Voting blank is not the same as abstaining: this is how Spanish electoral law sees it
Published
Many people in Spain believe that voting blank or not voting at all have the same effect, but the law treats them differently. The Organic Law on the General Electoral Regime (LOREG) clearly distinguishes between three situations: the blank vote, the improperly cast ballot, and abstention, that is, not going to the polls.
The blank vote is a legal option. When a person places in the ballot box an envelope without any party ballot paper, their vote is counted as valid, although it does not benefit any candidacy. For this reason, blank votes form part of the total of valid votes. This can affect the result, because it changes the percentage each party obtains and, in some cases, can influence whether a party exceeds the minimum threshold of 3% needed to win seats.
On the other hand, an improperly cast ballot is a null vote. This can happen if the envelope contains ballot papers from several candidacies, if it has marks or crossings-out that allow the voter to be identified, or if the envelope is empty and contains no ballot paper. Null votes are not included in the count of valid votes, so they do not count for any party nor for the percentage of blank votes.
Finally, abstention consists of not going to vote. In this case, the person adds no vote to the count. Therefore, abstention does not change the valid votes, although it does influence overall turnout, a figure that parties and analysts follow closely in every election. Understanding these differences is important for grasping how results are calculated and what each decision at the ballot box really means.
Sources: Business Insider España
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