I think I’m a bit confused, is there a radio button to fill in on the ballot that says "protest " and then when all votes are counted, we can see a report that says x for dude, y for other dude, and z for protest?

How are protest votes counted?

I hope I’m wrong and that history will repeat itself and dude picks another Sarah Palin.

Right… and no matter who the other guy picks they will still vote for him.

Who is the VP for that other guy? No one knows yet…