Tamarack Township clerk reports eleven write-in votes for township dog

TAMARACK TOWNSHIP — Township Clerk Beverly Harnisch confirmed Thursday that Mayor, a seven-year-old yellow Labrador retriever belonging to former trustee Dale Kropp, received eleven write-in votes in Tuesday's election for township trustee.

The dog did not appear on the official ballot. Harnisch said the write-in votes were recorded in accordance with state election law but will not be certified as valid votes.

"We count what's written," Harnisch said. "The canvassing board determines what's valid."

Election results stand

Incumbent trustee Patricia Veldman won re-election with 247 votes. Challenger Robert Eng received 198 votes. Mayor's eleven write-in votes placed third, ahead of two other write-in candidates who received one vote each.

Kropp, who served two terms as trustee before retiring in 2021, said he was unaware of any organized write-in campaign for his dog.

"Mayor's a good dog," Kropp said. "But he's never shown much interest in zoning ordinances."

Mayor was not available for comment.

Write-in vote history

Tamarack Township has recorded animal write-in votes in three previous elections, according to clerk records dating to 1986. A cat named Supervisor received four votes in 1993. A horse named Budget received six votes in 2007. A chicken named Infrastructure received two votes in 2015.

Harnisch said write-in votes for non-human candidates do not affect election outcomes but must be recorded in official canvass reports submitted to Wexagaw County.

"It's a hand-count process," Harnisch said. "Every ballot gets reviewed."

The township canvassing board will meet Monday at 7 p.m. at the township hall to certify final results. Veldman's term begins April 1.