Bibb County election draws more than 1,000 write-in names

It wasn’t all serious at the polls Tuesday as Bibb County voters weighed in on everything from a sheriff’s race to a water board representative.

Scores of Bibb County voters — prompted by whimsy or frustration — wrote in a variety of names for various offices, choosing another route besides those offered by the official ballot.

A printout of this week’s write-in list was more than 40 pages long and included more than 1,000 names.

The write-in names ranged from people’s neighbors and cartoon characters to mythological beasts and everything in between.

Mickey Mouse was a popular choice, as were Daffy and Donald Duck. Even GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump and former candidate Ted Cruz made the mayoral write-in list.

Other names included Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart, cartoon character Elmer Fudd and even Cthulhu, a fictional cosmic entity.

While the humor in writing in such names isn’t lost on the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections office, their employees would like to see residents take their voting responsibilities a little more seriously. Jeanetta Watson, the office supervisor, said she wishes the activity would stop.

“I wouldn’t spend time during an election writing in a name I clearly knew would not count,” she said. “Especially when the election staff has to do so much to prepare.”

Watson said this election cycle wasn’t as bad as others, but the extra names make for a paperwork headache for her office.

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Bibb County election draws more than 1,000 write-in names."