  Active regions (ARs) often possess an observed net electric current in a
single magnetic polarity. We show that such "non-neutralized" currents can
arise from a geometric projection effect when a twisted flux tube obliquely
intersects the photosphere. To this end, we emulate surface maps of an emerging
AR by sampling horizontal slices of a semi-torus flux tube at various heights.
Although the tube has no net toroidal current, its poloidal current, when
projected along the vertical direction, amounts to a significant
non-neutralized component on the surface. If the tube emerges only partially as
in realistic settings, the non-neutralized current will 1) develop as double
ribbons near the sheared polarity inversion line, (2) positively correlate with
the twist, and 3) reach its maximum before the magnetic flux. The projection
effect may be important to the photospheric current distribution, in particular
during the early stages of flux emergence.
