Guy Aitchison (London, OK): The Telegraph's Three Line Whip blog reports that the total number of "spoiled ballot papers" which included "41,032 rejected first choice votes and 412,054 rejected second choice votes" was "three times the size of Boris Johnson’s 140,000-vote majority". A "fiasco", fumes the Telegraph's David Hughes, a "democratic travesty". The Electoral Commission must take actions since "who knows what the result might have been if there had not been such a spectacular display of voter confusion."
But a closer look at the technical breakdown given by the London Elects website (below) reveals that 407,840 of the 453, 086 rejected votes were from ballot papers that didn't give a second choice at all. Far from being a "spectacular display of voter confusion" this seems like a perfectly rational choice by those who either supported only one candidate or decided that it was always going to be a run off between Ken and Boris anyway. Sorry, Telegraph, it looks like Boris won fairly after all. Take a look.
Turnout and Technical Information
Electorate
5,419,913
Papers counted / turnout
2,456,990
Turnout
45.33%
Change in turnout from 2004
Good votes
1st choice
2nd choice
2,415,958
2,004,078
Rejected votes *
1st choice
2nd choice
41,032
412,054
Rejected votes totals include:
Blank **(no votes cast)
No 2nd preference ***
13,034
407,840
