Some people less serious about electionsWith his ears as large as they are, voters must think Mickey Mouse would make a good listener.Mickey picked up a ballot for Powell's town council in last Tuesday's primary election.On county ballots, Bullwinkle Moose, Goofy, Pluto, Donald & Daffy Duck, Fred Flinstone and Mickey & Minnie Mouse received write-in votes for a host of offices.“Pretty good company, isn't it?” quipped House District 25 Republican candidate Dave Bonner.Powell Republican Pat Slater launched a serious write-in campaign against Bonner, publisher of the Powell Tribune, but both candidates saw more frivolous opposition from “Cowpie,” “Pogo,” and “Slack.”What those results mean is anyone's guess.By law, an option must be provided for voters to “write-in” the candidate of their choice, giving everyone ballot access of sorts. However, according to state statute, what's written-in does not have to be actually read unless there are enough votes to win the election. So, as long as self-penned votes are less than number of votes received by winning candidates, write-in ballot are never even seen.As an experiment, Park County clerk Kelly Jensen decided to record all write-in votes this year. She was a little sad to see the results.“It's disappointing to see what (some) people do with their opportunity to vote and bring in a candidate,” Jensen said. “I don't think people realize how much work has to go into (counting write-ins).”

In local races, write-in ballots can prove decisive, but on the larger scale, write-ins are pretty much “a lesson in futility,” Jensen said.“It has limited election value, but it has great human interest value,” she said.In the race for U.S. representative, Cynthia Lummis and Gary Trauner faced a baffling bid by “Gay Duck.” That may or may not be a reference to the less-famous cartoon character, “Queer Duck,” who had a series on Showtime back in 2002.In Meeteetse, it was a “Full House” of candidates, where comedian Bob Saget picked up a ballot for town council.State Sen. Hank Coe beat out George Washington in District 18.Cody humorist Doug Blough, who writes a column for the Tribune from time to time, unofficially came in fourth place in the Cody mayoral race, tallying six votes.Blough had heard he had picked up some votes for mayor, but was surprised to learn he also got a ballot for U.S. Representative and the state Senate.“I'm really going to be spread out,” he said.Blough predicts he can “more than double” his votes in the general election.His biggest campaign promise is putting a stop to Cody's wind.“It has to go,” he said.Cody's Simpson family — Colin, Bill, and former U.S. Sen. Alan — picked up votes for just about every position on the ballot.Another Simpson, Marge, actually won the most votes (two) for Republican Precinct Committee woman in Powell.“(She) is a second cousin,” Colin joked.Jensen said she was unsuccessful in finding Marge Simpson, of Springfield, registered in Wyoming.“Apparently she wasn't responsible enough to register to vote,” Jensen dead-panned.Colin Simpson, a state representative, actually was on the ballot as a Republican incumbent in House District 24. He won about 98 percent of the vote there. However, Simpson was also written-in for both U.S. Senate seats, the U.S. representative slot, state Senate District 18, and Powell's House District 25.“I'd like to think of that as flattering, but you never know,” he said.When asked which seat he would choose, Simpson had a quick answer.“The one I have,” he said.Then, he caught himself.“The one I hope to have,” he said.After all, it would be foolhardy to count out Rocket J. Squirrel.