At the last 2018 presidential election, spoiled votes totalled 18,438, accounting for 1.2 per cent of the total vote in that election. Spoiled votes from the Dublin South West count centre as the first boxes are being opened for counting of presidential votes at Dublins RDS count centre. Large numbers of spoiled votes were cast in working-class areas in particular, though significant numbers appeared in most boxes across all 43 constituencies. Other spoiled votes had “Connor”, “Dustin the Turkey”, “Donald Trump”, “I’m spoiling my vote” and “IPAS centres out of here” written on them. Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the level of spoiled votes had to be addressed.

Source: The Irish Times October 26, 2025 08:33 UTC