tactical votes
Pragmatic electoral choices
Tactical votes are votes cast not for a voter's preferred candidate but for one more likely to defeat an unwanted candidate.
The strategy matters most in systems where votes for unlikely winners are effectively wasted: She cast a tactical vote for the centrist to keep the far-right candidate out.
Also called strategic votes.
- spoiler effectThird option skews results
- candidatesThose seeking selection
- electionsFormal choosing of officials
- lesser evilsPreferable among bad options
- lesser of two evilsPreferable among bad options
swing state · safe seat · nonpartisans · ballots · democracies · game theory · first-past-the-post · two-party system · election results · plebiscites · party loyalty · strategy · electoral college · campaign strategies · parliamentary democracy · multi-party system · coalition governments · runoff elections
tactical votesprotest votes
Votes signaling opposition
wasted votes · spoiled ballots · abstentions · write-in votes
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