# I was elected to public office (without running) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 21, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403 "2009-11-21T14:35:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/1 "2009-11-21T14:35:12Z")
Our ballots often have blank spaces for the various positions like election judges, inspector of elections, etc. Because no one wants to run for the office. They don’t want to bother with petitions, filing fees and all of that nonsense. So for years, I would just write in someone’s name. Sometimes a friend, sometimes George W Bush or Bill Clinton, doesn’t matter. This past election, I wrote in my own. This week, I received a letter from the county. They were informing me that I had finished in a four-way tie at one vote a piece for Inspector of Elections in my ward. I had always thought you needed 10 votes minimum for this sort of thing to be valid. Yesterday there was a random drawing to break the tie and my name was pulled. First I want to thank all my supporters (me) for their votes. This was a hard fought campaign and I deserve great credit for standing up and supporting me and voting for myself. Second, I guess now that I have been elected, I have to do this. I have actually worked the polls in the past, just not since I moved to PA. I actually have enjoyed it. Of course, my ward is not terribly exciting since its very small. I think it was a bit of an afterthought when they drew the district lines. In any case, I think I will be lucky to get 100 people for most elections and maybe 400 for a presidential election. So note to self, don’t write in your own name on the ballot, unless you are actually running for the office. Note number two, if you do want to win the office, make sure you tell your wife to vote for you as well. Then you can win outright without the need for drawing ping pong balls. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/2 "2009-11-21T14:38:42Z")
That’s excellent, I would like to congratulate you for running such a clean campaign. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/3 "2009-11-21T14:44:38Z")
Who is Barack Obama? ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/4 "2009-11-21T15:04:51Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Who is Barack Obama? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/5 "2009-11-21T15:25:24Z")
Congratulations. That is a very odd story. I assume you were at least okay with filling this office when you wrote in your own name. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/6 "2009-11-21T15:31:50Z")
> [@delphica](#): > > That’s excellent, I would like to congratulate you for running such a clean campaign. To the contrary, I feel that the campaign was absolutely ridden with graft: the candidate was elected purely by lobbying and currying the favor of vested interests.\* \*Unless he’s self-hating. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/7 "2009-11-21T15:38:08Z")
Holy crap, I do that too. Guess I have to stop or I might accidently end up being a public servant. I’ve also written in Donald Duck, Bruce Wayne and Cecil Adams. ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/8 "2009-11-21T16:23:03Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Congratulations. That is a very odd story. I assume you were at least okay with filling this office when you wrote in your own name. No problems with it at all. Even though I have not worked as an election judge since I moved here, I am usually at the polls all day whether I am working for a particular candidate or serving as a poll watcher. Frankly, I never wanted to run for it, because I have never really wanted to schlep around getting signatures then take a half day from work to drive to the county office and stand in line to file. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/9 "2009-11-21T16:39:30Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > :dubious: You are kidding aren’t you? I am not an American and I know that Obama rigged his first election in 1996. He had his opponents petitions overturned because people had printed not signed their names. Obama’s name became the only one on the Democrat ballot, which he obviously won. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/10 "2009-11-21T17:07:18Z")
Really puts the whole “one person, one vote” thing into perspective now… ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/11 "2009-11-21T17:15:56Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I am not an American and I know that Obama rigged his first election in 1996. He had his opponents petitions overturned because people had printed not signed their names. Obama’s name became the only one on the Democrat ballot, which he obviously won. If you were an American you might know that a lot of our elections, even local ones, have challenges to validity and sufficient number of signatures. That’s nothing unusual. Getting back onto the topic now, congratulations (?) to **Neptunian Slug**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/12 "2009-11-21T17:20:24Z")
Just wanted to add that that is the coolest thing ever. Congratulations and do a good job. You’ll make us proud. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/13 "2009-11-21T17:24:02Z")
Wow - that’s actually really cool. Congrats! (Especially since you’re willing to fill the position.) Did they give you a chance to decline? What if a group of people had filled your name in as a joke - would you be effectively drafted into office? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/14 "2009-11-21T17:24:16Z")
Does the gig come with a salary? And if you really don’t want to do it, you can probably decline. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/15 "2009-11-21T17:31:52Z")
**don’t ask** – don’t hijack this thread. twickster, MPSIMS moderator ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/16 "2009-11-21T17:46:00Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > **don’t ask** – don’t hijack this thread. > > twickster, MPSIMS moderator OK, if that’s how you see it, my apologies. It is MPSIMS after all. I thought my first post was a joke based on a popular US TV show and my second was simply an attempt to explain it to someone who obviously didn’t know what it meant. It isn’t any more important than that. ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/17 "2009-11-21T17:53:15Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Wow - that’s actually really cool. Congrats! (Especially since you’re willing to fill the position.) > > Did they give you a chance to decline? What if a group of people had filled your name in as a joke - would you be effectively drafted into office? I don’t know about prior to the draw. But I could certainly resign from the post if this had been a fun joke. The presiding judge in the ward would have the option of appointing someone or using students from the local high school to fill the duties. > [@Oakminster](#): > > Does the gig come with a salary? > > And if you really don’t want to do it, you can probably decline. Yes, I will get $125 I think for a 13-14 hours on election day, so a bit better than the minimum wage, but not quite as good as the nearby McDonalds. I can take a vacation day at work so its double dipping for me. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/18 "2009-11-21T18:00:34Z")
If you decide to run for higher offices, you might want to rethink future campaign strategies. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/19 "2009-11-21T18:23:59Z")
My cousin got 30 votes by just posting in his status “Vote for me for Mine Inspector”. The whole family voted for him. They said he couldn’t have the job because he didn’t file correctly, or something. We’re all still wondering what the point of the write-in is if it doesn’t let you write in candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403/20 "2009-11-21T19:02:17Z")
It sounds like you’re the right guy for the job, actually. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-was-elected-to-public-office-without-running/518403.md?page=2)