DEFERIET, New York (WWNY) - Fewer than 300 people live in the village of Deferiet. Not one of their names was on the ballot for mayor or 3 trustee positions.

“It doesn’t happen super often, but this isn’t the first time that we’ve had a race that doesn’t have any candidates in it,” said Jefferson County Democratic Elections Commissioner Michelle LaFave.

With no one to select for the positions, residents who showed up at the voting booths still had the option to write in someone’s name.

“The procedure is exactly the same for a race that doesn’t have any candidates as it would be if it does have candidates,” said LaFave. “We’ll go through, check all of the ballots and assign a name to every write-in.”

Joe Cook, elected mayor 2 years ago, decided not to run again, saying he was tired of i

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