Concerns raised over 200,000-plus spoiled votes in presidential election

The invalid ballots represent 13% of all votes cast on Friday, and a more than tenfold increase on the number of spoiled votes in the last presidential election

The names of Maria Steen and Conor McGregor written on spoiled ballot papers at Mallow GAA complex. Picture: Larry Cummins

Several senior politicians have said a response is needed to the 213,738 spoiled votes in the presidential election.

It represents 13% of all votes cast on Friday, and a more than tenfold increase on the number of spoiled votes in the last presidential election, when there were 18,438 invalid ballots.

The turnout was 46%, up on the 2018 presidential election, which had a turnout of 44%.

The electoral commission has said there “will clearly be a need for deeper and further reflection” about why there were so many spoiled ballots in the election.

An Coimisiún Toghcháin said the number of spoiled ballots “is significantly higher than normal and it is clear that some people chose to deliberately spoil their votes”.

In the Dublin Mid-West constituency, 21% of votes cast were spoilt. Cork North-Central say 6,215 invalid ballots out of a total of 43,686. 

Many had an “x” or slash drawn through all three candidates, or the words “spoiled” or “spoilt” written on the slip.

There were also a significant number of spoiled votes with anti-Government messages on them, including “no democracy”, “EU puppets” and “no from me”.

A number of names were also written on many spoiled ballot papers in the count centre in Adamstown, including Maria Steen, who tried to become a presidential candidate but failed to get enough nominations by the deadline.

One ballot paper had a sticker of Ms Steen on it.

Other names seen written on spoiled ballot papers in Adamstown included Enoch Burke, Father Ted, Michael Collins, Bobby Sands, Dustin the Turkey, Donald Duck and Donald Trump.

Sinn Féin Dublin Mid-West TD Eoin Ó Broin said the spoiled votes meant that there are “people out there who are very angry, who are very unhappy”.

“Our job in the time ahead is to try and convince more of those people that there is an alternative, there is a message of hope, and we hear the fact that they are not happy. So, there is a job of work to do afterwards.”

Following the result, the Taoiseach raised concern about the high level of spoiled ballots, saying the Government would need to interpret it.

“I think there was probably an issue with the restrictive nature of how one gets on the ballot and that’s something that, collectively, the Oireachtas can look at,” Micheál Martin said.

However, Mr Martin said it was “not fair” to instruct TDs and Senators to be pressured to back a candidate that may not adhere to their views.

Mr Martin said the Oireachtas would need to look at what possible changes could be made to the nomination process, as it would require a constitutional amendment.

Tánaiste Simon Harris also expressed concern about the high number of spoiled ballots and said some voters put “quite a lot of effort in spoiling their ballot”.

He said it showed “the number of people in Ireland now who are clearly feeling disaffected or disconnected with politics”.

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said he did not think it was a “moral failing” to spoil votes, and that it was a “legitimate choice that people can make”.

“There is going to be a challenge for everybody in politics, but I would say for the left in particular, that there is a group of people who are very disaffected, very alienated, very angry at the political system.”