protest vote

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of protest vote¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

She believes that while people are happy to cast a protest vote, they currently question whether Reform are really a government in waiting - so challenging them on whether their policies hold together, or whether their numbers add up, is a way of undermining their support.

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Support for Reform might be thought to be simply a protest vote by an electorate fed up with slow growth, an ailing health service, and high levels of immigration.

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The protest vote is not confined to the poorest or most disaffected.

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They suggest the party was particularly popular among those who voted for Brexit in 2016 and for Boris Johnson in 2019 - and that Reform's success cannot simply be dismissed as a short-lived protest vote.

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Could it be seen as a protest vote, I ask.

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