Write-in Frenzy at Council District 8

Well, here we are again in Council District 8 facing an unusual situation - Councilwoman Madison's demise leaves us scrambling for write-in candidates in the upcoming mail-only election. Candidates can't just mount a write-in campaign. "Votes for write-in candidates are allowed in this race. However, write-in candidates must file a notarized Write-In Affidavit of Intent with the Denver Elections Division in order for their votes to be counted. The deadline to file an Affidavit of Intent is 6 p.m., Monday, April 18."

Here is a list of those who have already filed their Write-In Affidavit.

Council District 8 Adam Crowley
Council District 8 Warren Edson
Council District 8 Paul Noel Fiorino
Council District 8 Jake Fleck
Council District 8 Robert Price
Council District 8 Dan Stafford
Council District 8 Susan Whitehurst

We expect to see others join in the fray, among them Darrell Watson, who ran against Madison four years ago, and Paul Weiss, Madison's husband. The office is up for grabs; a write-in candidate must get 50% (of the write-in votes) plus 1 to win. If there is no plurality in the May 3, 2011 election, I assume there will then be a run-off between the top two candidates in the June 7 run-off election. (Update: We verified this with the Clerk and Recorders Office.)

So let's assume that each of the write-in candidates can muster 100 write-in votes. Let's also assume that 5 more candidates join the 7 listed above. That would make a total of 1200 write-in votes, with a plurality of 601 required to win. I doubt that any candidate will be able to garner that plurality, and that therefor a run-off will be held on June 7.

Whatever the case, a small number of aware voters will  determine the outcome. That could be you.