A last-minute write-in campaign during last week’s election garnered nearly 200 votes for the chairman of Mathews County’s Republican Party.

Keith Ellenberger said he had been going around Mathews knocking on doors in his position as GOP chair for the county when he decided to run for the school board. With three seats available and only three candidates, he said, Mathews residents had no choice and he wanted to give them one.

Since he only made the effort to run 10 days before the election, Ellenberger said he performed as he had expected—not earning enough votes to win, but still garnering support. He received 199 votes, if all misspellings of his name are included.

He said, “I would be open to running in future elections, but there’s a lot of time between now and the next election cycle. A lot can change.”

Of course, Ellenberger isn’t the only person who received write-in votes. In every election, some voters express their displeasure wi...