In every election, without fail, there are write-in votes for candidates who aren't qualified.
Some might call them protest or joke votes. Sometimes voters will write in their pets' names or a favorite comedian.
Other times, voters may feel the write-in candidates are better qualified than those endorsed by political parties.
Sacramento County Registrar Jill LaVine said the county always gets some interesting write-in votes and last week's election was no exception.
"We got some of the usual names written in. The most popular are always Mickey Mouse and Jesus Christ," LaVine said. "There was one year in particular, and I don't know why, but we saw a lot of votes for Scooby Doo."
Perhaps the most interesting write-in vote on Nov. 4 was for Anne Boleyn, the Queen of England from 1533-1536.
An election official who oversees many of the write-in names said "Buddy the Elf" and "Bob the Builder" received at least one vote last week, as well as a few other names she didn't "feel comfortable mentioning."
LaVine said the write-in votes for those candidates didn't count, but it doesn't invalidate the rest of the voter's ballot.In order to be a legitimate write-in candidate, you have to be certified by election officials in advance.
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