Legal Definitions - exhausted ballot

An exhausted ballot refers to a ballot cast in a preferential voting system (such as ranked-choice voting) that can no longer be counted towards any active candidate. This occurs when the voter's highest-ranked candidate who is still in the running is eliminated, and there are no further valid preferences marked on that ballot for any remaining candidates.

Essentially, the ballot has "run out" of active choices according to the voter's preferences and can no longer influence the outcome of the election.

• Example 1: City Council Election

  Imagine a city council election where voters rank candidates in order of preference. A voter casts their ballot, ranking Candidate A as their first choice. However, they do not mark any second, third, or subsequent preferences. In an early round of counting, Candidate A receives the fewest first-preference votes and is eliminated from the race.

  How it illustrates the term: Since Candidate A, the voter's only indicated preference, has been eliminated, and the voter provided no further rankings, their ballot becomes an exhausted ballot. It cannot be transferred to any other candidate still competing.

• Example 2: State Primary Election

  In a state primary election for governor using ranked-choice voting, a voter ranks Candidate B as their first choice, Candidate C as their second choice, and Candidate D as their third choice. They do not rank any other candidates beyond D. As the counting proceeds, Candidate B is eliminated in the first round, and the ballot transfers to Candidate C. Later, Candidate C is also eliminated, and the ballot transfers to Candidate D. Finally, Candidate D is eliminated in a subsequent round.

  How it illustrates the term: Once Candidate D, the last candidate ranked by the voter, is eliminated, there are no further valid preferences on the ballot to transfer to any remaining candidates. At this point, the ballot becomes exhausted.

• Example 3: Union Leadership Vote

  During a union leadership election that uses a preferential voting system, a member submits a ballot ranking Candidate X as their first choice, Candidate Y as their second choice, and then mistakenly ranks Candidate X again as their third choice. In the initial count, Candidate X is eliminated. The ballot then correctly transfers to Candidate Y as the second preference. If Candidate Y is subsequently eliminated, the system would look for the third preference. However, since the third preference is for Candidate X (who is already eliminated), this preference is invalid.

  How it illustrates the term: Because the voter's subsequent valid preferences have been exhausted (Candidate Y was eliminated) and their next marked preference (Candidate X) is invalid as that candidate is already out of the race, the ballot cannot be transferred further and is declared an exhausted ballot.