One vote, written on the ballot in the right place and checked off, is enough to win elected office in Lewiston, according to the city clerk.

That’s not the case in Auburn, where write-in candidates for the School Committee need to get at least 25 votes to win.

It’s an issue in both cities this year. Both have two open seats on their school committees with no declared candidates.

In Lewiston, there is no declared candidate for the Ward 6 seat and the at-large seat on the School Committee.

In Auburn, there is no candidate for one of two at-large seats and the Ward 1 School Committee seat.

State rules require write-in candidates to at least register their intentions with the municipal office. Both Lewiston and Auburn operate according to their own charters, so the rules are different.

“If they want to come in and talk to us, we certainly welcome them,” Auburn City Clerk Roberta Fogg said. “It makes it easier for us and we have a name to look out for. But we don’t require them to do anything beforehand.”

That means that voters can write in any name they want for any open seat, not just those with no candidates.

“One vote is all they need, as long as they have the most write-in votes,” City Clerk Kathy Montejo said. “They have to be real people, and they have to be willing to serve.”

Both cities require voters to correctly spell the write-in candidate’s name and their street address and then check off their selection.

“If they don’t fill in their vote, they’ve just written a name on the ballot and we can’t count it,” Montejo said.

Auburn’s charter sets another criterion. Declared candidates need to collect a certain number of signatures to qualify for the ballot, and that number changes depending on the job they’re seeking. Candidates for mayor needed to gather 100 signatures. Candidates for School Committee or council seats need at least 25 signatures.

“Auburn’s charter says that write-in candidates need to get at least as many votes as they would’ve needed signatures to qualify for the ballot,” Fogg said.

Both cities face December elections to fill the vacant seats if no candidates get enough votes to win.

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