Definition of Protest Vote

What does the term "protest vote" mean? What is meant by the term "protest vote"?

A "protest vote" occurs when somebody is so disillusioned with the system that they use their vote on somebody who has virtually no chance of winning. This will often include voting for somebody on the far left or far right (for instance, the Community Party) or even writing in the name of a fictional character or movie star (for instance, writing in "Donald Duck" as your vote).

In every US Presidential election, there are tens of thousands of "write-in votes" - some are done to be funny, while others are done as a form of "protest". For instance, in the 2008 US Presidential election, there were 11 votes for "Mickey Mouse" and seven votes for "Donald Duck".

Some of the reasons why a person might want to utilize a "protest vote" - disillusionment with the "system", disillusionment with the slate of candidates, voter fatigue, voter apathy.

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