Throwing away your vote is a time-honored political tradition (see “Ralph Nader for president”). Who knew it also could be a crime?

Certainly not “Fan Guy,” the anonymous blue-blooded St. Louis Blues fan from O’Fallon, Mo., who — seemingly oblivious to age and residency requirements — cast a write-in vote for rookie T.J. Oshie in last week’s mayoral election.
If only he’d kept it in the privacy of the voting booth, he wouldn’t be in legal jeopardy. But what’s the use of making a futile gesture if no one knows about it?
So Fan Guy (or Fan Gal; we don’t want to stereotype) snapped a picture of his (or her) ballot and posted it on a blog called “Vote 4 Oshie.” There it caught the attention of our colleague Jake Wagman, who re-posted it on STLToday.com’s Political Fix blog. That’s when the trouble began.

The fatal ballot.

It is a violation of Missouri law to “willfully” share the contents of a completed ballot with any unauthorized person — even readers of a blog dedicated to “the future king of St. Louis, No. 74” T.J. Oshie.
Rich Chrismer, director of elections in St. Charles County, contacted Mr. Wagman to complain. Fan Guy “violated the law, and I’m going to prosecute,” he told Mr. Wagman.
After the article (and some angry e-mails) appeared, Mr. Chrismer was in a less categorical mood. “If I knew who the man was, I would call him up and explain how serious it is. I never intended to refer the voter to the prosecutor,” he said.
That would occur only if “he did it maliciously, and I know he didn’t,” Mr. Chrismer said.

The hard-checking subject of that now-notorious write-in vote was preparing for a playoff game in Vancouver this week, blissfully unaware of the furor he’d inspired. “I haven’t heard anything about it. But I like the fan support,” he told Post-Dispatch Blues beat writer Jeremy Rutherford.

Does the 22-year-old center iceman think he could handle the simultaneous rigors of the Stanley Cup playoffs and a political campaign? “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s my first time.”

A fundamental right to write-in?