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Protest vote

A box for spoiled ballots from a Louisiana election
Spoiled votes may or may not be protest votes, but are often kept aside for challenges, further examination, or disposal.

A protest vote (also called a blank, null, spoiled, or "none of the above" vote)[1] is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system.[2] Protest voting takes a variety of forms and reflects numerous voter motivations, including political apathy.[3] Where voting is compulsory, casting a blank vote is available for those who do not wish to choose a candidate, or to protest. Unlike abstention elsewhere, blank votes are counted.

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.

  1. ^ Alvarez, R. Michael; Kiewiet, D. Roderick; Núñez, Lucas (2018). "A Taxonomy of Protest Voting". Annual Review of Political Science. 21: 135–154. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-050517-120425.
  2. ^ Southwell, Priscilla Lewis; Everest, Marcy Jean (1998). "The Electoral Consequences of Alienation: Nonvoting and Protest Voting in the 1992 Presidential Race". The Social Science Journal. 35 (1): 43–51. doi:10.1016/s0362-3319(98)90058-1.
  3. ^ Damore, David F.; Waters, Mallory M.; Bowler, Shaun (December 2012). "Unhappy, Uninformed, or Uninterested? Understanding "None of the Above" Voting". Political Research Quarterly. 65 (4): 895–907. doi:10.1177/1065912911424286. JSTOR 41759322. S2CID 143974182.

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