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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.

Canada

Some provinces allow a ballot to be refused on the grounds that no party satisfies the elector's vote. Declined ballots are only legislated in the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta; the option is only available for provincial elections.

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.

Russia

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.

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.

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.

See also

• None of the above
• Brewster's Millions, 1985 film in which a millionaire encourages people to vote "None of the Above" for New York City mayor.

External links

• Campaign for "None of the Above" on Irish ballots Archived 2006-10-15 at the Wayback Machine

References

1. "ORDINARY POLL Election Central Poll Supervisors' Manual" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-23. Retrieved 2011-12-22.
2. "Modernizing the Electoral Process – Recommendations from the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada following the 37th general election". 27 August 2018.
3. "Ontario election 2014: How to vote for 'none of the above' — without spoiling your ballot". National Post.
4. "CBC - Canada Votes 2004 - Daily Answer - Answer Reference Shelf". Archived from the original on 2006-05-06.
5. "Russians Divided Over Electoral Reforms: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Archived from the original on 2008-09-06.
6. "News Story - Department of History and Classics - University of Alberta". Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2006-11-13.
7. Myers, Steven Lee (March 23, 2004). "PUERTO RICO HERALD: Only in Russia: 'None of the Above' Is on Ballot, and Wins". www.puertorico-herald.org. Archived from the original on 2004-06-09.

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