Throw the bums out

last updated 8 January 2015

Ulyanovsk, Russia

A Russian city this week failed for the second time to elect a representative to the national legislature when the option “None of the above” took the most votes. In the first try at picking a Duma representative, during the parliamentary election in December, 20 percent of voters in Ulyanovsk checked “None of the above,” the box at the bottom of the ballot. That was more than double the support given to any of the 14 actual candidates, including the incumbent. In a repeat election this week, “None of the above” increased its following to 21.5 percent, while the leading human contender took only 12 percent. “At a minimum,” said voter Aleksei Budovky, “this should sound like a warning to someone.”