45% of those who spoiled their votes opposed all three presidential candidates – survey

Electoral Commission chief says 'there is no cause for complacency amongst those with a role in protecting and promoting trust in elections and democracy in Ireland'

The three candidates on the ballot in Ireland's 2025 presidential election: Catherine Connolly, who was elected in a landslide, Jim Gavin, and Heather Humphreys. File picture

Almost half of voters who spoiled their ballot in last year's presidential election did so as they did not like any of the three candidates, research has found.

The Electoral Commission found that 45% of those who spoiled their ballot did not like the three candidates, while 27% spoiled theirs as they believed the selection process had been unfair.

The report found that 17% of those who spoiled votes believed there was not enough choice, 14% were as a protest against Government policy, and 7% preferred a candidate not on the ballot.

A further 6% said there was an “other reason”, while 3% gave no reason.

Respondents were allowed to give multiple reasons for spoiling their vote.

Catherine Connolly was elected as Ireland’s 10th president in October 2025, prevailing over Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys and Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin, who had exited the race weeks beforehand.

Electoral Commission chief executive Art O’Leary said the research gives insight into those who spoiled their ballots which “contributes to the ongoing process of enhancing democracy and elections in this country”.

Questions were also posed about electoral integrity in the survey after the election; 84% of respondents said they believed elections were carried out in accordance with the law.

It found that 72% of respondents believed elections were well managed, 71% believed election officials were fair. Meanwhile, 89% of respondents believed their vote was secret once placed in the ballot box. 

The commission found that while it was a generally positive result on electoral integrity, this was a drop compared to indicators in its 2024 general election study.

“This suggests there is no cause for complacency amongst those with a role in protecting and promoting trust in elections and democracy in Ireland. An Coimisiún will monitor these trends carefully,” a spokesperson said.

The research surveyed a representative sample of 1,312 respondents over three different periods. 

One took place during the early campaign, one during election week and one immediately after the election.