Voters are writing memes as they pick a president—and bragging about it on TikTok
Some angry TikTok and X users chose not to vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. Instead, they write on their favorite meme.
Under the presidential ballot, some states allow voters to write in their preferred election. Some people have used that allowance to write, say, their favorite Twitch streamer, or meme references—and send their ballot box prank to an online audience. And in a weird full-circle moment, ballot memes are now dominating social media algorithms.
Are people actually writing in memes to the president?
TikTok user @juicytube recently posted a photo on the platform showing the name “Tanka Jahari” listed as a vote to write his presidential ticket. “Tanka Jahari,” a character in the show Jokes That Don’t Workhe recently went viral for a while when he insisted that he didn’t plan on eating the whole pizza pie. (Full line: “I’m Tanka Jahari but I would never order a whole pizza by myself.”) @juicytube’s video was taken down, but not before amassing over 3.3 million views and over 500,000 likes. (Some accounts still have your snapshots.)
On X, Braden Boyko wrote that he wrote to Twitch streamer Dream about his choice for president. The post now has more than three million views, and has angered many commenters. “Just voted for Trump, btw,” one person wrote. “Sad things you do with one click of engagement,” wrote another.
Now, there is a question of authenticity that plagues this post. How many write in meme candidates, and how many edit their votes to appear that way? There is a clear threat of meme writing: In 2016, Orange County, Florida, recorded 101 appearances of the famous Internet Harambe the Gorilla in the polls, according to Spectrum News. Although that may sound alarming, it is far from the baseless claims that Harambe got 20,000 votes that year.
How algorithms spread political dissent
Whether these memes were real or staged, they got a real dimension. That’s thanks to social media algorithms, which promote content based on engagement metrics. Those comments that shame users for wasting their vote may be putting the post at the top of someone else’s feed.
This increase in algorithmic content is more about sensuality than pragmatism. The most aggressive clips from Jubilee debates, or the weirdest conspiracy theories about natural disasters, get attention on TikTok. Other creators have also started cashing in on this algorithmic promise, with TikToker Bryce Hall promoting Trumpisms to renew his influence.
And that’s the problem with polling memes: Even if they’re not real, they’ll be seen by thousands. That would create real political disengagement.
