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North Carolina Voters Get Creative As Write-In Votes Spike In 2016

Plenty of North Carolina voters did not like any of the presidential candidates this year. But they didn't stay home. Instead, they cast their votes for someone who wasn't on the ballot.

In fact, the number of write-in votes on the top of the ticket was up significantly compared to 2012.

Voter turnout in North Carolina this year was roughly in line with 2012 and 2008. But protest votes in the form of writing-in a name jumped about one percent.

That works out to more than 59,000 people statewide who didn't like any of the three major party candidates for president.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Independent Evan McMullin were common responses from write-in voters. But many North Carolinians got creative.

A News and Observer analysis of just one county found votes for Mickey Mouse, Bill Murray and a satirical candidate – a cat named Limberbutt McCubbins.  

Other protest voters made their point with a phrase. “None of the Above” got nearly 100 votes in Wake County alone.

Sean Bueter joined WFDD in August 2015 as a reporter covering issues across the Piedmont Triad and beyond.Previously, Sean was a reporter, host and news director at WBOI in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a few hours from where he grew up. He also sorted Steve Inskeep's mail as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C.Sean has experience on a variety of beats, including race, wealth and poverty, economic development, and more. His work has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and APM's Marketplace.In his spare time, Sean plays tennis (reasonably well), golf (reasonably poorly), and scours local haunts for pinball machines to conquer.

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