How To: The Write-In Vote For Charles Hood

This is an earlier post that I’m kicking up to the top of the blog in preparation for Tuesday’s election. Please share this as much as possible on Facebook (at the bottom of the article). Thanks! ~ Griff

We’ve received a good number of questions about whether or not Council Hopeful Charles G. Hood will appear on the ballot for the upcoming Belleville Municipal Election on Tuesday, May 13th.

The short answer is no. It’s a little late in the game to keep battling back and forth in court, and having to re-print and re-mail new ballots to town residents each time a decision is overturned. It’s just not worth it at this point, when a write-in vote isn’t all that difficult in the first place.

Therefore, we thought we would post some (hopefully) clear instructions to make it easier for people to complete the write-in vote. It’s really quite simple, but since there are a few extra steps involved, we want to make sure people know what to expect before they even get to the polls.

The last thing you want to do is be standing in front of the voting machine without knowing how to vote for your desired candidates!

To vote for Kimble, Kennedy, and Hood, there are 3 things that you must do:

1. Vote for Mayor Raymond Kimble – 1 A
2. Vote for Councilman Kevin G. Kennedy – 3 B
3. Write-In for Charles G. Hood

Voting Instructions:

1. Select Raymond Kimble 1A for Mayor

2. Select Kevin Kennedy 3B for Council

Note: The moment you touch the button for Kimble and Kennedy, the green “X” illuminates next to their names, and you can confirm the choice you’ve made.

3. To Vote for Charles G Hood:

A) Push the “Write-In” button for Council

• You now have a blinking green “X” at the write-in spot, as opposed to the solid green X you have by Kimble and Kennedy. A blinking green X means you’re not finished yet.

B) Using the keyboard at the bottom of the ballot, simply type in Charles G Hood

• You should now see his name appear on the LCD screen to the left.

C) Once you have verified that his name appears correctly, press the “Enter” button on the keyboard

• This records your vote, and the green X stops blinking. You’re not finished yet!

D) Press the “Cast Vote” button in the lower right hand corner of the machine to complete your vote.

That’s all there is to it. Print out a copy of these instructions, and bring them with you on May 13th.

The trick is getting yourself out there on election day. Regardless of whomever you support, it’s important that you do whatever it takes to get yourself to the polls to cast your vote.

We’re doing all we can to empower people with information and motivation, but when it comes to exercising your right to vote, we can’t hold your hand and walk you over there (as much as we’d like to).

The polls are open from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

If you want a better Belleville, a Belleville brought back to the people, May 13th is your chance to make it a reality.

Thank you,

Griff

For more information, here are a couple of instructional videos:

http://www.essexclerk.com/video_clerktv1.html (a live demonstration of the write-in vote we just talked about begins at 4:43)

http://www.essexclerk.com/video2text.html

Update: A few weeks after the election results were published, we were told by someone at the county level that Charlie Hood broke a record by receiving more write-in votes than any municipal candidate in state election history.