A protest vote is a vote in an election designed to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system on the part of the voter. It can be called “hypothetical” if the voter agrees to other candidates in the current system, or “structural” if the voter opposes the whole system - usually representative democracy , but it can also mean confrontation with a subspecies of the system - a one - party system , a system with a dominant party or a bipartisan system .
Along with abstinence, which is an act of non-voting, a protest voice is often considered a clear sign of a lack of legitimacy.
Protest voice and abstinence
Abstinence can be a form of protest when it is not a simple or indifference to politics as a whole.
The problem with abstinence is that it maintains the status quo, which may be the opposite of the intention of the protest. In a system in which one candidate has the most support, protest by abstinence will increase this majority in the election results. For example, let 10 people vote for two parties, A and B. Six support party A and three support party B, and one is going to protest. If the protester votes for party A, the results will be 70% versus 30% (for A and B, respectively); if the protester does not participate in the election, the results will be 67% versus 33%; if the protester votes for party B, the results will be 60% versus 40%. In larger elections, the difference is smaller, but the mechanism remains the same.
Thus, abstinence actually increases the proportion of votes for the most popular candidate, while voting against a popular candidate will reduce his advantage. At the same time, voting for a candidate who does not pass a certain percentage barrier will also increase the proportion of votes of the most popular candidate.
Protest Forms
Most often, voters spoil the ballot, making it invalid - put more than one tick or another sign in the boxes for the candidates. Some methods of damage are quite original: on the ballots they write words of discontent, draw cartoons , write in popular politicians from neighboring countries or fairy-tale characters. If it is possible to enter your candidate, a fairy-tale hero is entered - for example, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are popular in local elections in the USA and parliamentary elections in Sweden [1] .
In countries where the political system is weak and people are massively dissatisfied with the situation, a “dark horse” may arise that draws in protest voices. The most famous of them are Darth Alekseevich Veyder (Shevchenko) dressed up as a Sith and the less successful candidate - Vasily Protyvsykh (Gumeniuk). Some of these protest candidates can even be selected - like Tiririca (circus clown , Brazilian deputy since 2010) and Ralph Regenvanu (member of the Vanuatu parliament since 2008, minister since 2011).
Notes
- ↑ Dark Horses and Mickey Mouse. US presidential candidates that you have not heard about (Russian) , Racurs . Date of treatment November 2, 2018.