protest vote

noun

1. a ballot cast for a candidate with a minimal chance of winning, to register dislike for the other candidates.

Word History and Origins

Origin of protest vote¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

One plausible way to read this election is as a protest vote against the Democrats as the incumbent party, reflecting a broad feeling that the country is headed in the wrong direction and something must change on a fundamental level.

From Salon

But I believe the alternative in another Trump presidency—including the possible further erosion of abortion rights, as well as a promised series of detention camps along the border as part of a plan to expel millions of fellow human beings from our country—is a future too dangerous to gamble on a protest vote.

From Slate

When she cast her vote for Joe Biden in 2020, she said it was a protest vote.

From BBC

In something of an echo of his surprisingly big 2020 win in Florida, he appears to be doing well in those places with disaffected voters who plan to cast something like a protest vote for him because he’s the most disruptive candidate available.

From Slate

"Those people that voted for Haley after she dropped out as purely a protest vote against Trump, those are the ones that have to be reached as carefully as possible," Nix said.

From Salon