Defined term

Overvote

Overvote: When the number of selections made by a voter in a contest is more than the maximum number allowed.

Also known as: Overvotes

Alternative names:
Overvotesover-vote
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Voting

Definition

When the number of selections made by a voter in a contest is more than the maximum number allowed.

Alternative Definitions

Definition 2

(1) Generally prohibited practice of voting for more than the allotted number of candidates for the office being contested. (2) The voting for more than the allotted number of selections in a race. (3) Occurs when the number of alternatives selected by a voter in a contest exceeds the maximum number allowed for that contest. Also known as overvoting.

Source: NISTType: standard
Definition 3

Occurs when the number of selections made by a voter in a contest is more than the maximum number allowed.

Source: NIST WebType: semantic
Definition 4

An overvote occurs when a voter makes more selections than she is entitled to make. For example, voting for two candidates for a particular contest when the voter is entitled to vote for only one candidate in that contest is an overvote.

Source: Counting Votes 2012Type: external
Definition 5

A “condition of a voted ballot in which more votes have been cast for an ISSUE or OFFICE than the number of votes that the voter is la wfully entitled to cast.” Minn. Rules §8220.0250.21. Generally no vote at all in counted for any office that is overvoted, but there are exception. In a vote-for-many office, for example, in Iowa, if a voter writes in the same name more than once in the write-in spaces, exactly one of the votes will count despite the overvote. Iowa Code §49.99. Cf. UNDERVOTE.

Source: Electronic Voting GlossaryType: external

Sources

1
Glossary of Election Terms, U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
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2
Glossary for Voting Systems, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
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3
NIST Election Terminology Glossary, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
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4
Pilot Implementation Study of Risk-Limiting Audit Methods in the State of Rhode Island
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5
Counting Votes 2012
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6
EAC Glossary of Terms
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7
EAC Glossary of Election Terms
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8
NIST Election Glossary
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9
Electronic Voting Glossary
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