Quote:
Originally posted by roachboy
since the americans do not count blank votes, abstention does not function as a mode of protest--in french trade-union elections, for example, there was along tradition of casting blank ballots, and these ballots would be counted along with the marked ones. the blanks would therefore function as a silent protest of sorts.
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ACtually we do count those...called Undervotes. When a race has an Undervote rate higher than average, especially weighed against other races on the same ballot, it is noticed by those folks in the campaigns. In partidcular, when a candidate runs unopposed for a seat, but has a high Undervote rate, the opposing party will often target that seat to oppose in the next election.
On another note, electronic voting is leading to the end of the write-in. Here in Texas you no longer have the option to vote for a traditional write-in. So called write-in candidates must be registered ahead of the election just like normal candidates, otherwise they won't be on the electronic ballot.