“A vote can be spoiled, even if not on purpose”- Presidential election sees record numbers of protest votes

In Galway, roughly 9,670 votes were spoiled, with 5,250 invalid ballot papers recorded in the Galway East constituency and 4,420 in the West. 

While working as a poll clerk in Bushypark, Ethan McAndrew witnessed Galwegians spoiling their votes firsthand. 

“A vote can be spoiled, even if not on purpose,” Ethan told the Galway Pulse.

 “There was one lady who spoiled it accidentally. She had written a one next to Catherine Connolly and a two next to Heather Humphreys, but her hand was shaky and she had written another line so it looked like she had written an 11. So we had to get rid of that ballot card and give her a new one.” 

However, many of the votes spoiled were intentional protests.  

“The kind of main reason was they weren’t happy with the choice of candidates…” Ethan explained. “And, yeah, a lot of people unhappy with the state of the country, you know, and making a lot of political statements in that kind of way.” 

“People would put [Maria Steen’s] name down on the ballot paper or [Conor] McGregor’s name on the ballot paper,” Ethan said. “There were people, you know, writing out statements to the government saying, ‘Not good enough.’ And a lot of people wrote, ‘She was only 10,’ in reference to the event that happened in Dublin recently.” 

The event Ethan was referring to was the alleged assault of a 10-year-old girl in Tusla’s care, which sparked violent protests in Citywest, Co. Dublin. 

“In my opinion, I don’t agree with the spoiling of a vote,” Ethan added. “I understand why people would do it, but I disagree with it… We have a process for who gets to run for president—it’s not for everyone. I think there is good reason for that. It’s so we don’t end up with crooks or people who don’t deserve to be a president.” 

In the words of Mohamad Safa, a Lebanese diplomat, “Voting isn’t marriage. It’s public transport. You’re not waiting for “the one”. You’re getting on the bus. And if there isn’t one going exactly to your destination, you don’t stay home and sulk. You take the one that’s going closest to where you want to be.”

This perspective was clearly not shared by many voters; the record number of spoiled ballots in the 2025 presidential election suggests widespread frustration. 

Despite the wave of voter disillusionment, Catherine Connolly, a proud Galwegian, was elected president with 63.36% of 1st preference votes. 

Connolly is from Shantalla, attended University of Galway, served as a Galway City Councilor, Mayor of Galway, and Teachta Dála for Galway West. Connolly was also the first woman elected Leas-Cheann Comhairle. 

Formally a member of the Labour Party and currently an Independent, Connolly is an outspoken supporter of Irish neutrality, Palestine, and Irish reunification.