“Presidential Laboratory”: is it worth recognizing a blank vote?

Following a major national debate organized by the government in response to the Yellow Vests movement, Le Parisien invited its readers to send it citizens’ legislative proposals that they would like to see.

This Friday we will look at one of them: taking into account the empty vote in the casting of votes, which our reader Gilles asked for. A measure that several presidential candidates want to implement.

What is it about ?

For assessors in France, a vote is considered blank if a voter places an empty envelope in the ballot box or one filled with a blank piece of paper the same size as the candidate’s ballot.

Since 2014, a blank vote is distinguished from an invalid vote, which consists of placing a torn, scratched ballot or any other document other than the candidate’s ballot in the ballot box. Therefore, the percentage of blank votes is now published after each election, giving an idea of ​​the number of citizens who were not convinced by any of the participating candidates.

However, a blank vote does not count towards the casting of votes. It is obvious that their number, even a huge one, will not affect the elections.

If we look at presidential elections, for example, the Constitution provides that “The President shall be elected by an absolute majority of the votes cast.” In the second round, he was sure to receive more than 50% of the votes cast, given that there were only two candidates left.

Why take this into account?

If the total number of votes cast is taken into account by the blank vote, achieving an absolute majority will be much more difficult. “Taking into account empty votes would mean a reduction in the ranking of candidates: for example, Jacques Chirac in 1995 or François Hollande in 2012 would not have more than 50% if they were counted in the votes cast,” said Jérémie Moualec. researcher in political sociology (Universities of Evry and Lille 2) in an interview with Le Parisien in 2017.

Supporters of the recognition of empty voting consider this a real choice of a citizen. The voter, by voting with a form, expresses the fact that he does not recognize himself in any of the candidates present.

Which candidates ask for this?

Some presidential candidates advocate recognizing the empty vote. This is the case with Anne Hidalgo, Yannick Jadot or Nicolas Dupont-Aignan.

Candidate Nathalie Artaud spoke in favor of recognizing the empty vote among petition signatories in 2017. In the same year, Jean Lassalle assured in his program that he would approve it.

“If you elect me, I will achieve the recognition of an empty voice,” presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon promised in a video published on his blog on January 12. In 2017, the leader of La France insoumise went even further. “If 50% + 1 people voted blank, we could consider that the vote was simply canceled,” he said in a similar video.

In 2019, after a big national debate, Emmanuel Macron said about the empty vote that he had “thought a lot about it” but “won’t do it.” “White, that doesn’t solve it. White, this won’t solve a single problem,” he defended himself.

Which countries recognize blank voting?

Sweden only recognizes blank votes in referendums: for a “yes” vote to win, it must have a score greater than the sum of the “no” votes and the blank votes.

In Switzerland, blank votes are counted as votes, but a relative majority rather than an absolute majority is sufficient for election, Le Monde reports. Obviously, a blank vote won’t have that much impact on the election.

If an absolute majority of blank votes are suppressed in the second round of elections in Colombia, they are declared invalid and a new vote is organized, with candidates from the first round being prohibited from running again. Finally, in Peru, a blank vote can also invalidate an election if it represents two-thirds of the vote.

How to set this up?

Thus, allowing for a blank vote in France would mean adding a third voting opportunity in the second round of elections. “However, this could result in no candidate receiving an outright majority in the runoff,” a Senate report released in 2013 noted. 46% of votes for candidate A and 44% for candidate B.

In this scenario, two options are then pitted against each other: organize new elections, as in Colombia, or change the Constitution and call elections by relative majority, as in Switzerland. “It would be difficult to draw conclusions based on a significant proportion or even the majority of blank ballots: should we plan to organize a new vote? Should we, by drawing lots, appoint citizens to the number of places to be filled according to the score received? “, says the 2013 report.

Another difficulty noted in the same report: during a referendum, missing a vote would be equivalent to voting against the proposal. Thus, the debate will not stop even if the French choose a candidate who recognizes the empty vote next April.

Eventually

For its advocates, recognizing the empty vote would provide an opportunity to elect more legitimate representatives and restore citizens’ trust in institutions. But its complex implementation involves changing the Constitution, while not forgetting the question mark regarding referendums.