But this year, that number could be much higher, with multiple campaigns underway to normalize the act of writing in a name. During this month's scramble to back away from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, Republican senators including Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) and Rob Portman (Ohio) said they would write in the name of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence for president, tacitly encouraging others to do the same. Evan McMullin, the independent conservative candidate who entered the race too late to appear on many ballots, will be an "official write-in candidate" in most of the country.