protest vote

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noun

a ballot cast for a candidate with a minimal chance of winning, to register dislike for the other candidates.

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Origin of protest vote

First recorded in 1970–75

Weiss is likely to get confirmed even as Warren and a handful of other progressive Democrats vote no.
Sen. Warren’s Main Street Crusade to Pressure Clinton|Eleanor Clift|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Asian-Americans may vote for Democrats now, but they are a highly persuadable—and growing—part of the electorate.
Asian-Americans Are The New Florida|Tim Mak|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In 1992, Republican George H.W. Bush won the Asian-American vote by 24 points.
Asian-Americans Are The New Florida|Tim Mak|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
By 2012, Democratic President Barack Obama owned the Asian-American vote, winning it by 47 percentage points.
Asian-Americans Are The New Florida|Tim Mak|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Police, their representatives and supporters tell us, ensure our freedom of speech through our ability to protest.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The lovers got up, with only a silent protest, and walked slowly away somewhere else.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Of course I had to satisfy the ruffian's insolent demands, but I did so under protest.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The bill to remove the civil disabilities of the Jews rejected in the British parliament by a vote of 288 to 165.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
The weapons, the most unusual weapons, we are reluctantly compelled to accept under protest.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
They can, and they will, vote themselves and their friends or adherents into the good jobs and the high places.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock