blank ballots
Empty voting papers
Blank ballots are ballots cast without any selections marked.
A voter may submit a blank ballot intentionally—as a protest or expression of dissatisfaction with all candidates—or accidentally.
Election systems typically count blank ballots as votes cast but not as votes for any candidate: The recount revealed three hundred blank ballots.
- unmarkedHaving no visible identification
- emptyHolding nothing inside
- voidWithout legal effect
- spoiledRuined or overindulged
- abstentionFormal refusal to vote
protest vote · protest · undervote · election · polling station · polling · booth · paper · uncounted · invalid · rejected · turnout · democracy · voter · write-in candidate · voter turnout · apathy · silence