THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 12, 1994 TAG: 9411120209
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT LITTLE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Congratulations to Nancy Spannaus, who received one Virginia Beach vote in Tuesday's Senate contest.
Congratulations, also, to Bozo the Clown.
What? You thought Chuck, Ollie and that other guy had the only chance of winning Virginia's U.S. Senate election?
Well, you thought right. But voters still have the right to write, and throughout Virginia they sharpened their pencils, thumbed their noses and nominated a favorite movie star, dictator, public servant or son of God.
It was actually a pretty famous bunch.
Joan of Arc. Charles Manson. Raoul Cedras.
The lists of write-in candidates from Tuesday's contest read like a Who's Who among cartoon characters, criminals, rock stars and dead guys.
In Roanoke, Attila the Hun got one vote, tying three former state legislators.
In Norfolk, local radio jocks Tommy and The Bull tied Alfred E. Neuman, Bill The Cat and Virgil Goode.
Bill The Cat, in fact, seems to have developed a trans-commonwealth following, picking up a vote in Roanoke County as well.
In Chesapeake, they alphabetize the write-in votes: Bly, Kenneth . . . Buckley, John . . . Bunny, Bugs.
Not all write-ins are a joke: Ronald Reagan, Ross Perot, Pat Robertson, Sylvia Clute.
Okay, so maybe they are a joke. But at least they're real people.
Forrest Gump, Ace Ventura and John Doe don't even have Social Security Numbers, but each got a vote. So did Jesus Christ, not that he wants the job.
In Virginia Beach, the Grateful Dead made an impressive showing. Lead singer Jerry Garcia got a nod for U.S. Senate, and bass player Phil Lesh needed just 78,523 more votes to force a run-off with Rep. Owen Pickett.
John Wayne Bobbitt made the cut in Virginia Beach, too. So did Jim Kincaid, Cynthia Lima, Paula Coughlin and Napoleon.
To some, the write-in process is serious politics. Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and Republican Jim Miller scored a handful of votes in most jurisdictions, as did a smattering of candidates running as write-in alternatives.
Take Spotsylvania County cashier William O. Pratt, who spent thousands of dollars crisscrossing the state, urging people to vote with their pen, if not their conscience.
``I think I can win,'' Pratt said in early October. ``I'm not here playing around.''
Pratt got two votes in Norfolk - six fewer than Wilder and one more than Snoopy.
He got two in Virginia Beach - one more than Minnie, but one less than Mickey.
In Roanoke County, he scored one. So did ``none of the above.'' Pratt scored one vote in Chesapeake, tying George Foreman.
KEYWORDS: U.S. SENATE RACE
by CNB