feilvalg

Feilvalg is a term used in Norwegian-language political discourse to describe a vote that does not reflect the voter's intended preference. It covers votes cast for the wrong candidate or party due to error, confusion, or misinterpretation of the ballot, as well as ballots that are invalidated because of mistakes in marking. The term is formed from feil, meaning wrong, and valg, meaning vote or election.

In practice, feilvalg can arise from several causes. Ballot design quirks, such as visually similar party symbols or cramped layouts, can lead to accidental selections. Language barriers, limited literacy, or insufficient voter information can produce misinterpretation of how to mark the ballot. Time pressure at polling places and complex electoral rules can also contribute. While some discussions use feilvalg to describe votes cast with mistaken preference for strategic reasons, most commonly it refers to unintended misvotes.

Consequences include wasted votes that do not contribute to the voter's preferred outcome, occurrences of undervotes or overvotes, and potential distortions in turnout data. In many jurisdictions, why ballots are invalidated is governed by specific rules; for researchers and observers, feilvalg is a useful concept for understanding errors in the voting process.

Measures to reduce feilvalg include simpler and clearer ballot designs, pre-election voter education, multilingual materials, clearer marking instructions, and available assistance at polling stations or for mail-in ballots. See also: Ballot design, Undervote, Overvote, Tactical voting, Voter education.