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to overvote

to overvote

8.6
To mark more choices on a ballot than allowed so the vote is not counted
  • verb
  • /ˈoʊvərˌvoʊt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sobretasar
  • If you overvote on a ballot, your choices for that section may not be counted.

Examples

  • Don't overvote on the ballot!

  • The election official explained that overvoting would cause the machine to reject the ballot.

  • She accidentally overvoted by selecting two candidates for the same office.

  • If you overvote, your vote won't count.

  • If a voter overvotes, their ballot may be considered invalid due to selecting too many candidates.

  • After the election, we discovered several ballots were overvoted, making those votes unusable.

  • The system was designed to alert voters if they were about to overvote during the selection process.

Surface Forms

overvote infinitive
overvoted past
overvoted past participle
overvoting present participle
overvotes third person singular

Morphology

overvote = vote (semi-transparent) = over + vote

The verb is formed by adding the productive prefix 'over-' (excess) to 'vote', but the exact electoral consequence (invalidating the ballot) is specialized.

Etymology

Overvote is made of over- ('too much') and vote, so it means to select 'too many' choices on a ballot. That's why if you overvote, your choices for that contest may not be counted.