The high rate of invalid votes in the Chiayi county magistrate election has become a hot topic.

(Photo by reporter Cai Zongxun)

[Reporter Cai Zongxun/Report from Chiayi] As a result of the Chiayi county magistrate election, Weng Zhangliang, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party who was seeking re-election, won with a margin of more than 70,000 votes, but more than 10,000 invalid votes (invalid votes). When most of the ballot counting stations had double-digit invalid votes, they said that this phenomenon was worth pondering; election observers believed that voters might hate the "Guojia Team" and use their ballots to express silent protests, which caused Weng Zhangliang to suffer.

Weng Zhangliang won 171,777 votes in the Chiayi county magistrate election, which is quite satisfactory. His opponent Wang Yumin from the Kuomintang held 101,517 votes.

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In this election, which has long been a foregone conclusion, an intriguing phenomenon emerged during the ballot counting process, that is, the rate of invalid votes was relatively high. The county voted 284,490, and the number of invalid votes was 11,196, reaching 3.9%. Election observers gave an example , the polling station at the Damaopu Assembly Office in Dapu Township had 143 votes cast and 12 invalid votes, up to 8.4%. Almost 1 out of 10 ballots was invalid.

Election observers pointed out that in the county magistrate election's blue-green matchup, Weng Zhangliang faced Wang Yumin's relentless pursuit. In some highly controversial situations, it is inevitable to get angry. Before the election, some people said that if the voters did not split the vote, but tied the county magistrate and the township mayor together, the election of Weng Zhangliang would be a success. The township mayors of the "Guojia Team" suffered a disastrous defeat. Fortunately, Weng Zhangliang was not affected, but some people expressed their dissatisfaction with invalid votes, which deserves attention.