‘None’ Vote Nonsense

Californians will decide next March whether they want the option in future elections to vote for “none of the above” rather than the candidates who are on the ballot. The idea will appeal to many who are not happy with the electoral choices they usually get, but voters should think carefully before backing this dubious measure.

The proposal is on the ballot because of an initiative petition sponsored by high-tech entrepreneur Alan F. Shugart of Pebble Beach, who once tried to run Ernest, his 120-pound Bernese mountain dog, for a Monterey-area congressional seat.

Shugart’s daughter, who helped in the campaign, said such an option would provide a way to register a protest. But a protest against what? The candidates are too conservative? Too liberal? Don’t like their neckties? There would be no way to determine after an election what a protest meant.

“None of the above” could not win an election; the candidate with the most votes still would be the victor. This silly idea, if put into law, will take up ballot space, increase the cost of vote-counting and mean nothing.