tactical voting

British

noun

(in an election) the practice of casting one's vote not for the party of one's choice but for the second strongest contender in order to defeat the likeliest winner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Prof Bale references the 1997 election as an example of successful anti-Tory tactical voting in a general election, but says it worked in-part due to a "so-called pact" between previous party leaders.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2024

But he added there was "no need and no wish" for a pre-election pact with Labour at a leadership level, noting that polls show increasing levels of tactical voting anyway.

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2023

With the threshold for parties to enter parliament, there is room for tactical voting.

From Reuters • Sep. 14, 2023

A similar tactical voting strategy has been tried before, not always with success.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2021

He declared his smart voting tactic a success at local Moscow elections in 2019 after 20 candidates backed by his tactical voting plan won seats in the city legislature.

From Reuters • Aug. 19, 2021

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023