Philadelphia resident wins local election after writing in their own name - Sensationalist Headlines

[media]https://twitter.com/AvantGarcia/status/936733265972654080[/media] [url]http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/362934-philadelphia-write-in-candidate-shocked-by-surprise-victory[/url] [quote]A Philadelphia resident was shocked to receive a letter Friday saying they won an election earlier in the month — apparently because no one else cast a vote. "I literally yelled 'what the hell' when I opened the letter," Phillip Garcia told The Hill. "I've written my name in a few times during elections when no one else is listed for a position. It's just been a thing I do, with no expectation of, like, actually making an impact on the vote." Garcia, editor-at-large of The Rumpus and a Temple University Ph.D. candidate, tweeted Friday that the city had informed them of being elected as an election judge to serve on a board for Ward 21, Division 10 of the city, which covers parts of the Manayunk neighborhood. The city's election results website shows Garcia's new position as being won by a write-in candidate, with no name listed and three votes in the category. Garcia said two other candidates wrote their names on the ballot as well, but were likely declared ineligible to serve. Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt confirmed Garcia's victory and vote total (1) in an interview Saturday, and said that many election judge positions are filled the same way. "Frequently, candidates do not file petitions to have their names appear on the ballot, so that's when we see write-in votes being decisive," Schmidt told The Hill. "A winner is the candidate who received the most write-in votes."[/quote]

If you want to spoil your vote, spoil it properly, otherwise you get this shit. :V

I had a similar situation happen this year, actually. Guy was running unopposed in a local election for some minor position. I just voted for him without considering a write in. (Probably for the better. :v:)

Ya' know, I cannot remember when was the last time my city had a mayoral election where the main person was not the only one going into it... I should totally just do my own campaign and file myself under the party of, "Guildist League of North Dakota" or something really spergy. I swear to all of you on Facepunch that my entire platform would be about encouraging a project to build a stone cathedral styled marketplace, legalizing marijuana, having gun safety courses as mandatory education, and then forming a town militia which will be used to give highschool students and the homeless, a form of employment. You can bet that my platform will be successful, because unemployment doesn't exist when you forcefully conscript! /s

[QUOTE=JoeSkylynx;52942146]Ya' know, I cannot remember when was the last time my city had a mayoral election where the main person was not the only one going into it... I should totally just do my own campaign and file myself under the party of, "Guildist League of North Dakota" or something really spergy. I swear to all of you on Facepunch that my entire platform would be about encouraging a project to build a stone cathedral styled marketplace, legalizing marijuana, having gun safety courses as mandatory education, and then forming a town militia which will be used to give highschool students and the homeless, a form of employment. You can bet that my platform will be successful, because unemployment doesn't exist when you forcefully conscript! /s[/QUOTE] Pretty sure that would actually work...

The ridiculous amount of elected positions and government entities, many of which are incredibly obscure and are often uncontested, in American local and state governments is incredibly moronic Eg more than 8,000 local governments in Illinois alone, compared to only 547 local governments across the entirety of Australia

Judges get elected in. In the US, we vote in [B]FUCKING JUDGES.[/B] [editline]2nd December 2017[/editline] This a country of way too much voting, we have way to many positions to vote for and give a damn about.

My favorite elected position in the US is county coroner. we fucking vote for the coroner

[QUOTE=SunsetTable;52942443]Judges get elected in. In the US, we vote in [B]FUCKING JUDGES.[/B] [editline]2nd December 2017[/editline] This a country of way too much voting, we have way to many positions to vote for and give a damn about.[/QUOTE] They're not a judge of law. They just organize a polling place. And get paid $100 per election.

[QUOTE=discodude;52942611]They're not a judge of law. They just organize a polling place. And get paid $100 per election.[/QUOTE] While you're right about this fellow in the article, SunsetTable is not wrong either. Somewhere around 90% of state judges are elected in the US. Compared to 0% in almost every other western country.

[QUOTE=Amber902;52942595]My favorite elected position in the US is county coroner. we fucking vote for the coroner[/QUOTE] So what's the decision-making process here? You vote based on who you think is least likely to be a necrophiliac?

[QUOTE=SunsetTable;52942443]Judges get elected in. In the US, we vote in [B]FUCKING JUDGES.[/B] [editline]2nd December 2017[/editline] This a country of way too much voting, we have way to many positions to vote for and give a damn about.[/QUOTE] haha wtf If you think there are too many positions, perhaps you're just ignorant on just how many moving parts there are.

[QUOTE=Pyth;52942701]haha wtf If you think there are too many positions, perhaps you're just ignorant on just how many moving parts there are.[/QUOTE] It's not necessarily that there are too many positions, but that the selection processes are moronic. Eg judges should always be professional and impartial, but that's harder to achieve if judges are elected, as opposed to eg being appointed on the advice of the local bar association. There's really no reason for coroners, clerks, treasurers, auditors etc to be elected, other than "because tradition". Too many elections can be confusing for voters, reducing accountability and transparency, making for an ineffective system. The rest of the world does just fine with those positions being appointed.

"The gang runs for office"

[QUOTE=SunsetTable;52942443]Judges get elected in. In the US, we vote in [B]FUCKING JUDGES.[/B] [editline]2nd December 2017[/editline] This a country of way too much voting, we have way to many positions to vote for and give a damn about.[/QUOTE] A bigger issue is not enough people running. I've had to vote for people I dislike, only because they had no opponents. At any given election, you don't for many positions, just the directly relevant ones.

Thanks for dumbing FYI when I meant the people in courts of law, not handling voter registration. [highlight](User was banned for this post ("Cares about ratings" - Shendow))[/highlight]

[QUOTE=SunsetTable;52942443]Judges get elected in. In the US, we vote in [B]FUCKING JUDGES.[/B] [editline]2nd December 2017[/editline] This a country of way too much voting, we have way to many positions to vote for and give a damn about.[/QUOTE] I believe judges should be voted in, and not just hired in. Do you want your judge to be sitting there at a bench, just because they got all the sheckles? Maybe you're too young to get it, too naive to understand the broadness of government and law. Too many votable positions? I don't think you understand what these positions [i]are[/i], let alone understand their duties they serve. These positions are ones that [B]serve the public[/B], therefor must be [B]chosen by the public[/B]. This isn't the same thing as a cop, who is qualified and then hired in. They don't throw you in jail, they arrest you on crimes. It is ultimately judges, or juries that put you in jail. The ones who make the choices need the public to make the choice first. [QUOTE=SunsetTable;52942830]Thanks for dumbing FYI when I meant the people in courts of law, not handling voter registration.[/QUOTE] :what:

[QUOTE=SunsetTable;52942830]Thanks for dumbing FYI when I meant the people in courts of law, not handling voter registration.[/QUOTE] Judges getting elected into courts of law is completely irrelevant to the thread tho

Judges shouldn’t be elected, but those other positions like coroner, treasurer, etc... should be.

[QUOTE=archangel125;52942694]So what's the decision-making process here? You vote based on who you think is least likely to be a necrophiliac?[/QUOTE] Vote for Jim James: “I will see if they are dead” Vote for Bob Roberts: “I will also see if they are dead”

I should start writing my name into elections to see what happens.

[QUOTE=MissingGlitch;52943367]I should start writing my name into elections to see what happens.[/QUOTE] Breaking News: Hillary Clinton loses 2020 election to "MissingGlitch" in shocking result

Still more successful than Cubeman.

[QUOTE=torres;52942162]Pretty sure that would actually work...[/QUOTE] Hey at least with my policies, no matter how crazy they are, at least people will have jobs!