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Glite Dictionary
write-in

write-in

18 7.0
A vote for a person whose name the voter adds to the ballot
  • noun
  • /ˈraɪtˌɪn/
  • US
translation icon : voto por escrito
  • The election rules allowed for a write-in option on the ballot for those who wanted to nominate someone not listed.
  • write-in candidate

Examples

  • Supervisor David Campos sailed to reelection with 16,971 votes, while write-in opponent Bud Ryerson received three votes.

    Blog text (18)

  • Despite being disqualified from the primary, Larry Curley entered the presidential race as a write-in candidate.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Until you do, my vote is still a write-in vote for No Good.

    Blog text (12)

  • Is there not a better candidate who could be a write-in or something?

    Blog text (15)

  • I will do either of two things: refuse to vote or vote a write-in for Dr.

    Blog text (2)

  • We shall see by sometime next week how these write-in votes will affect things.

    Blog text (11)

  • You are wasting your vote for Ron Paul if there is no write-in campaign.

    Blog text (19)

  • Harold Cornelius is gonna run against me as a write-in.

    Random Hearts (1999)

  • 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)

Synonyms

write-in candidate
vswrite-in
  • US
5 6.9

A person not on the ballot who people choose by writing their name

is any vote or option created when a name is written on the ballot

Surface Forms

write-in singular
write-ins plural

Morphology

write-in = write + in (transparent) = write + in

The noun is a direct compound from the phrasal verb 'write in' meaning to write someone's name on the ballot, so the meaning is straightforward for learners who know 'write' and the particle 'in'.

Etymology

The word write-in comes from the simple parts write and in, and it literally meant writing a name 'inside' the ballot when that name was not printed there. So a write-in is a vote or candidate a voter adds by hand.