Almost half of those who spoiled their vote in last year’s presidential election did so because they did not like any of the candidates, according to research carried out for An Coimisiún Toghcháin, the Electoral Commission.
More than 12 per cent of the total ballot was deemed invalid, compared with just 1.2 per cent in the 2018 presidential election.
The finding is contained in the Presidential Election 2025 National Election and Democracy Study (Neds).
Only three candidates secured a place on the ballot paper to contest last October’s election.
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President Catherine Connolly, a left-wing Independent politician, won with 63.4 per cent of the vote. Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys, a former minister, came second with 29.5 per cent of the vote. Fianna Fáil’s candidate, former Dublin football manager Jim Gavin, stopped campaigning before polling day amid controversy arising from his time as a landlord. His name remained on the ballot paper and he received 7.2 per cent of the vote.
Others who had sought to enter the election included conservative campaigner Maria Steen and businessman Gareth Sheridan. Steen and Sheridan did not secure enough support from Oireachtas members or local authorities to get on the ballot paper.
The Commission said the number of respondents who said they spoiled their vote in response to the Neds survey reflected the national figure of 12 per cent.
Respondents could offer more than one reason for doing so.
Forty-five per cent said they did not like any of the candidates while 27 per cent indicated their belief that the process for selecting candidates was “unfair/undemocratic”.
Not enough choice was a reason for 17 per cent, and 14 per cent said their spoiled ballot was a protest vote against Government policy.
Seven per cent said their preferred candidate was not on the ballot paper.
The Commission’s chief executive, Art O’Leary, said the number of invalid votes “was significantly higher than any previous electoral event”.
“The insights provided directly from a representative sample of those voters about their personal motivations contribute to the ongoing process of enhancing democracy and elections in this country.”
The study followed a nationally representative sample of 1,312 respondents throughout the election campaign through three surveys during and immediately after the election campaign.
Part of the study included questions selected by academic members of the Neds management board and the resulting data allows Ireland to be part of international comparative research.
Some 55 per cent of respondents believed a president should feel free to speak out on any issue, even if their personal views are not aligned with those of the government.
Fifteen per cent believed it was not appropriate for a president to speak out on any issue without the government’s prior approval.
Thirty-six per cent of respondents felt a president’s most important task was being the guardian of the Constitution while 28 per cent said it was to symbolise the whole Irish nation North and South.
Twelve per cent viewed steering clear of all political controversy as a president’s most important task.
[ Why I spoiled my vote: ‘I feel invisible to the Irish political classes’Opens in new window ]
Sixty-three per cent believed presidential powers should be left as they are, compared with 20 per cent who said the powers should be increased. Six per cent said the position of president was not needed and should be abolished, and 2 per cent said the powers should be reduced.
Some 34 per cent of respondents watched a debate between the candidates during the last election and 21 per cent watched more than one. Forty-four per cent did not watch any.
Sixty-two per cent of respondents believed Connolly performed best in the debates; 11 per cent said Humphreys performed best; and 3 per cent pointed to Gavin.
Sixty-seven per cent said the debates had no impact on their evaluation of candidates while 28 per cent said they did have an impact.
Asked which, if any, of the candidates, had in their view engaged in negative campaigning in the election, 57 per cent said Humphreys did, 20 per cent said Gavin did and 16 per cent said Connolly did. Seventeen per cent said none of the candidates had engaged in negative campaigning.
Some 74 per cent of respondents who voted for Connolly said her personality “very much” affected their decision to vote for her, while 74% of Humphreys voters cited her “political experience” as the factor that “very much” affected their decision.
Thirty-nine per cent of Gavin’s voters cited his achievements in the community or sporting world as “very much” affecting their decision, the most cited reason, though 47 per cent of respondents said these achievements did not affect their decision at all.
Seventy per cent of respondents viewed former president Michael D Higgins’s performance during his time in office as successful, while 8 per cent saw it as not successful at all.
