{{Short description|Spoiled vote in an election}}{{Voting}} An '''overvote''' occurs when one votes for more than the maximum number of selections allowed in a contest.<ref>[http://www.eac.gov/voting%20systems/docs/vvsgvolumei.pdf/attachment_download/file/ 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613012027/http://www.eac.gov/voting%20systems/docs/vvsgvolumei.pdf/attachment_download/file |date=2008-06-13 }}, p. A-13 Election Assistance Commission</ref> The result is a spoiled vote which is not included in the final tally.
One example of an overvote would be voting for two candidates in a single race with the instruction "Vote for not more than one." ''Robert's Rules of Order'' notes that such votes are illegal.<ref>{{Parliamentary manuals|title = RONR|edition = 11th|year = 2011|pages = 416-417}}(RONR)</ref>
Undervotes combined with overvotes (known as residual votes) can be an academic indicator in evaluating the accuracy of a voting system when recording voter intent.<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Alvarez |first1 = R. Michael |last2 = Katz |first2 = Jonathan N. |last3 = Hill |first3 = Jonathan N. |title = Machines Versus Humans: The Counting and Recounting of Pre-scored Punchcard Ballots |version = VTP Working Paper #32 |publisher = CALTECH/MIT Voting Technology Project |date = September 20, 2005 |url = http://www.vote.caltech.edu/media/documents/wps/vtp_wp32.pdf |access-date = 2008-06-12 |archive-date = 2008-09-11 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080911004322/http://www.vote.caltech.edu/media/documents/wps/vtp_wp32.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref>
While an overvote in a plurality voting system or limited voting is always illegal, in certain other electoral methods including approval voting, this style of voting is valid, and thus invalid overvotes are not possible.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://electionscience.org/library/approval-voting/|title=Approval Voting|website=The Center for Election Science}}</ref>
In the corporate world, the term "overvote" describes a situation in which someone votes more proxies than they are authorized to, or for more shares than they hold of record.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/spotlight/proxyprocess/proxyvotingbrief.htm|title=Briefing Paper: Roundtable on Proxy Voting Mechanics|website=www.sec.gov}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-05-10-recountmethod.htm USAToday.com – How USA Today and others examined overvote]
Category:Elections Category:Voting theory