For those who are thinking about writing-in a candidate for the 2012 Presidency on Election Day, your write-in candidate must have registered as a write-in candidate in order for those votes to be counted.









There had been much talk over the internet about a Ron Paul write-in in Florida. However, those votes will not be counted or reported because Ron Paul did not register as a write-in candidate in Florida. The reason is that every write-in candidate must take an oath that:









"that he or she is qualified under the Constitution and laws of the United States to hold the office to which he or she desires to be nominated or elected; that he or she has qualified for no other public office in the state, the term of which office or any part thereof runs concurrent with that of the office he or she seeks; and that he or she will support the Constitution of the United States."









The applicable Florida Statute follows in relevant part:





99.021 Form of candidate oath.—





...(1)(c) The officer before whom such person qualifies shall certify the name of such person to the supervisor of elections in each county affected by such candidacy so that the name of such person may be printed on the ballot. Each person seeking election as a write-in candidate shall subscribe to the oath prescribed in this section in order to be entitled to have write-in ballots cast for him or her counted.







