Should blank votes be counted? The question, which comes up regularly during the various elections, takes on more and more importance as abstention progresses. During an interview organized on Tuesday 25 January on Twitch by France Télévisions, Anne Hidalgo, the candidate of the Socialist Party, declared herself in favor of such a measure.
“I want to recognize it and take it into account”, declared the current mayor of Paris without having any certainty about the realization of this recognition. “This requires discussions and I have not decided yet”, she admitted.
Anne Hidalgo assumes the risk of a cancellation of the elections
In December 2021, a fact-finding report of the National Assembly aimed at identifying the reasons for abstention and strengthening electoral participation underlined that, according to the Constitution, “the president is elected by an absolute majority of the votes cast in the first or second round. Thus, a candidate who came first in the second round but did not win strictly more than the votes of his opponent added to the blank votes could not be elected. » The fact-finding mission therefore considered that “The risk of an impasse is real, undermining confidence in the ability of our democracy to ensure the stability of institutions. »
This is the reason why M.me Hidalgo said she was ready to “recognize the consequences” of a majority of blank votes which could then “cancel the election” to restart the ballot. ” For example, there are countries which consider that if there are too many blank votes, the election should be repeated. I am in favor of it. »