write-in candidate
5
6.9
- noun
- /ˈraɪtˌɪn ˈkændɪdɪt/
- US
:
candidato escrito
- Failure to post write-in candidates is a violation of election laws.
Examples
-
Virginia doesn't list the names of write-in candidates, but it does show the number of write-in votes by county.
Blog text (17) -
Virgil Goode qualifies in Texas as a write-in candidate for President.
Blog text (22) -
All voting places are required to post a list of write-in candidates.
Blog text (22) -
According to figures from 20 provinces, 15 percent of the write-in candidates were elected to senior provincial positions.
Academic text (1998) -
I might vote for Jim Harbaugh for president as a write-in candidate.
Blog text (27) -
What went unreported was that there were six certified write-in candidates for president in Virginia.
Blog text (10) -
My name is Bud Ryerson, and I am a qualified write-in candidate for Supervisorial District 9.
Blog text (26) -
Despite being disqualified from the primary, Larry Curley entered the presidential race as a write-in candidate.
Academic text (1998) -
How come Roseanne Barr's party is listed as "Americans Elect" in Wisconsin's official list of write-in candidates?
Blog text (8) -
Many voters decided to support a write-in candidate instead of the ones listed on the ballot.
Synonyms
18
7.0
A vote for a person whose name the voter adds to the ballot
Surface Forms
Morphology
write-in + candidate
The meaning is directly compositional: 'write-in' denotes someone who is 'written in' (added by writing) and 'candidate' denotes a person seeking office, so a B1 learner who knows 'write', 'in', and 'candidate' can infer a candidate whose name is written on the ballot. The structure follows a regular English verb+particle → adjective pattern (write in → write-in) and is predictable despite being a specific electoral term.
Etymology
Write-in candidate: The noun write-in candidate comes from the simple act of voters literally writing a person's name as a write-in on the ballot when that person is not printed there. So it means 'a candidate whose name is written on the ballot by voters'.