Spoiled, rejected, and unused ballots must be counted to create a complete audit trail. Spoiled and unused ballots are supposed to be counted at the voting station, before the ballot box is transported to the counting centre.

These ballots remain official documents even if not counted as valid. Additionally, rejected ballots are essential in case of a recount.

Rules of Interpretation for Rejected Ballots

This is one of the most challenging aspects of vote counting, as each counting officer brings his/her subjective decision making abilities to the task, irrespective of how effective their training was.

In an attempt to eliminate possible objections to the validity of a ballot, the counting officer should be provided with clear rules of interpretation and given illustrations of acceptable and unacceptable marks on the ballot, including the rationale for any rejection of a ballot.

Minimizing the interpretation that is needed by the counting officer makes it easier for him/her to take the necessary decisions and will reduce disputes over the validity of ballots. In the event of a close margin in favour of one candidate or party, a recount is likely to be asked for and rejected ballots will be carefully analysed.

Handling Disputes Regarding Rejections

In several jurisdictions, the counting officer is the only person qualified to make the final decision on the validity of a ballot. He is also the person handling disputes regarding objections.

If a representative of a candidate or political party doesn't agree with the counting official on the validity of a ballot, he may object to the decision. In most cases, the counting officer has to immediately make a decision on whether or not the ballot is valid. To be more consistent in his/her decisions, the counting officer may put all questionable and contested ballots in a separate pile while counting valid ballots.

He/she can then decide which of the potential rejected ballots will actually be rejected, and count the total number of rejections. Remaining valid ballots then be added to the count for each political party or candidate.

Alternatively, all potential rejected ballots can be pre-identified, decided on, and counted first, and then valid ballots can be counted subsequently.

For each objected ballot, the ballot will be numbered on the back. The same number will be written on the statement of the vote (the voting record book or a separate form can also be used) for each ballot box along with the decision made by the counting officer.

All rejected and spoiled ballots are counted and recorded in the statement of the votes for each ballot box as well as on the ballot account form.