Editing Protest vote (section)

{{Short description|Vote cast in an election as a form of political protest}}
{{Voting}}[[File:BRStateMuseumJuly08SpoiledBallot1940.jpg|alt=A box for spoiled ballots from a Louisiana election|thumb|310x310px|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''', [[spoilt vote|spoiled]], or "[[none of the above]]" vote)<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Alvarez|first1=R. Michael|last2=Kiewiet|first2=D. Roderick|last3=Núñez|first3=Lucas|date=2018|title=A Taxonomy of Protest Voting|journal=Annual Review of Political Science|volume=21|pages=135–154|doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-050517-120425|doi-access=free}}</ref> is a [[vote]] cast in an [[election]] to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current [[politics|political]] system.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Southwell|first1=Priscilla Lewis|last2=Everest|first2=Marcy Jean|date=1998|title=The Electoral Consequences of Alienation: Nonvoting and Protest Voting in the 1992 Presidential Race|journal=The Social Science Journal|volume=35|issue=1|pages=43–51|doi=10.1016/s0362-3319(98)90058-1}}</ref> Protest voting takes a variety of forms and reflects numerous voter motivations, including [[political apathy]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Damore|first1=David F.|last2=Waters|first2=Mallory M.|last3=Bowler|first3=Shaun|date=December 2012|title=Unhappy, Uninformed, or Uninterested? Understanding "None of the Above" Voting|journal=Political Research Quarterly|volume=65|issue=4|pages=895–907|jstor=41759322|doi=10.1177/1065912911424286| s2cid=143974182 }}</ref> Where [[Compulsory voting|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.