A ballot cast by a voter but which expresses no choice in any race or on any question. Blanks ballots are often, but not necessarily, the result of voter confusion or mistake. A "ballot on which the voter has made no marks in any voting position, or has been marked with an unreadable marker, or is one which has been consistently marked outside of the 'read' area of the scanner." Utah Admin. Rule R623-2-3(A). A "ballot that contains no votes that can be detected by a tabulating device." Iowa Admin. Code §721-26.1(49). Also BALLOT. UNVOTED
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A ballot cast by a voter but which expresses no choice in any race or on any question. Blanks ballots are often, but not necessarily, the result of voter confusion or mistake. A "ballot on which the voter has made no marks in any voting position, or has been marked with an unreadable marker, or is one which has been consistently marked outside of the 'read' area of the scanner." Utah Admin. Rule R623-2-3(A). A "ballot that contains no votes that can be detected by a tabulating device." Iowa Admin. Code §721-26.1(49). Also BALLOT. UNVOTED
Cite this term
Election Security Glossary. (2026). Blank Ballot. In Election Security Glossary. Retrieved August 20, 2026, from https://electionsecurityglossary.com/glossary/blank-ballot
Sources
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High consensus
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Multi-source
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Multi-source
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