DUQUESNE, Pa. (AP) -
Duquesne men’s basketball coach Keith Dambrot isn’t sure why one person in Allegheny County - a voter from Baldwin - chose him as a write-in candidate for president in November’s election.
He is sure, however, that he doesn’t want the job.
“I have enough problems,” Dambrot said with a laugh. “I can barely get through the coaching aspect of it at this point in my life. I’m just trying to survive the COVID and survive a crazy season. I certainly don’t want that added on to it.”
Dambrot’s name was one of dozens from the world of sports that showed up in the vote totals when the Tribune-Review requested November’s presidential write-in results from the boards of elections in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.
Total write-in votes for president in the two counties dropped dramatically from 2016 to 2020. There were 8,480 cast four years ago and only 3,253 in November.
Election analysts believe that says something about the mindset of voters four years ago.
“I think the 2016 cycle epitomized the frustration people had with the choices for president,” said Justin DePlato, an assistant professor of political science at Robert Morris who specializes in the U.S. presidency. “Frustration was very high, as evidenced with the candidates’ high unfavorability ratings.”
David Barker, a professor in the department of government at American University who taught at Pitt for 13 years and specializes in American political behavior, was more blunt.
“I think that says a lot about how (Allegheny County) voters felt about Hillary Clinton,” Barker said.
The thrill is gone
When faced with the choice between Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016, a significant contingent of Western Pennsylvania voters went off the board and wrote in the name of Phil Kessel. The erstwhile Penguins winger received 53 votes.
This time around, no one in sports solidified as large a local voting block.
Kessel’s vote total was down to one, a lone fan in Avalon who stuck by the popular goal scorer despite the fact that he was long ago traded to Arizona.
The top vote-getter among sporting figures was Mt. Lebanon native Mark Cuban, though he might be better known as a television personality than the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks at this point. He received 19 votes.
Eight voters chose Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, giving him second place in the former professional wrestler category, well behind Jesse “The Body” Ventura but ahead of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who received two votes.
Three voters chose Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, with one even using his middle initial - P, which stands for Pettaway - to make it sound fancier. It’s a surprise Tomlin didn’t receive more support, frankly, since his team was 7-0 on the November day ballots were cast.
One person, one ballot
Beyond that, multiple sporting figures received one or two votes.
Alejandro Villanueva was written in by a voter who also included a running mate for the 6-foot-9, 320-pound Steelers offensive tackle - 6-foot-9, 270-pound Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. That’s a tall ticket.
Sidney Crosby received a vote, even though he is conspicuously Canadian.
The name of Art Rooney Sr. appeared on a ballot, even though, with all due respect, he’s been deceased for 33 years.
Barry Sanders received a write-in vote, but there’s a pretty good chance whoever filled out that ballot meant to vote for Bernie Sanders but accidentally scribbled the name of the Detroit Lions Hall of Fame running back instead.
Bill Belichick made at least one fan in Western Pennsylvania while he beat up on the Steelers over the years, as he received a write-in vote, too.
Someone wrote in Brutus Buckeye, the mascot who, among swing states, clearly has a better chance of carrying Ohio than Pennsylvania.
Mike Tyson and Shaquille O’Neal each received a vote. Tiger Woods - written in twice with his given name, Eldrick - and LeBron James received two votes apiece.
Not sticking to sports
Dambrot, who coached James in high school, thought voting for the Los Angeles Lakers luminary makes at least a little bit of sense.
“He’s a superstar,” Dambrot said. “I’m just a normal ball coach.”
James is one of hundreds of athletes and coaches who have made the decision to stop sticking to sports and start getting involved in issues of politics and human rights in recent years.
That’s a trend that is showing no signs of slowing down.
“People always used to say we should never talk about politics and religion,” Dambrot said. “I think times have changed. They’ve changed dramatically over the last couple of years. Obviously these superstar coaches and superstar players, they have a platform that they feel they can reach the majority. They feel strongly about it and they’re not afraid to put themselves out there. I have a lot of respect for people that aren’t afraid to put themselves out there.
“I’m close to LeBron. I’m not going to say I agree with everything LeBron says, but he certainly has done his part to make the lives of people better. I have a lot of respect for what he does and what he says and him standing up for what he believes is right.”
Protest song
The majority of voters who write in figures from the world of sports aren’t doing so because they think they would make great world leaders, of course.
It’s a protest vote.
“Some people feel like they can’t morally live with themselves if they vote for either of the two major party candidates, but they want to ‘do the right thing’ by voting in general,” Barker said. “For some people, the moral act is to cast a protest vote; it makes them feel good about making their voice heard to essentially say, ‘These choices are not good enough for me, and this is how I am going to tell you about it.’”
Protest votes obviously aren’t limited to sports.
A host of people from all walks of life received at least one write-in vote for president in November.
The majority went to actual candidates from fringe parties, such as Howie Hawkins of the Green Party, or candidates who lost in the primaries, such as Pete Buttigieg or Ted Cruz.
But plenty of ballots also included the likes of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Cardi B, Joe Exotic, Baby Yoda and Donald Duck.
One voter from Trafford even gave Mr. Duck an expletive for a middle name that most assuredly appears nowhere in the Walt Disney canon.
“I think we can surmise that write-in voters are frustrated or making a mockery of the two-party system,” DePlato said. “The more ridiculous the vote, the greater the frustration and mockery.”
Free expression
While off-the-wall write-in voting might not exactly sound like a positive development from a civics perspective, Barker sees no problem with it.
If voters would rather write in Baba Booey for president than cast a ballot for the actual Democrat or Republican candidate, more power to them.
“People should express themselves in whatever way makes them feel like they are fulfilling their civic duty,” Barker said. “A protest vote makes a statement. It sends a message. In that way, it makes some small difference. I would rather people do that, while casting ‘meaningful’ votes in the other races on the ballot, than not showing up to vote at all.”
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Sidebar:
COUNTING VOTES
Here’s a sample of actual write-in votes for president in Allegheny and Westmoreland County in November’s election.
CELEBRITIES
• Tom Hanks
• Sandra Bullock
• Morgan Freeman
• Martin Sheen
• Martha Stewart
MESSAGES
• “God, please help us”
• “Any decent human under 70”
• “2nd election in a row without a good candidate”
• “Ranked voting”
• “Eliminate the Electoral College”
YINZERS
• Pittsburgh Dad
• Fred Rogers
• Rich Fitzgerald
• Wendy Bell
• Bethany Hallam
HEAD-SCRATCHERS
• Coronavirus
• Friendly aliens
• Pac Man
• Harambe
• Beauregard Fancy Pants
FICTIONAL CHARACTERS
• Montgomery Brewster
• Jean-Luc Picard
• Turd Ferguson
• Chandler Bing
• Boba Fett
CARTOONS
• SpongeBob
• Bullwinkle J. Moose
• Hank Hill
• Homer Simpson
• Butters
RAPPERS
• Snoop Dogg
• Ice Cube
• Shawn Corey Carter (Jay Z)
• Chuck D
• Doja Cat
MUSICIANS
• Dolly Parton
• Jerry Garcia
• Eddie Van Halen
• Alfred Yankovic
• Willie Nelson
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