Voters wonder why their write-in wasn’t reported

The Secretary of State’s office reported 56 write-in votes for the Tuesday Special Election, handily won by DFLer Rob Ecklund of International Falls. None of those write-in votes were recorded from Cook County.
 
A number of local voters called WTIP to affirm that they had indeed written in a name – many said they wrote in Bill Hansen’s name. Hansen had run for the DFL spot in the primary.
 
According to Cook County Auditor-Treasurer Braidy Powers, his election judges did record 53 “under votes.” But they are not recorded as “write-ins.”
 
Powers said, a few years ago a requirement was passed that someone who agreed it was O. K. to have their name written in, needed to pre-register with the county. No fee, just a registration -- then that vote would be counted as a write-in. No one in Cook County so registered.
 
In fact according to the Secretary of State, no one in District 3-A registered as a write in. Powers speculated the 56 write-in votes reported might be the result of other counties tallying the votes, pre-registered or not.