Petition · past parliament
Include an 'Abstain' and (where appropriate) 'None of the above' option on votes
Rejected
10 signatures
What the petition asks
In today's democracy a lot of people put pressure on voting to make your voice heard, but sometimes people don't have a strong opinion or disagree with all options. 'Protest votes' and spoiling your ballot skew the vote. Additional options would allow more accurate opinions and better analysis.
A lot of people say that, if you don't want to elect any of the candidates, spoil your ballot. But then how do we know how many people actually made an error and how many just didn't like any of their options? 'None of the above' would allow such a protest to be heard.
Similarly, an 'Abstain' option would allow people who want to be counted as part of the turnout but don't know which way to vote to do so without potentially skewing the result with a throwaway vote.
Similarly, an 'Abstain' option would allow people who want to be counted as part of the turnout but don't know which way to vote to do so without potentially skewing the result with a throwaway vote.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 27 Jun 2016 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 15 Jul 2016 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
10
Status
Rejected
Rejected
15 Jul 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.