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The null vote is one that, for reasons of form, is invalidated. It has no effect on the electoral count.
It is one of the variants that we have at the time of voting, along with the valid vote and the blank vote. But the null vote, unlike the others, does not generate any impact on the election result (although in some cases the blank vote is considered null).
The voting void can be done conscientiously or involuntarily, so it is necessary to know in each country what the electoral law says about it. When it is done voluntarily, it is usually in the form of a protest, it is usually seen in different ways: by inserting a piece of chorizo in the envelope, a paper written with some protest message, if the list is closed and blocked by crossing out candidates, etc.
Example of Null Vote
- In certain elections we have 100 voters, of them, 40 votes for candidacy A, 50 for candidacy B, and 10 vote null (differently).
- Null votes are not valid votes, therefore we do not have 100 votes, but 90. Taking this into account, the percentage of votes obtained by candidacy A is 44.4% and that of candidacy B 55.5%.
Types of Null Vote
In general, in all countries the
Causes for cancellation of the vote are very similar. Now let’s see some
examples:
- Put in the envelope any foreign object that is not the ballot of the candidacy itself.
- Put two applications in the same envelope.
- Check more boxes than allowed in the case of open lists.
- Cross out the list candidates.