None of the Above (NOTA), also known as "against all"
or a "scratch" vote, is a
ballot
option in some
jurisdictions or
organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval
of all of the candidates in a
voting system. It is based on the principle that
consent
requires the ability to withhold consent in an election, just as they
can by voting no on
ballot questions.
Entities that include "None of the Above" on ballots as standard
procedure include
Greece
(λευκό, white, but unrelated to a political party of the similarly
sounding name-however it is symbolic only), the
U.S. state of
Nevada
(None
of These Candidates),
Ukraine
(Проти всіх),
Spain (voto
en blanco), and
Colombia (voto en blanco).
Russia
had such an option on its ballots (Против всех) until it was
abolished in 2006.[1]
Bangladesh introduced this option (না ভোট) in 2008.[2]
Pakistan introduced this option on ballot papers for the
2013 Pakistan elections but later the
Election Commission of Pakistan rejected this.[3]
When None of the Above is listed on a ballot, there is the
possibility of NOTA receiving a
majority or
plurality of the vote, and so "winning" the election. In such a
case, a variety of formal procedures may be invoked, including having
the office remain vacant, having the office filled by appointment,
re-opening
nominations or holding another election (in a body operating under
parliamentary procedure), or it may have no effect whatsoever, as in
the state of Nevada, where the next highest total wins regardless.
Soviet Union
In 1991 elections that led to the
break-up of the Soviet Union, the Soviet version of "none of above"
led to new elections with new candidates in 200 races of the 1,500-seat
Congress of People's Deputies.[4]
More than 100 incumbents representing the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union were defeated in the run-off,
leading to
Boris Yeltsin to later say the "none of the above" option "helped
convince the people they had real power even in a rigged election, and
[it] played a role in building true democracy.”[4]
Spain
Blank ballot
Due to the Spanish voting regulations (legislación
electoral española), the blank ballot is recognized as None of the
above (voto en blanco) but has very little chance to influence the
distribution of seats within a democratic election. It is mostly
considered as a statistical indicator of candidatures' disapproval. The
blank ballots only increase the amount of valid votes, rising up the
threshold of votes (3% and 5% depending on the election) which every
political party has to overcome to be fully considered. The parties over
the threshold get their seats according to the
D'Hondt method.
Blank seats (Escaños en blanco)
Since 1999, several political parties[5][6][7][8][9]
have arisen in order to make visible the None of the above option in the
parliaments and force empty seats. Currently, "Blank Seats" runs for the
Congress and Senate elections of the 20th November 2011. Its programme
is to leave empty the corresponding assigned seats by not taken full
possession of their duties as congressperson, senator, etc. According to
law, the seat remains assigned to the elected candidate until the
possession act takes place, the elected candidate explicitly refuses or
new elections are called. In this way, the political party and its
candidates stay free from obligations and are not entitled to receive
any money from the public funding scheme for politics.
By voting such option at the local elections in May 2011, the
citizens of the villages of Gironella (Barcelona) and Foixà (Girona)
were able to reduce the amount of politicians in their councils by one
and two respectively.[10][11]
Overall, citizenship supported Blank Seats at different municipalities,
including Barcelona, with 15582 votes (averaging 1,71% of valid votes).
This party aims to give blank ballots the meaning of representing
empty seats if the amount of votes indicate so as for any other party,
disbanding the party when such law would be approved.
United Kingdom
Landless
Peasant Party
The Landless Peasant Party, which advocates the ownership of land by
those who live on it and the replacement of income tax by a flat land
tax,[12]
and whose leader Derek Jackson gained publicity for standing against
then- Prime Minister Gordon Brown in his home constituency in the 2010
elections,[13]
include a pledge to add a "None of the above" option to the ballot in
all UK elections.[12]
United States
The origination of the ballot option "None of the Above" in the
United States can be traced to the
Isla Vista Municipal Advisory Council in its 1976 resolution to
place this option on the official electoral ballot in Santa Barbara
County in California. Then council members Walter Wilson and
Matthew Landy Steen introduced the legal resolution to amend
existing ballot options for elections from then on.
[14][15]
In 1978. the State of Nevada adopted "None of the Above" as a ballot
option.[16][17][18]
In late 1999 in California, citizen proponents of Proposition 23, titled
the "None of the Above Act", qualified a new State ballot initiative
through circulated petitions submitted to the Secretary of the State. A
total of $987,000 was expended in promotion of the ballot option, which
was defeated in the March 2000 general election by a margin of 64% to
36%. If passed by the voters, it would have required this new ballot
option for all state and federal elective offices, exempting only local
judicial races; in determining official election results, the none of
the above voter tally would be discarded in favor of the candidate with
the greatest number of votes.[19]
India
The
Election Commission of India told the
Supreme Court in 2009 that it wished to offer the voter a "None of
the above" option at the ballot, which was something that the government
had generally opposed.[20]
A
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed for NOTA, by an NGO
called
People's Union for Civil Liberties.
[21][22][23][24]
On 27 September 2013, in a
landmark judgement, a three-judge
bench consisting of the
Chief Justice
P Sathasivam and Justice
Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice
Ranjan Gogoi of the
Supreme Court of India ruled that the right to register a "none of
the above" vote in elections should apply. The court said that Negative
voting would lead to systemic change in polls and political parties will
be forced to project clean candidates.[25]
The Election Commission has said that the judgement will be implemented
immediately.[26][27]
NOTA is different from an advocated concept of "right to reject"
(RTR).
Election Commission sources explained that the NOTA option would not
effect the result of an election where over 50% of the electorate chose
to cast NOTA. Former
Chief Election Commissioner
N Gopalaswami clarified that, "Even if 90 voters in an electorate of
100 persons press the NOTA button, the poll will be decided in favour of
the candidate who gets the maximum of the remaining 10 votes".[26][27]
Procedures that function like "none of the above"
Most ballots do not have a formal "none of the above" option, but do
have procedures that work in a similar way.
Poland
In
1989 legislative election in Poland voters were able to vote against
the only candidate running, often from the ruling
Polish Communist Party by crossing out the candidate's name on the
ballot.[4]
As a result, voters defeated the sitting prime minister and dozens of
leading Communists because they failed to get the required majority.[4]
United Kingdom
NOTA party
NOTA was registered as a political party with the UK Electoral
Commission on 2 March 2009.[28]
It is the intention of NOTA to field candidates in every UK
parliamentary constituency. The respective NOTA candidates will not
continue in office should they receive the most votes. It is merely a
mechanism to facilitate a means of recording a NOTA vote. This party is
registered as "NOTA" and not "None of the above" as the latter is a
prohibited expression regarding registration as a party name.[29]
No Candidate Deserves My Vote! party
"No
Candidate Deserves My Vote!" was registered as a political party
with the UK Electoral Commission on 23 November 2000.[30]
The
No Candidate Deserves My Vote party's single objective is to
introduce a bill to Parliament to have a "None of the above" option
added to every local and general election ballot paper of the future.
They feel this will allow the UK electorate to exercise their democratic
right to vote to say that none of the parties currently represents them,
which will encourage their democratic responsibility to turn out to
vote. If a candidate wins an election it is the intention to stay as a
Member of Parliament until the change in the law is enacted. Only
then will the candidate step down and the party be disbanded.
It is the intention of the party that if a NOTA gains the majority
vote that it should cause an automatic
by-election. The idea being that the majority have given a
Vote of No Confidence in the candidates. If the same candidates
stand under the same policies then the electorate simply vote NOTA until
the candidates change their policies to something that the electorate
can vote for.
In 2010, Stephen Phillips of
Stevenage ran for the
UK general election on behalf of No Candidate Deserves My Vote.[31]
Phillips received 327 votes, or 0.7% of the vote, placing 7th out of 9
candidates.[32]
Zero,
None Of the Above
None Of The Above Zero was a candidate at the
2010 UK general election in
Filton and Bradley Stoke.[33]
Previously known as Eric Mutch, he changed his name by deed poll to
stand under that name. As candidates are listed by surname first he
appeared on the ballot paper as "Zero, None Of The Above,"[34]
in effect giving voters a none of the above option since had he been
elected he would have resigned immediately.[35]
He came last with 172 votes.[36]
Others
In the
British parliamentary elections of 2010, a former boxer changed his
name by
deed
poll from
Terry Marsh to "None Of The Above X", in order to run as a
parliamentary candidate under that name in the constituency of
South Basildon and East Thurrock. Claiming that he will not take the
seat if he wins, he told BBC Essex: "I don't take it for one moment that
it would be a vote for me. [..] I'm doing what I think the Electoral
Commission should be doing and what should be on every ballot paper in
any electoral process." BBC News reported that, while the Registration
of Political Parties (Prohibited Words and Expressions) (Amendment)
Order 2005 stipulates that no political party can be registered in the
UK under the name "None of the Above", there is no legislation against a
person changing their name by deed poll and appearing on the ballot
paper as "None Of the Above".[37]
In the event he polled 0.3% of the vote, the lowest of any candidate
standing.[38]
- Another individual changed his name by deed poll to None Of
The Above in order to stand as a candidate in
Chingford and Woodford Green in 2010. With the surname Above,
he was listed first on the ballot paper in alphabetical order, with
all the other candidates listed below.
- The
South Wales Anarchists group has run a campaign urging people to
"Vote Nobody" since 2008[39]
and many other
Anarchist groups worldwide have promoted similar slogans.
- In Canada it is also possible to vote for "none of the above" by
attending the polling station and formally "Declining to vote" -
explained
here. These Declined votes are actually counted and become part
of the electoral record.
- In Pakistan, Abid Hassan Manto, who is a constitutional expert
and a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, had sent the
proposal to Election Commission of Pakistan to allow "none of the
above" (NOTA) mechanism in vote casting.[40]
Re-open
Nominations (RON)
Many students' unions in
Britain and
Ireland use a similar ballot option called 're-open nominations'
(RON)[41]
in
IRV (also known as the alternative vote) and
single transferable vote (STV) elections. These include the
National Union of Students in the
UK and
UCD Student's Union in
Ireland. The difference is that RON is a vote against all candidates
in FPTP (first-past-the-post)
and all subsequent candidates in an IRV or STV election.
There are several ways of dealing with a RON candidate. In a single
member constituency or election to a single position RON is treated as a
normal candidate. If re-open nominations is deemed elected to any
position then at the end of the count that position is declared vacant
and nominations must later be re-opened for that position.
In a multi-member constituency there are two approaches. In the
first, when a RON candidate is elected, all other candidates below RON
are declared not to be elected and the counting process stops, the
election is then re-run for that and all other unfilled positions. In
the second, RON is elected to a position, then any surplus is
transferred to another RON(2) candidate as if such an option had been
presented on the ballot paper. If RON(2) is elected, then the process
carries on with RON(3), RON(4) candidates and so on until all seats are
filled. This is sometimes called the Stack RON method.
RON is not strictly a none of the above candidate in
transferable vote elections, as when RON is eliminated during the count
its votes are transferred to other candidates if those preferences
exist.
Illegal ballots in Robert's Rules of Order
The U.S. manual
Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 10th edition, p. 402
describes various forms of illegal ballots, which are ballots which do
not count for any candidate. Blanks are treated as "scrap paper" and are
of no effect but "unintelligible ballots or ballots cast for an
unidentifiable candidate or a fictional character are treated as illegal
votes. "All illegal votes cast by legal voters… are taken into account
in determining the number of votes cast for purposes of computing the
majority." RRONR always requires a majority for election so casting an
illegal ballot or one for a hopeless candidate, whether on the ballot or
as a write-in, is equivalent to voting No for all other candidates. "The
principle is that a choice has no mandate from the voting body unless
approval is expressed by more than half of those entitled to vote and
registering any evidence of having some opinion."
None of the Above candidates and parties in other countries
- In
Serbia, None of the above (Ниједан од понуђених одговора,
НОПО) is a parliamentary political party, legally formed in
2010, which was mostly popularized on
Facebook and less on other social networking websites. In
Serbian parliamentary election, 2012 they received 22,905 votes
and thus won one seat in
National Assembly of Serbia. Serbian NOTA aspires to form an
international political movement not so much based on ideology but
rather on a common goal – fight against all corrupt politicians.
- A Prince George businessman ran in the June 2, 1997 Canadian
election in the district of Prince George-Bulkley Valley[42]
under the name Zznoneoff, Thea Bove (Thea Bove Zznoneoff); ballots
listing candidates alphabetically by surname, he appeared at the
bottom. He came sixth of seven candidates with 0.977 percent of
votes cast.
- Geoff Richardson changed his full name to "Of The Above None"
and stood as an independent for the seat of
Gilmore at the
2007 Australian federal election. His name appeared as NONE, Of
the Above on the ballot.[43]
- In
Ukrainian presidential election, 2010, a candidate Vasiliy
Humeniuk changed his name to
Vasily Protyvsih (Vasily Against-all). "Against all candidates"
is the name of the "none of the above" vote used in Russia and
Ukraine.[44][45]
- In 2000,
Michael Moore advocated a
write-in candidate Ficus (the plant) for Congress as a
unified vote for none of the above in congressional seats
where the incumbent was running unopposed.[46]
-
David Gatchell of
Tennessee ran for
governor in 2002 and for
Senate in 2006 as a protest, officially changing his middle name
from Leroy to None of the Above.[47]
In 2006, he got 3,738 votes (0.2 percent).
- For the
2013 Pakistani general election, the
Election Commission of Pakistan unilaterally decided that a
‘none of the above’ box will be available as a voting option on
ballot papers during this election.[3]
However, they subsequently decided against it owing to the short
amount of time remaining till the elections.[48]
Cultural references to "None of the above"
- In the film
Brewster's Millions, the protagonist Brewster (played by
Richard Pryor) is required under certain conditions, to spend 30
million dollars in 30 days. He joins the race for Mayor of
New York City and throws most of his money at a protest campaign
urging a vote for None of the Above. The two major candidates sue
Brewster for his confrontational rhetoric, leading to a massive
settlement which of course furthers their competitor's goal.
Brewster is forced to end his campaign when he learns that he is
leading in the polls as a write-in candidate and has to publicly
announce that he if he won the mayoralty he wants to decline it but
is surprised his "None of the Above" campaign became so popular.
Neither candidate wins the election, and a new election with
different candidates must be held.
- In the sixth season episode of
Captain Planet called "Dirty Politics" three of the
Eco-Villains are running for president and kidnap the fourth
candidate, who is the most popular. Despite this over seventy
percent vote None of the Above resulting in the need for a new
election.
-
L. Neil Smith's novel
The Probability Broach has an
alternate history of the United States, where None of the Above
has received the most votes for President of the
North American Confederacy on multiple occasions.
-
Wavy Gravy has run a "Nobody for President" campaign during
several different election years in the United States.
See also
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External links