificate of Candidacy by the deadline. Timely postmarked or faxed copies will not be accepted. Original signatures are required. In no case will a filing be accepted later than 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday before the General Election.

Recommendation: It is recommended that a write-in candidate file as early as possible in order to appear on various candidate lists including the write-in candidate list on the sample ballots. Additionally, early filing enables the candidate the option to designate challengers and watcher at the polling place.