Thinking of writing in on election day? JeffCo official explains how they're counted

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - Governor Robert Bentley says he will write in Ohio Governor John Kasich's name for president instead of voting for Trump.

Clay Phillips will vote in November. But when it comes to candidates, he may choose to write in his candidate of choice.

"I am definitely weighing that as an option,' Phillips said.

He's not alone, by far. A lot of voters may be doing something similar because they are unhappy with both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

"I won't be writing in but it's definitely something I thought about," Allysa Singer said.

Alabama is a state that allows for voters to write in candidates for every position, but only in a general election.  The voting machines recognize when a write-in vote is cast.

"We only count that ballot or all the accumulation of the write-in ballots if it's greater than the margin of victory between the two folks on the ballot.  So if someone wins by several thousand votes and it's only 50 to 100 write-in votes, then they won't count," Barry Stephenson with the Jefferson County Board of Registrars said.

Stephenson says he's had a lot of folks calling, asking about the option to write in.

"I haven't heard they'll write in but I 've heard a lot of people, at the conclusion of our conversation, say they'll vote against somebody than for somebody," Stephenson explained.

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