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Do you have to vote for everything on your ballot? (2022)
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No. The act of leaving one option blank on a ballot while filling out other options is commonly referred to as undervoting. For example, a voter that is permitted to cast one vote for a presidential candidate and does not select a candidate, or a voter who has only cast two votes in a contest allowing three, has undervoted. Voters have the right to undervote if they choose to do so.
A ballot will not be canceled or disqualified as the result of an undervote. An undervote can be intentional (e.g., protest votes, tactical voting, or abstention) or unintentional (e.g., oversight on the voter's part or confusing ballot design).[1][2]
Undervoting does not directly affect candidate elections with a majority requirement to win. Undervoting can affect ballot measure results, however. In seven states, constitutional amendments must be approved by a certain percentage of all voters casting a ballot in the election, making the effect of a blank vote different. In states requiring majority approval from all ballots cast in the election, leaving the question blank is the same as voting against the measure. The threshold for approval varies from 30% to a majority of all ballots cast in the election. Click here to read about how undervoting affects ballot measure campaigns in those seven states.
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