海选为源于中国北方农村选举村民委员会的选举方式。其特色在于投票时并没有列出特定候选人名单，而是由选举人自行直接投票选出心中理想对象。

海选最初为提名确定村委会成员候选人的方式：选举时不设候选人，由村民直接投票选出心中理想对象。接着依票数多寡顺按照差额选举的原则确定正式候选人，之后才进行真正的村委会成员选举。

海选源于1986年吉林省梨树县北老壕村。后来受到有关当局的肯定。1998年中华人民共和国颁布的《村民委员会组织法》将“海选”写入其中。目前这种选举方式在中国农村已经普遍的开展起来，也受到西方的高度关注。

A write-in candidate is a candidate in an election whose name does not appear on the ballot, but for whom voters may vote nonetheless by writing in the person's name. The system is almost totally confined to elections in the United States. Some U.S. states and local jurisdictions allow a voter to affix a sticker with a write-in candidate's name on it to the ballot in lieu of actually writing in the candidate's name. Write-in candidacies are sometimes a result of a candidate being legally or procedurally ineligible to run under his or her own name or party; write-in candidacies may be permitted where term limits bar an incumbent candidate from being officially nominated for, or being listed on the ballot for, re-election. In some cases, write-in campaigns have been organized to support a candidate who is not personally involved in running; this may be a form of draft campaign.