Protest vote
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A protest vote (also called a blank, null,
Along with abstention, or not voting, protest voting is a sign of unhappiness with available options. If protest vote takes the form of a blank vote, it may or may not be tallied into final results. Protest votes may be considered spoiled or, depending on the electoral system, counted as "none of the above" votes.
Types of protest vote
Protest votes can take many different forms:
- Blank ballots
- Null ballots
- Spoiled ballots
- None of the above votes
- Votes for a fringe candidate or party, or a less preferred candidate or party
- Organized protest votes
- Declined ballots
Protest voting tends to occur among voters who feel alienated but who have an alternative voting option, such as a
Protest votes can take the form of blank, null, or spoiled ballots. Blank ballots are ballots with no markings on them. Null ballots are ballots that do not result in a valid vote because the ballot was filled out incompletely or incorrectly.[4] Spoiled ballots are ballots that have been defaced, crossed-out, or otherwise marked in a way that makes the ballot ineligible; spoiled ballots most clearly indicate the presence of a protest vote.[5] Write-in votes may also indicate protest voting; in the United States Mickey Mouse has historically been a popular choice.
Declined ballots occur where a voter shows up to the polling place, and declines to vote. This is an option in multiple Canadian provinces, including Ontario. However, this option does not exist in federal elections. To decline a ballot, one may return the ballot to the poll worker while stating that they decline to vote. [6] [7]
None of the above (NOTA) voting is rarely an option in U.S. politics, although it has been an option on Nevada ballots since 1976.[3] NOTA voting is proposed as a state-legitimized method of allowing voters to signal discontent, although selecting a "none" option does not always indicate protest.[3]
Other types of protest voting relate more to the choice of candidate or party selected for a valid vote than the ballot itself. Voting for a fringe candidate or less preferred party can be a way of signaling dissatisfaction with a leading candidate, party, or policy, or of reducing the margin of victory of the likely winner.[2][8]
Protest voting organized by political parties or leaders also occurs, but tends to be rare and associated with extreme circumstances.[1]
Determining the presence of a protest vote
Distinguishing between ballots that have been deliberately cast as protest votes and those that are blank, null, or spoiled by an individual trying but failing to cast a valid vote is challenging. Blank votes are often associated with protest voting, but can also be indicators of a lack of information.[5] Votes are blank, null, and spoiled more frequently in areas with high levels of illiteracy or limited language competency.[4] Spoiled ballots, especially those that have been deliberately defaced or otherwise ruined, are a more reliable indicator of protest votes and of political sophistication.[5]
Significant protest vote events
One United States court case determined that voting is not an issue of free speech or expression, but rather about electing officials; in Burdick v. Takushi, 1992, the Supreme Court upheld a ban on write-in votes after Alan B. Burdick argued that Hawaii should be required to count his protest vote for Donald Duck.[9][10]
In the parliamentary elections in Finland and Sweden, voters have also used Donald Duck as a protest vote.[11] In Ukraine, the Internet Party nominated Darth Vader for mayoral elections in Kyiv and Odesa, and tried to nominate Darth Vader for presidency, although this application was rejected.[12]
Protest voting is common in Latin America, where over 5.5% of ballots in presidential elections since 1980 have been blank or spoiled.[13] During the 2000 presidential elections in Peru, candidate Alejandro Toledo withdrew over concerns about election integrity and encouraged his supporters to spoil their ballots as protest—an example of organized protest voting.[1] In that election, around 31% of ballots cast were spoiled or blank.[1]
After the
In Colombia, the blank vote has a legal path to force a repetition of an election and a change of the candidates in that election. According to the paragraph 1 of the article 258 of the Political Constitution of Colombia, if the blank vote in Colombia becomes the most voted option, the elections should be repeated once and, depending on the nature of the election, the parties should present new candidates or new lists of candidates. This gives the protest vote a way to express dissent with real electoral consequences. So far, the blank vote has not been majoritarian in presidential or congress elections in Colombia, but it already has forced to repeat some elections for mayor's office.[15]
In certain parts of the United States, especially in the
During the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries, a significant protest vote movement formed against Biden's support of Israel during the Israel–Hamas war.
In the 2024 Russian presidential election, amid the exclusion of anti-war candidates from challenging incumbent President Vladimir Putin, anti-Putin activists employed the protest voting tactic known as Noon Against Putin, first proposed by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny before his death.[19] This involved gathering at polling stations on the last day of voting around midday to advocate for spoilt ballots such as writing Navalny's name or to cast votes for New People candidate Vladislav Davankov.[20] While perceived as aligned with the Kremlin, Davankov incorporated anti-war sentiments reminiscent of the barred candidates, rendering him an alternative candidate to opposition voters as a means of protest voting.[21] Despite the action, Davankov nevertheless received officially only 4% of the official vote, while independent exit polling conducted showed him overwhelmingly defeating Putin.[citation needed]
Protest vote and abstention
Abstention may be a type of protest vote when it is not solely the result of
Abstaining increases the proportion of votes for the most popular candidate or party, while using a protest vote against the popular candidate or party can shrink a margin of victory. Reducing the margin may result in a hung parliament or a smaller difference between the parties in government, thus limiting the chance a single party will have control over the system.[citation needed]
See also
- Motion of no confidence
- List of democracy and elections-related topics
- Uncommitted (voting option)
References
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ S2CID 143974182.
- ^ S2CID 153913830.
- ^ S2CID 145215626.
- ^ press, Jordan (24 June 2014). "Declining your ballot? Not in the next federal election".
- ^ "Frequently asked questions".
- S2CID 12835208.
- ^ "Burdick v. Takushi, 504 U.S. 428 (1992)". Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute.
- S2CID 154361874.
- ^ Kallionpää, Katri. "Donald Duck holds his own in the north Archived 2013-12-27 at the Wayback Machine." Helsingin Sanomat. March 7, 2007. Retrieved on March 4, 2009.
- ^ Vote Dark Side: 'Darth Vader' Runs for Mayor in Ukraine — NBC News
- S2CID 158301581.
- ^ Smith, Saphora (May 8, 2017). "French Election: Protest Vote for 'Nobody' Was Highest In Half a Century". NBC News.
- ^ Freeman, Daniel E. "The blank vote explained: Colombia’s biggest electoral gamble". March 7, 2014.
- ^ "2012 Presidential Primaries, Caucuses, and Conventions: Chronologically". The Green Papers. August 28, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ Rappeport, Alan (2016-05-11). "Protest Candidate, Paul Farrell, Wins 9 Percent of West Virginia Primary Vote". The New York Times - First Draft. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
- ^ "Results – Democratic Contests". results.enr.clarityelections.com/. West Virginia Secretary of State. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- ^ "Who is Vladislav Davankov – a new hope for opposition in the presidential election?". www.russian-election-monitor.org. 2024-03-10. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
- doi:10.1386/ijis.29.3.241_1. Archived from the originalon 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- S2CID 154361874.