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On Thursday (23rd May) voters headed to the polls to vote in the European Parliament elections, deciding who would be elected as an MEP to represent their region in the EU. For some however, this was an opportunity to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the parties and their candidates on the ballot paper.

We took a look at the percentage of spoilt ballots for each region to see what they could tell us about this election. We’ve also compared them to the previous European Elections, which took place in 2014.

See the full data Region Total Number of Votes Cast (2019) Number of Spoilt Ballots (2019) Spoilt Ballot % 2019 Spoilt Ballot % 2014 Number of Spoilt Ballots (2014) East Midlands 1190960 7,733 0.60% 0.30% 3,425 East of England 1603017 9,589 0.60% 0.40% 6,937 London 2259078 17,397 0.80% 1.10% 25,207 North East 623478 3,624 0.60% 0.30% 2,116 Northern Ireland 577275 4649 0.80% 1.60% N/A North West 1744858 9,951 0.60% 0.50% N/A Scotland 1568241 5,205 0.30% 0.20% 2,184 South East 2538945 13,648 0.50% 0.40% 10,118 South West 1676173 9,544 0.60% 0.30% N/A Wales 841850 5,655 0.70% 0.30% 1,999 West Midlands 1355216 8,378 0.60% 0.60% 8,478 Yorkshire and the Humber 1296380 7,103 0.50% 0.50% N/A View Sources & Data in Google Docs



Wales saw an increase of 0.4%, while the North East and East Midlands doubled their percentage of spoilt ballots. On the other hand, Northern Ireland saw their percentage half to 0.8%.

Learn more about why ballots are rejected: Why are ballots rejected? Ballots are usually rejected because there is something other than an X in one of the boxes. Spoiled ballots may come in the form of totally blank ballot papers or ones with doddles/writing all over them. Usually they fall into one of these categories: Voting for more than one candidate Voters intention uncertain Voter can be identified All candidates at the count will have the opportunity to review the rejected ballot papers. At this point they are able to argue the case for certain votes to be counted, I.e if a voter has written YES in the box rather than a X. This process is overseen by the returning officer. Some more info on rejecting ballot papers: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/87701/Doubtful-ballot-placemat.pdf Why spoil your ballot? If you are not satisfied with the options available to you, spoiling your ballot is a way of actively demonstrating your apathy. Staying at home just makes you another statistic, it is presumed you are just uninterested, but by actively going to the polling station and making it clear that none of the candidates represent you, you become a voice for the disengaged. Blank Votes and Spoiled Ballots are read out at the count, along with the results and are also included in subsequent reports. Your apathy towards the political parties will be heard not just forgotten. Huge numbers of blank/spoiled ballots can indicate to political parties that change in policy is needed to reconnect with these voters.

There are a number of reasons why rejected ballot numbers might increase, but we’d be interested to hear your and analysis, so please continue the discussion in the comments below.

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