Alexandra Gutierrez reports on Lisa Muircowski's Merkouski's Murkowski's write-in campaign:
[M]essaging isn’t the only important part of Murkowski’s campaign. There’s the matter of her unusual name. For a write-in vote to count, the candidate’s name has to be spelled correctly. This will be a big challenge, especially for Alaskans who have learned English as a second language. Making it tougher still, at the urging of rightwing radio host and Miller supporter Dan Fagan, more than 150 Alaskans signed up as write-in candidates last week just to bury Murkowski’s name on the list that will be available at polling stations.
The campaign is hoping Murkowski gear will help minimize misspellings that could lead to tossed ballots. El Tango’s tables are covered with blue wristbands that show the candidate’s name and an oval, which must be colored in on voters’ ballots. The campaign says it has made 50,000 of them in total. They’ve also distributed 25,000 pens bearing the same information and the exhortation, “Fill it in. Write it in.” All this material is allowed in voting booths according to the state’s anti-electioneering laws, so long as it isn’t blatantly flashed around.