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"None of the above" (NOTA), ornone for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is aballot option in somejurisdictions ororganizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in avoting system. It is based on the principle thatconsent requires the ability to withhold consent in an election, just as they can by voting "No" onballot questions. It must be contrasted with "abstention", in which a voter does not cast a ballot.
Entities that include "None of the Above" on ballots as standard procedure includeArgentina,Belarus,Belgium,Bulgaria („Не подкрепям никого“, "I don't support anyone"),Colombia (voto en blanco),France (vote blanc, "blank vote"),Greece (λευκό, blank),India ("None of the above"),Indonesia (kotak kosong, "empty box"),Kazakhstan,Mongolia, theNetherlands,North Korea,Norway,Peru,Spain (voto en blanco, "blank vote"),Uruguay, and theU.S. state ofNevada (None of These Candidates).
Russia had such an option on its ballots (Против всех, "against all") until it was abolished in 2006.[1]Bangladesh introduced this option (না ভোট, "no vote") in 2008.[2]Pakistan introduced this option on ballot papers for the2013 Pakistan elections, but theElection Commission of Pakistan later rejected it.[3] Beginning with the2016 presidential election, and2017 parliamentary one,[4]Bulgaria introduced a 'none of the above' option, which received in the presidential elections 5.59% of the vote in the first round and 4.47% in the run-off. It was also used in the 2019 mayoral election of Sofia.[5]Kazakhstan originally included the option (Бәріне қарсымын, "against all") from 1995 to 2004, and from 2021 onwards after reintroducing the option,[6] which notably received 5.8% of the vote in the2022 presidential election.[7]
When "none of the above" is listed on a ballot, there is the possibility of NOTA receiving amajority orplurality of the vote, and so "winning" the election. This possibility is not purely theoretical, as NOTA has indeed won occasionally. In such a case, a variety of formal procedures may be invoked, including having the position remain vacant, having the position filled by appointment, re-openingnominations, or holding another election (in a body operating underparliamentary procedure), or it may have no effect, as in India and the US state of Nevada, where the next highest total wins regardless.
In 2008, Bangladesh's interim government amended election laws to allow voters to cast "no" votes (না ভোট) if they don't approve of any of the candidates.
The law also states that if such "no" votes amount to 50% or more of the total votes cast, a bi-election is required to be held.[2]
Since 2016, voters can votes for the "I do not support anyone" (Не подкрепям никого) option. These votes are however excluded from the calculation of theelectoral threshold.[8]
No electoral jurisdiction in Canada formally lists "none of the above" as a ballot option. However, in some provincial elections it is effectively possible to vote for "none of the above", by attending the polling station and formally "declining to vote".[9] These declined votes are counted and become part of the electoral record.
A businessman inPrince George,British Columbia ran in the1997 federal election in the district ofPrince George—Bulkley Valley[10] under the name Zznoneoff, Thea Bove (Thea Bove Zznoneoff); since ballots listed candidates alphabetically by surname, he appeared at the bottom. He came sixth of seven candidates with 0.977 percent of votes cast.
A resident ofOshawa,Ontario, formerly known as Sheldon Bergson, had legally changed his name to "Above Znoneofthe",[11] and had registered under that name as a candidate in several provincial and federal elections, most recently challenging the sitting prime minister's riding ofPapineau in the2021 Canadian federal election as theRhinoceros Party candidate. His name order was chosen so that his name would always appear at the bottom of the ballot as "Znoneofthe, Above", although this only works federally as provincial election ballots do not list the candidates in surname order.[12]
The2020 Green Party leadership election featured apreferential ballot which allowed voters to select "none of the options" as a ranked selection.[13]
In Ontario, theNone of the Above Party of Ontario is a registered political party, although its stated mandate is for its candidates to serve in the legislature asindependent representatives who reflect the views and interests of their constituents, rather than simply as a "reject all of the candidates" placeholder.
InColombia, a NOTA option in the ballots has been recognized by theConstitutional Court of Colombia by upholding a political reform law (Law 1475 of 2011), declaring that a None of the Above vote is "a political expression of dissent, abstention or inconformity with political effects" and also adding that "a None of the Above vote constitutes a valuable expression of dissent through which the electorate's will protection can be promoted. As such, theconstitution grants it a decisive importance in the election of uni-personal offices and public corporations". The NOTA option has been present in ballots since at least 1991; in fact legislative act 01 of 2009 instructs what should happen if NOTA would "win" an election.[14]
In accordance with the aforementioned Act, if an election for a public corporation (such as Congress, Assemblies or Councils), Governor, Mayor or the first round of the presidential elections would end with None of the Above as the absolute majority of valid ballots, the election must be repeated a single time with new candidates (for unipersonal offices, like president, governor or mayor) and for public corporations, the election must be repeated with only the lists which had achieved the threshold for seats. If the blank vote is again the majority in the new election, then the candidate with the most votes is declared elected.
In the regional elections of 2011 for the municipality ofBello, Antioquia, 56.7% of voters picked None of the Above, defeating the uncontested candidate and prompting the election for Mayor to be repeated.
InFrance, the NOTA vote has been recognised since theRevolution. According to the law currently (May 2023) applicable, "Blank ballot papers are counted separately and annexed to the minutes. They are not taken into account for the determination of the votes cast, but they are specially mentioned in the results of the ballot. An envelope containing no ballot paper is considered to be a blank ballot paper."The blank (i.e. "white") vote is considered as an act of political participation (very different toabstention where the voter does not cast a ballot, as well as to casting an invalid ballot) sending the message that "none of the options suits me", for instance in the case of a referendum.
TheElection Commission of India told theSupreme Court in 2009 that it wished to offer the voter a "none of the above" option on ballots, which the government had generally opposed.[15] ThePeople's Union for Civil Liberties, anon-governmental organisation, filed apublic-interest litigation statement in support of this.[16]
On 27 September 2013, theSupreme Court of India ruled that the right to register a "none of the above" vote in elections should apply and ordered the Election Commission to provide such a button in theelectronic voting machines, noting that it would increase participation.[17][18][19][20][21]
The Election Commission also clarified that even though votes cast as NOTA are counted, they are considered as invalid votes so they will not change the outcome of the election process. They are not taken into account for calculating the total valid votes and will not be considered for determining the forfeiture ofdeposit.[22][23][24][25]
In the2014 general election, NOTA polled 1.1% of the votes,[26] counting to over 6,000,000.[27]
The specific symbol for NOTA, a ballot paper with a black cross across it, was introduced on 18 September 2015. The symbol is designed byNational Institute of Design,Ahmedabad.[28][29][30]
The Indonesian Law 10 of 2016 regulates local elections, and includes provisions for elections in which there is only one candidate. In such cases, the candidate contests the election against a NOTA option (commonly referred to askotak kosong/empty box), and is declared the winner if they manage to secure a majority of the valid votes. Otherwise, the election will be postponed to the next occurrence; thegovernment of Indonesia appoints an acting office holder until the new election, in which the losing candidate is eligible to stand again.[31]
There were threeuncontested runs in the2015 local elections, nine in the2017 local elections,[32] at least 13 in the2018 local elections (including the mayoral elections forTangerang andMakassar),[33][34] 25 in the2020 local elections,[35] and 37 in the2024 local elections.[36]
As of 2024, three second-level local elections have resulted in NOTA "victories". In the2018 election for mayor of Makassar, the NOTA option received over 300,000 votes, 35,000 more than the sole candidate, forcinga repeat election in 2020.[37] In 2024, the elections for mayor ofPangkalpinang and the regent ofBangka Regency also resulted in NOTA "wins".[38]
InKazakhstan, the "none of the above" (Бәріне қарсымын, "against all") option is provided in voting ballots as per Article 37(1) of the Constitutional Law "On Elections".[39] Initially introduced in the1991 presidential election, voters could cross out candidate names as means of choosing NOTA.[40] The option was officially included in the election law in 1995 but removed in 2004.[41][42] Despite its removal, activists protested by casting unofficial NOTA votes and engaging in spoiled voting.[43] In 2016, Astana lawyer Anton Fabry unsuccessfully sought a complaint to theSupreme Court, alleging that theCentral Election Commission had completely neglected the interests of NOTA voters by excluding the voting option from the ballots as an "deliberate deception" to manipulate voter turnout.[44]
During the2021 legislative election, its absence was a significant issue,[45] leading PresidentKassym-Jomart Tokayev to propose reinstating it, resulting in its reinstatement in June 2021.[46][39] The NOTA option for the first time was used again during thedirect elections of ruraläkims (local heads) inJuly 2021.[47] In the2022 presidential election, the NOTA option received 5.8% (460,484 votes), making it the second-largest picked option in the vote share.[48] However, Minister of Justice Qanat Musin clarified that NOTA votes would only be considered as evidence of voter turnout, not as a determining factor due to a lack of legislation on the matter, emphasizing its role as an exercise of the right to participate in elections.[49]
The Norwegian election regulation makes it mandatory to present voters with blank ballots in addition to all of the approved parties and election lists. In theparliamentary election of 2013, 12,874 votes, which is 0.45% of the total votes given, were blank.
In Peru, the ballot is declared null and void if two-thirds of the voters vote blank.
In theBangsamoro autonomous region, the Bangsamoro Electoral Code mandates a "none of the above" option in ballots and is set to be first implemented in theupcoming Bangsamoro Parliament election.[50] It is not considered as a candidate.[51]
However it is unclear what would happen if NOTA option "win" an election.[52] There was a proposal to remove the option altogether since if NOTA option "win" could leave a position vacant.[53]
In the 1990 elections that led to thedissolution of the Soviet Union, the Soviet version of "none of above" (cross out voting) led to new elections with new candidates in 200 races of the 1,500-seatCongress of People's Deputies.[54][55] More than 100 incumbents representing theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union were defeated in the run-off, leadingBoris 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."[54]
Owing to the Spanish voting regulations (legislación electoral española),(in Spanish) 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 number of valid votes, raising 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 theD'Hondt method.
Since 1999, several political parties[56][57][58][59][60] have arisen in order to make visible the 'none of the above' option in the parliaments and force empty seats. "Blank Seats" ran for the Congress and Senate elections of 20 November 2011. Its programme is to leave empty the corresponding assigned seats by not taking 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 ofGironella (Barcelona) andFoixà (Girona) were able to reduce the number of politicians in their councils by one and two respectively.[61][62] Overall, citizenship supported Blank Seats at different municipalities, includingBarcelona, with 15,582 votes (averaging 1.71% of valid votes).
TheCiudadanos En Blanco (Citizens for Blank Votes) party aims to give blank ballots the meaning of representing empty seats if the votes indicate so as for any other party, disbanding the party when such law would be approved.
UK electoral counting procedures require that all votes be counted and announced, including 'rejected' votes. 'Rejected votes' are classified into four categories,[63]protest votes are recorded with others rejected as 'voter's intention uncertain'.
NOTA UK is a voluntary organisation set up in 2010 to campaign for a formal None Of The Above (NOTA) option to be added to ballot papers for all future UK elections. It has made numerous written evidence submissions[64] to the parliamentaryPolitical and Constitutional Reform Select Committee (PCRC)[65] making the case for NOTA 'with teeth', i.e. formalised consequences for the election result in the event of a NOTA 'win' (as opposed to 'faux' NOTA, whereby the next placed candidate takes office anyway as happens in India and elsewhere). As a result of these representations, the PCRC explicitly recommended in its final report on 'voter engagement', published in February 2015,[66] that the next UK government should hold a public consultation before May 2016 solely on inclusion of NOTA on UK ballot papers. This in turn has led to increased support for and awareness of NOTA UK's campaign and its founder, recording artist and music producerJamie Stanley (known as Mailman), being asked to give a number of media interviews.[67] No public consultation materialised as the incomingConservative majority government scrapped the PCRC, effectively disregarding all of its recommendations.
Since 2015, in part thanks to NOTA UK's lobbying, it has been a policy of theGreen Party of England and Wales to get a form of NOTA (RON – Re-Open Nominations) on UK ballot papers.[68] In the run-up to the 2017 UK general election, NOTA UK wrote to the Green party suggesting that they should reword the policy so that, instead of RON, it refers specifically to the more self-explanatory NOTA, and that they should also place the policy centre stage in their next manifesto.[69]
TheAbove and Beyond Party was founded in 2015 and fielded eight candidates in the2015 general election, none of whom were elected. Their sole stated policy was to introduce a "none of the above" option on all UK ballot papers.[70][71] The party's logo is based on the West AfricanAdinkra symbol "Aya", "derived from a fern tree which famously grows in difficult-to-survive places", and a symbol of resilience.[72] Critics pointed out that their website and Facebook page at the time indicated that they had policy ideas and a political agenda beyond the single issue of NOTA and appeared to be jumping on the bandwagon of other NOTA campaigns.[73]
The party registered with theElectoral Commission on 18 March 2015. The Electoral Commission listed the party leader, nominating officer and campaigns officer as Mark Flanagan and the treasurer was Karen Stanley.[74] The party chairman was Michael Ross.[75] The party was de-registered by the Electoral Commission on 3 November 2016.[74]
Above and Beyond fielded four candidates in the2015 general election. The candidates stood inClwyd West,Cheadle,Sheffield Central andLeeds North West.[76] InSheffield Hallam the party endorsed Carlton Reeve, an independent candidate.[77][78] No Above and Beyond candidate received 5% or more of the votes cast, therefore all lost theirdeposit.
The party raised funds partially through "AboveBeyond" music nights.[79]
No Candidate Deserves My Vote! was registered as a political party with the UK Electoral Commission on 23 November 2000.[80] 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 aMember 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, it should cause an automaticby-election, the idea being that the majority will have given avote of no confidence in the candidates. If the same candidates stand under the same policies, then the electorate simply votes NOTA until the candidates change their policies to something that the electorate can vote for.
In 2010, Stephen Phillips ofStevenage stood in theUK general election on behalf of No Candidate Deserves My Vote.[81] Phillips received 327 votes, or 0.7% of the vote, placing 7th out of 9 candidates.[82]
The NOTA Party, in recent years also known as Notavote, was registered as a political party with the UK Electoral Commission on 2 March 2009.[83] It was the intention of the NOTA party to field candidates in every UK parliamentary constituency. The respective NOTA candidates would not have continued in office had they received the most votes; this was merely a mechanism to simulate the recording of a formal NOTA vote. The party was registered as 'NOTA' and not 'None of the Above' as the latter is a prohibited expression regarding registration as a party name.[84] A subsequent attempt to re-register the NOTA party in 2014 was blocked by the Electoral Commission[85] on the grounds that the acronym 'NOTA' is as good as the phrase 'None of the Above', the logic being that it would confuse voters into thinking it is possible to cast a formal vote for 'None of the Above' when they would in fact just be voting for another party, albeit one standing on a single issue NOTA platform.
None Of The Above Zero was a candidate at the2010 general election inFilton and Bradley Stoke.[86] 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",[87] in effect giving voters a "none of the above" option since had he been elected he would have resigned immediately.[88] He came last with 172 votes.[89]
In theBritish parliamentary elections of 2010, a former boxer changed his name bydeed poll fromTerry Marsh to "None Of The Above X", in order to run as a parliamentary candidate under that name in the constituency ofSouth 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".[90] In the event he polled 0.3% of the vote, the lowest of any candidate standing.[91]
The origins of the ballot option "None of the Above" in the United States can be traced to when the State ofNevada adopted "None of These Candidates" as a ballot option in 1976.[96] In someUnited States presidential primaries, individuals can vote forunpledged delegates by votingUncommitted. "None of the above" is also permitted in the bylaws of theLibertarian Party, with NOTA winning the2024 Libertarian Party presidential primaries in North Carolina and Massachusetts.
In 1998 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 State,[97] but the measure was defeated in the March 2000 general election 64% to 36%.[98] Were it to be passed by the voters, it was meant to require 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.[99][failed verification]
No similar options were known to have been permitted in any other states as of 2022.
Most ballots do not have a formal "none of the above" option, but some have procedures that work in a similar way.
In Argentina casting an envelope without a ballot in aballot box counts as a blank vote.
In1989 legislative election in Poland voters were able to vote against the only candidate running, often from the rulingPolish United Workers' Party by crossing out the candidate's name on the ballot.[54] As a result, voters defeated the sitting prime minister and dozens of leading Communists because they failed to get the required majority.[54]
Many students' unions inBritain,Ireland, and others use a similar ballot option called 're-open nominations' (RON)[108] inIRV andsingle transferable vote (STV) elections. These include theNational Union of Students in theUK andUCD Student's Union inIreland. 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.
RON is not strictly anone 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.
The AmericanRobert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised (RONR) 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." RONR always requires a majority for election; thus, 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."[109][110]
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Voting for theHugo Awards is by instant runoff voting, in which nominees for a category are ranked. There are normally seven options: six nominees, plus "No Award". A first preference vote for no award implies that the voter believes that either the category should be abolished, or that none of the nominees are worthy of an award. A second or subsequent preference implies that any higher-ranked nominees are worthy of an award, while those ranked lower are not.
KPU Provinsi atau KPU Kabupaten/Kota menetapkan pasangan calon terpilih pada Pemilihan 1 (satu) pasangan calon sebagaimana dimaksud dalam Pasal 54C, jika mendapatkan suara lebih dari 50% (lima puluh persen) dari suara sah.