Ahead of the 2024 Simultaneous Election without revision of the Election Law, various electoral issues surfaced. Without the revision of the Election Law, various election problems will indeed be repeated: a heavy workload, the complexity of election management, and regional issues that are covered by national issues.
Ideas surfaced to simplify elections. Elections must be divided into simultaneous national and regional elections, information technology must be utilized to reduce the workload of organizers, as well as redesign of ballot papers. The legislature's homework is borne by the election organizers and civil society who have to rack their brains to make complex election designs simple in terms of technical implementation, without conflicting with the law.
Of the many issues that have surfaced, this paper aims to highlight the issue of ballots and their relation to invalid ballots. If the number of elections causes voter confusion, and this is often seen as the reason for the high number of invalid ballots, the question is, can all invalid ballots be directly claimed as a sign that voters do not know how to vote in five simultaneous elections? Don't we also know that there is a golput (abstain) movement, which among other things urges voters to intentionally damage ballots or make ballots invalid as a form of criticism of elections that do not provide space for political parties and alternative candidates? I was one of the voters who deliberately invalidated my ballot in the presidential election by punching a photo of the two pairs of candidates and the KPU logo.
Invalid Votes in PKPU
According to General Election Commission Regulation (PKPU) No. 3/2019 Article 54, presidential election ballots are declared valid if there is a ballot mark (punch) on the serial number, photo, name of one candidate pair, a picture of a political party, and/or a coalition of political parties supporting the candidate pair. Thus, if there are no markings on the ballots, or there are ballots in more than one column of pairs of candidates, or the ballots are found in other parts of the ballot (other than in the column of one pair of candidates), then the ballots will be invalid.
Still in the same PKPU, in the election of members of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), ballots are valid if there is a punch mark in column one of the individual candidate. If there are no ballots for any candidate or there are several ballots for more than one pair of candidates, then the ballot is invalid.
In the election of members of the People's Representative Council (DPR), Provincial DPR (DPRD) and Regency/Municipal DPRD, ballots are valid if there is a punch mark on the number or image of a political party and or name of candidates for members of DPR, Provincial DPRD, and Regency/Municipal DPRD. City in the same column. The ballot marks on two legislative candidates in the same party are also declared valid. Or, any ballot marks as long as they are in the same column, are declared valid for political parties, unless the ballots are torn.
Invalid ballots and lack of understanding of election organizers
Apart from the intention of the voters to make the ballots invalid or the voters accidentally making their votes invalid, the lack of understanding of the election organizers regarding the giving of valid ballots can also cause the ballots to be judged invalid. This is very likely to happen when the Voting Organizing Group (KPPS) does not receive adequate technical guidance (bimtek), the rules in the technical guidance guide are unclear, the implementation of a new voting method, or the TPS officer is not careful.
In the 2019 Simultaneous Election with five types of ballots that must be counted on the same day, KPPS fatigue is not impossible to cause errors in the assessment of valid or invalid votes. Based on the narrative of the former District Election Committee (PPK) Ngaglik District, Sleman Regency, Dimas Permana Hadi, the vote counting process at all polling stations in Ngaglik District was completed on average from 11 to 12 pm. In fact, KPPS has been working since dawn to prepare TPS. In fact, the story of a former PPK in Sukma Jaya District, Depok City, West Java, Heri Darmawan, a member of KPPS in Sukma Jaya District, had stayed up late before voting because he had to queue for TPS logistics in the sub-district.
For various reasons, KPPS officers may think that the ballot mark on the column line of one of the pairs of candidates is invalid. Or, voting for any part in the column of one of the pairs of candidates and voting for the KPU logo is also considered invalid. In fact, voting like this is still considered valid or at least not declared invalid if it refers to PKPU No. 3/2019 concerning Voting and Counting Votes in the 2019 Election.
Then in the elections for the DPR, Provincial DPRD, and Regency/City DPRD, KPPS officers may judge that ballot papers containing a punch mark are invalid for many candidates in the same political party. In fact, such voting is valid for political parties. Likewise, it is legal for parties if the case is that there is a ballot mark for a candidate who is declared no longer eligible or has died.
In the study of voter suppression, election officials' ignorance of the rules for valid and invalid votes is a form of voter suppression. This is because the misunderstanding causes the voter's vote to be lost or misinterpreted. It's also unfortunate if the TPS supervisors and TPS witnesses both don't understand. Election observers and the public are not allowed to enter polling stations. There is not enough room for election observers to really see why ballots have become invalid.
Can we separate out which ballots are invalid due to voter confusion and which are forms of political protest?
During a chat in the WhatsApp group, there was a discussion about how to check intentional and unintentional invalid ballots. Checking invalid ballots in the 2019 general election is absolutely necessary, however, whether the method used to assess voter intentions is sufficient.
There are four conditions on the ballot that I think can indicate that the voter intentionally made his/her ballot invalid. First, if there is no voting other than the KPU logo. Second, if there are lots of ballot marks in many columns of political parties or all pairs of candidates. Third, if the ballot is torn. Fourth, if the ballot has scribbles or writings by writing instruments brought by the voter. The rest, various possibilities can occur due to the large number of ballots that must be punched and the confusion of voters in the polling station booths, such as other ballots being accidentally punched because the voter puts another ballot under the ballot that is being opened.
Looking at the data on the percentage of invalid votes in the DPR RI election, it seems that the factor of the high number of invalid votes is more to voter confusion. This is because in the 1999 general election, when the closed list proportional system was implemented, the percentage of invalid votes was only 3.4 percent. The percentage increased in the 2004 General Election with a semi-open proportional system, which was 8.8 percent. It increased again in the 2009 2014 and 2019 elections, with the percentage of invalid votes in the last DPR RI election of 11.1 percent.
However, this assumption still has to be investigated further because there is still the possibility that the voice of protest will also increase along with the amount of political content that can be easily found on social media by everyone.
Political protest by ballot
The absence of an abstention or none of the above option on the ballot that accommodates the political aspirations of voters who decide not to vote for any candidate or political party causes confusion between voters' ignorance of how to vote and political protest. As long as there is no such facilitation on the ballot, there will always be claims about the choice of the wrong legislative electoral system, or claims of high political protest.
I don't know how many total rejection votes were submitted through ballots that were damaged or invalid because the Presidential Election did not provide any affirmative politics towards women, or disappointment with political conditions that were felt to be undemocratic, or also a firm stance against oligarchs.
The absence of an option on the ballot not to vote for all candidates or political parties should be viewed as something less democratic because it does not provide space for people who have the right to vote and want to use their voting rights to voice their opinions. Not voting on the ballot has become an issue demanded by the public in relation to broad political rights. The facilitation of votes against all candidates and political parties has been carried out in Greece, Spain, Ukraine, France, Colombia, the state of Nevada in the United States, and India.
Facilitating voting against or not selecting all candidates and political parties on the ballot will do two things. First, a space for all citizens with the right to vote to express their political aspirations clearly. Second, confirming the number of invalid votes due to voters' ignorance of how to vote (related to policies to change the electoral system or ballot design and election socialization), and protests against political parties and the government (related to reforming political parties, democracy, and other issues related to governance issues).
NURUL AMALIA SALABI
