Odd votes

The North County Times has looked as some of the odder write-in votes in the June elections. God got one. So did Jay Leno, Bill O'Reilly and just about all the popular Disney characters. Those are just a few of the names that received write-in votes by Riverside County residents in last week's statewide primary election. God received a vote in the Republican race for lieutenant governor. However, at that same Riverside polling place, there were no write-in votes for governor, so whomever cast the vote for God must believe the good Lord should be second-in-command under the Republican candidate. Sadly, the paper notes: To qualify as a write-in, a candidate must have already filled out the same paperwork as those listed on a ballot, Martine said. However, qualified write-in candidates don't have to pay a filing fee and they don't get a written statement in the voter's pamphlet, she said. So, even though there are a lot of T-shirts out there, as well as the movie "Napoleon Dynamite," telling people to "Vote for Pedro," the vote Pedro did receive at a Riverside polling place last week for United States senator didn't count.