Wisconsin Kids Pushed For Snoopy In 1968 Election

With President’s Day and spring elections this week, we’re thinking about elections and campaigns to elect people – er, dogs – like Snoopy.

Write-in candidates have a long history in American elections. Mickey Mouse is believed to be the most frequent write-in name. His first appearance on the ballot may have been the 1932 New York mayoral race when he, along with Al Capone, Clarence Darrow and a few others received one vote. Will Rogers got two. Mickey polled fairly well in 2008 and 2010 in Sheboygan County, receiving the most write-ins for a variety of positions from coroner to clerk of courts and governor.

Snoopy was the top choice of the Milwaukee kids in the above image from 1968. The demonstration was led by Randy Becker, the boy on the right. Peanuts creator Charles Schulz had posed with cutouts of his characters with campaign signs that very same year. Not all of the characters supported Snoopy, though. Lucy held a sign promoting herself for president.

Write-in rules vary by state – a few states don’t allow them at all. In Wisconsin, candidates must have filed with the state prior to the election to be counted as official candidates.