| Part of the Politics series |
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A refused ballot, or similar alternative, is a choice available to voters in many elections. This is an alternative for many people to casting a disparaging spoiled ballot, which is not counted separately from ballots which have been accidentally spoiled.
Some provinces allow a ballot to be refused on the grounds that no party satisfies the elector's vote. [1] [2] Declined ballots are only legislated in the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta; the option is only available for provincial elections. [3]
During the 2000 Canadian federal election, a number of voters (chiefly in Edmonton, Alberta) ate their ballots, as part of what they dubbed the Edible Ballot Society, to protest what they saw as inherently unfair elections. The stunt led Elections Canada to propose that there be legislation allowing federal ballots to be officially refused. [4]
Russian electoral ballots used to contain a box named Against All, allowing the voter to register a "protest vote" against all the candidates running. This was abolished by the Duma in 2006. [5]
A March 2004 opinion poll saw ruling President Vladimir Putin draw 70% support from Russians, but "Against All" managed to claim the second place, ahead of the other candidates. [6]
In December 2004, "Against All" actually managed to draw the highest number of votes in the electoral districts of St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk and Ulyanovsk. A repeat election led to St. Petersburg and Sverdlovsk electing proper Members of Parliament. Ulyanovsk's second vote however, after two candidates dropped out of the race, actually saw "Against All" gain more support in the polls, now pulling in 21.5% of the vote, nearly double what any of the actual candidates received. [7]
Disapproval voting is any electoral system that allows many voters to express formal disapproval simultaneously, in a system where they all share some power. Unlike most electoral systems, it requires that only negative measures or choices be presented to the voter or representative. If used to select candidates for an office, or for continuation to a next round of voting or play, it is either single- or multi-winner, as everyone who is not disapproved of is in effect a winner, for that round.
A protest vote is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system. Protest voting takes a variety of forms and reflects numerous voter motivations, including political apathy. 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.
Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate. This is commonly known as the spoiler effect, which can discourage minor party candidacies.
"None of the above" (NOTA), or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in a voting system. It is based on the principle that consent requires the ability to withhold consent in an election, just as they can by voting "No" on ballot questions. It must be contrasted with "abstention", in which a voter does not cast a ballot.
The 2004 Alberta Senate nominee election, formally the 3rd Alberta Senate nominee election of Alberta was held on November 22, 2004, to nominate appointments to the Senate of Canada. The Senate nominee election was held in conjunction with the 2004 Alberta general election.
Edmonton-Manning is a provincial electoral district in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is situated in the northeast quadrant of the city. It was created in 1993 and is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly. The riding is named after former Social Credit Premier Ernest Manning, who held office from 1943 to 1968. The riding was last contested in the 2019 Alberta election.
Airdrie-Chestermere was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 2004 to 2012.
Calgary-Egmont was a provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1971 to 2012.
Edmonton-Castle Downs is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is one of 87 mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.
Rocky Mountain House was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 2012.
Calgary-North Hill was a provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1971 to 2012.
Calgary Montrose was a provincial electoral district in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1986 to 2012.
Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting.
Edmonton Riverview is a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada. The district is mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting.
Banff-Cochrane was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1975, and again from 1979 to 2019.
Calgary was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return one to six members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1913, and again from 1921 to 1959. The district largely encompassed the boundaries of the City of Calgary, and was revised accordingly as the city grew.
The Edmonton provincial electoral district also known as Edmonton City from 1905 to 1909, was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1917 and again from 1921 to 1959.
In voting, a ballot is considered spoilt, spoiled, void, null, informal, invalid or stray if a law declares or an election authority determines that it is invalid and thus not included in the vote count. This may occur accidentally or deliberately. The total number of spoilt votes in a United States election has been called the residual vote. In Australia, such votes are generally referred to as informal votes, and in Canada they are referred to as rejected votes.
Rule 49-O was a rule in The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 of India, which governs elections in the country. It described the procedure to be followed when a valid voter decides not to cast his vote, and decides to record this fact. The rule was declared by the Supreme Court in September 2013 to be incompatible with the constitution and the Election Commission of India announced that the option under this rule would not be available any more. The apparent purpose of this section was to maintain a proper record in order to prevent the election fraud or the misuse of votes.
Spirit River was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1940 to 1971.