This story is excerpted from Capitolized, a weekly politics newsletter featuring expert reporting, analysis and insight. Want to see Capitolized in your inbox every Thursday? Sign up here.  Sign up Sorry, aspiring U.S. House Rep. Mickey Mouse, but Montana voters won’t be able to write undeclared candidates onto the ballot anymore, per a new law passed by the 2025 Montana Legislature, and as reflected on the 2026 primary ballots that began landing in Montana mailboxes this week. Gone from the new ballots are the blank oval and empty write-in line that, for as long as the election officials who spoke with Montana Free Press could remember, have always been there for voters who wished to write in the name of anyone — or any fictional character — they want for public office. Instructions for how to “write in a name” are still printed in the upper left corner of each ballot page, but are unfollowable with the write-in spaces omitted. “The instructions are required,” said Dayna Causby, Yellowstone County elections administrator. “However, a write-in, in order to be counted, had to be qualified by either the county or the state, for that office.” In truth, many of the write-in names scribbled on ballots by voters have long gone uncounted for a variety of disqualifying reasons. For example: To count, a write-in candidate must meet residency requirements. Causby notes that Mickey Mouse isn’t a resident of Montana. But even write-in names that coincide with actual residents — a George Washington and a Michael Jackson both currently reside in Montana — weren’t counted in 2024 unless election officials had been officially informed to look for a particular name, or variant spellings of a particular name. Ballot-counting machines had to be programmed to look for write-ins. When there isn’t an officially registered write-in candidate, the random names added by voters aren’t tabulated, Causby said. The 2025 Legislature created a law requiring that write-in candidates declare their candidacy at the same time other candidates file to appear on the ballot, which narrowed the window of opportunity for write-in candidates to be recognized. A write-in candidate for the primary now must register in early March. Legislators also passed a law prohibiting primary election losers from running as write-in candidates in the general election — a measure sometimes referred to as a “sore loser” law.  Jodee Etchart, R-Billings, sponsored House Bill 207, which changed the write-in laws. Etchart tells Capitolized her bill didn’t specifically eliminate the oval and write-in lines from the ballots mailed to Montanans May 8, and election officials confirm that.  Ravalli County Clerk and Recorder Regina Plettenberg said the write-in line and oval were removed through rulemaking by the secretary of state after HB 207 became law. The reasoning being that if no write-in candidates are registered as HB 207 requires, there’s no need to make space for them on ballots. There are no registered write-in candidates on the primary ballot, but there could be in the general election, as write-in candidates have until 90 days before an election to register their candidacies and all the name-spelling variations they want to have counted. If the general election draws formal write-in candidates, the blank line and oval will return to accommodate them.  “That’s valuable real estate to me,” Plettenberg said. “The write-in spaces in a primary or general election can add up to a page.” Plettenberg said many of the names historically written in by voters have been as cute as a cartoon mouse. Others were offensive. And there have been races won at the write-in line, said Eric Semerad, Gallatin County clerk and recorder. Municipal races in West Yellowstone have been won by unregistered write-in candidates. Party precinct committee positions have also gone to write-in candidates. House Bill 207 wasn’t the first attempt to apply new rules to write-ins, Semerad said. After the 2020 Senate race, county election administrators successfully lobbied the Legislature to stop requiring that non-registered write-in candidates be counted. Thousands of names written onto the 2020 ballot had to be accounted for, Semerad said, including some that appeared only once.  The post End of the line for writing in Montana unofficial candidates appeared first on Montana Free Press. ...read more read less