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Elections

How to Run as a Write-in Candidate

Write-in candidates run for office without filing nomination papers. Your name won’t appear on the ballot. For each office on the ballot, there is a write-in space below the list of candidates. Voters can write your name and address in the space for the office you’re seeking. You can also distribute stickers for voters to place in the write-in space. Handwritten votes will count even if you have distributed stickers.

The first step is contacting your local election office. They can explain the process and show you where voters can write-in your name and address.

It is recommended that you let local election officials know if you plan to run a write-in campaign, so they can prepare the election workers who will be counting the votes. If you are running on a state ballot, you can also let the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Elections Division know about your campaign.

You will also need to tell the public about your write-in or sticker campaign. Make sure you tell voters everything they need to do to vote for a write-in or sticker candidate so that their vote can be counted.

General Requirements

Voters will need to write your name and address in the blank “write-in” space on their ballot. If you’re giving voters a sticker, make sure the sticker has your full name and address.

Voters will need to know how to write your name correctly, and where to write it on the ballot. If a voter misspells your name or address, the vote can still be counted, as long as the election worker can figure out the voter’s intent. If they write-in or stick on your information but don’t fill in the vote indicator, their vote can still be counted.

Make sure voters know what office you’re running for. If they write your name in for a different office, their vote will count for that office, instead of the one you’re running for.

You can’t hand out campaign materials within 150 feet of a polling location. This includes stickers. The polling place, the building that the polling place is in, the walls of the building, the building grounds, and 150 feet from the building’s entrance are all off limits.

Winning an Election

Primary Election

To win a state primary election as a write-in or sticker candidate, you must receive more votes than any other candidate. You also have to receive at least as many votes as the number of signatures that you would have needed to file to get on the ballot for that office. This number varies by office.

If you are nominated by write-in vote in a state primary, you will need to file a written acceptance of the nomination and (if applicable) a receipt from the State Ethics Commission with the Elections Division. If the required paperwork isn’t filed by the deadline for that primary, your name can’t be printed on the general election ballot. Check with the Elections Division for specific dates and deadlines before Primary Day.

Presidential Primary - Political Party Committees

Candidates for ward and town committee can run as slates. A single sticker for the slate can be used. Write-in or sticker candidates for ward and town committee must receive at least five (5) votes (and more than any other candidates) to win. They do not need to file a written acceptance.

Write-in candidates for state, ward or town committees must have been enrolled in the proper party throughout the 90 days prior to the deadline for filing nomination papers. If they are not, they cannot be declared elected, and the person receiving the next highest number of votes is elected instead.

General Election

To be elected in a general election, a write-in or sticker candidate must receive more votes than any other candidate for that office. There is no minimum number of votes required.

Scanner

Voting for a write-in candidate with a scanner system is fairly simple. There is a space provided below the list of candidates printed on the ballot. The voter writes in only the name and address of the candidate. They don’t write in a political party or other designation.

The voter can fill in the oval next to the write-in space or join together the arrow pointing to the write-in space. When the voter completes the oval or the arrow, most tabulators will segregate that ballot into a separate compartment to be hand-counted at the close of the polls. It is not necessary, however, for the vote indicator to be completed for the vote to be valid. Poll workers are required to review all ballots for write-in and sticker votes.

If you wish to run a sticker campaign where a scanner system is used, you should comply with the following requirements:

  • The sticker for an individual candidate should be 2 ¼" long by ¼" high to fit the space on the ballot. You may ask your local election official for a sample ballot to make sure you prepare your stickers the correct size.
  • The name of the candidate shall be printed in black ink exactly as it appears on the voting list, in capital letters 1/8" to 1/4" in height. The number and street (if any) and the city or the town where the candidate resides should be added after the name in smaller type size than the name. No political or other designation (such as Republican, veteran, present representative, etc.) shall appear. If running on a municipal office ballot, you do not need to include the name of the city or town.
  • Voters should be instructed how to affix the sticker, depending on whether it is self-adhering or the type that must be moistened. Sticker directions, including exactly where to place the sticker, may be attached to a card, which may also contain information about the candidate.
  • Voters should be instructed to place the sticker in one of the spaces provided beneath the list of candidates for that office and to complete the voter indicator (fill in the oval or connect the arrow). Although the voter is not required to join together the arrow pointing to the candidate or fill in the oval next to the candidate, if they do, most tabulators will segregate the ballot for hand-counting after the polls close.
  • Stickers may not be distributed inside the polling place or within the building in which the polling place is located, or less than 150 feet from the entrance to the polling place. Where a scanner system is used, a slate of candidates may run on a single sticker. The slate sticker may be of a size to accommodate the entire slate; multiply the height (¼") by the number of candidates and follow the instructions above.

Hand-Counted Paper Ballots

Voting for a write-in candidate on a hand-counted paper ballot is simple. In a general election, a write-in space is provided below the list of candidates printed on the ballot. The voter writes only the name and address of the candidate. They do not write a political party or designation. The voter is not required to mark an “X” beside the name.

In a primary, no specific write-in space is provided on hand-counted paper ballots if there are other candidates running for that office. Voters can vote for you by writing your name and address immediately below the candidates listed for the office for which you’re running.

If you wish to run a sticker campaign where paper ballots are used, you should comply with the following requirements:

  • The sticker for an individual candidate should be 4” long by 5/16” high to fit in the ballot space, even though the law allows a sticker to be 4 ½” long by ½” high. A preprinted “X” is not required but may be printed on the right side of the sticker.
  • The name of the candidate shall be printed in black ink exactly as it appears on the voting list, in capital letters 1/8” to 1/4" in height. The number and street (if any) and city or town where the candidate resides should be added after the name in smaller case type than the name.

    Example:
    JOHN JONES 12 Cherry St., Acton

    No political party or other designation (such as Republican, veteran, present representative, etc.) should appear. If you are running on a town election ballot, you do not need to include the name of the town.

  • Voters should be instructed how to affix the sticker, depending on whether it is the self-adhering type or the type which must be moistened. Sticker directions, including exactly where to place the sticker, may be attached to a card, which may also contain information about the candidate.
  • Voters should be instructed to place the sticker in one of the spaces provided beneath the list of candidates printed on the ballot for that office. The voter is not required to mark an “X” in the box on the right side of the sticker.
  • Stickers may not be distributed inside the polling place, within the building in which the polling place is located, or less than 150 feet from the entrance to the polling place.

Where paper ballots are used, a slate of candidates may run on a single sticker. The slate sticker may be of a size to accommodate the entire slate; multiply the height (5/16th) by the number of candidates and follow the instructions above.

Additional Resources

Office of Campaign and Political Finance
One Ashburton Place, Room 411
Boston, MA 02108
617-979-8300 or 800-462-OCPF
www.ocpf.us

State Ethics Commission
One Ashburton Place, Room 619
Boston, MA 02108
617-371-9500
www.mass.gov/orgs/state-ethics-commission