<P> In South Africa, there is a strong presence of anti-voting campaigns by poor citizens . They make the structural argument that no political party truly represents them . For instance, this resulted in the "No Land! No House! No Vote!" Campaign which becomes very prominent each time the country holds elections . The campaign is prominent among three of South Africa's largest social movements: the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, Abahlali baseMjondolo, and the Landless Peoples Movement . </P> <P> Other social movements in other parts of the world also have similar campaigns or non-voting preferences . These include the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and various anarchist - oriented movements . </P> <P> It is possible to make a blank vote, carrying out the act of voting, which may be compulsory, without selecting any candidate or option, often as an act of protest . In some jurisdictions, there is an official none of the above option and it is counted as a valid vote . Usually, blank and null votes are counted (together or separately) but are not considered valid . </P> <P> Modern political science has questioned whether average citizens have sufficient political information to cast meaningful votes . A series of studies coming out of the University of Michigan in the 1950s and 1960s argued that voters lack a basic understanding of current issues, the liberal--conservative ideological dimension, and the relative ideological dilemma . </P>

The number of eligible voters who cast ballots on election day is referred to as the