I have a question about the school board trustee election in California. It’s not advertised, and there’s only one candidate. Does that mean it’s an automatic win for them? I’m kind of confused about how this works, especially with write-ins. Anyone know how this all plays out?
I think it depends on the area, but yeah, if there’s only one candidate, they usually win automatically. Write-ins might still be allowed unless the board has said otherwise.
River said:
I think it depends on the area, but yeah, if there’s only one candidate, they usually win automatically. Write-ins might still be allowed unless the board has said otherwise.
Yeah, I think it’s pretty standard. But if the board hasn’t made any official rules about write-ins, you might be able to do that. It’s all about the local rules.
@Jesse
Exactly, GHI. And if you feel the election process isn’t fair, you could challenge it legally. Not sure how that works exactly, though.
Wait, what do you mean by write-ins? Is that like when you put someone else’s name down instead of the official one?
Zephyr said:
Wait, what do you mean by write-ins? Is that like when you put someone else’s name down instead of the official one?
Yup, exactly. Write-ins are when voters can put any name they want on the ballot if the election allows it. It’s a way to add someone else if you don’t like the only option.
So if the election rules don’t ban write-ins, does that mean people could technically vote for whoever they want even with only one candidate? Or would that just not count?
Marsden said:
So if the election rules don’t ban write-ins, does that mean people could technically vote for whoever they want even with only one candidate? Or would that just not count?
I think it depends. If the election allows write-ins and you vote for someone else, your vote might still be counted, but only if it’s a valid candidate. If no one else is running, it could be counted as a protest vote or just not count at all.
If the policies prevent fair elections, what happens then? Can someone fight that?
Emmy said:
If the policies prevent fair elections, what happens then? Can someone fight that?
Good question. If you feel like the election isn’t fair, you can take it to court. The court might review the rules and possibly make changes if they’re violating any laws. You’d have to prove the policies aren’t following the legal guidelines.
If there’s only one candidate and no one else is allowed to run, isn’t that kind of sketchy? Shouldn’t there be some kind of competition?
Finley said:
If there’s only one candidate and no one else is allowed to run, isn’t that kind of sketchy? Shouldn’t there be some kind of competition?
I agree, RST. It definitely seems like it should be more open. But sometimes these things happen if no one else steps up to run. It’s a bit of a weird situation.