Invalid Votes
Generally
accepted principles stipulate that the following categories of votes often be
regarded as invalid and should not be counted:
- votes
that are blank (there is no marking on the ballot),
- votes
that identify the voter,
- votes
that contain markings for more than one choice (this depends upon the
electoral system used and will be expected where the voter has to make
more than one choice or rank his or her choices),
- votes
that do not clearly reflect the intention or choice of the voter.
This last category of invalid vote is often very
difficult to evaluate and assess and it may be open to different
interpretations depending on who the counting officer is. It is thus important
that the training of counting officers includes documentation (visuals) of
ballot markings that are valid and those that are not valid.
The overall rule that should be followed is whether
the counting officer can reasonably determine the intention of the voter. An
example of such would be when a voter, instead of placing a mark next to his or
her intended choice, writes “yes” next to the party or candidate’s name. This
could reasonably be seen as an intention to vote for that party or candidate.
The
rules for criteria to determine a valid vote need to be clear, yet the counting
officer who makes the decision whether to accept a ballot or not should not
apply the rules dogmatically, but should allow for a degree of flexibility if
the voter’s intention can be reasonably assessed.
