Ron Paul Becomes Qualified as Write-In Candidate in California

The California Secretary of State will announce tomorrow that Ron Paul has been certified as an official write-in candidate for President.

This means that write-in votes for Ron Paul in California will be counted, although the numbers for write-in votes are rarely reported until weeks after the election.

Some observers have predicted that Paul may get as many as 250,000 write-in votes nationwide, although they will not be counted in other states. Ron Paul is on the ballot in Montana and Louisiana. A Montana poll released today gave Ron Paul 4.2%, exactly the difference between Obama and McCain (Bob Barr receives 1% in this poll).

In order the qualify Ron Paul as a write-in for California, former Libertarian Party state chair Gail Lightfoot recruited 55 electors who had to file notarized forms with the Secretary of State.

In 1976, former Senator Eugene McCarthy received more votes as a write-in in California than Libertarian Party candidate Roger MacBride (who was on the ballot).

On a personal note: I must confess that I contributed $200 to Bob Barr during the early days of his campaign. I am so disappointed with his campaign that I am serving as an elector for Ron Paul from California, and will be writing him in on my ballot.

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4:34 pm on October 23, 2008