For Immediate Release
Date: Monday, 13th October 2025
“SpoilTheVote.ie” Campaign Launches to Challenge Lack of Choice in Upcoming Presidential Election
A group of well known Irish political commentators, entrepreneurs, and public figures have come together to launch SpoilTheVote.ie, an online civic campaign urging voters to send a clear message about the state of Irish democracy by spoiling their ballots in the upcoming Presidential election.
The campaign officially launches Monday, 14th October 2025, and will hold a press conference on Friday, 17th October at 2.30 p.m. in Dublin.
About the Campaign
SpoilTheVote.ie was founded in response to growing public concern about the lack of genuine choice in the forthcoming Presidential election.
Recent developments in the nomination process have raised serious questions about fairness, representation, and democratic accountability. Despite widespread public interest in a broad range of candidates, the combined influence of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael has effectively prevented alternative voices from securing the necessary nominations.
Through the Oireachtas route, only one independent, left-leaning candidate Catherine Connolly has been permitted onto the ballot, leaving no centrist or centre-right candidate to represent a significant portion of the electorate.
A Strong Democratic Statement
According to the group, SpoilTheVote.ie is not about apathy it’s about principled protest. The campaign encourages voters to attend their polling station, spoil their ballot deliberately, and make their democratic protest visible.
“Your vote is your voice, make it count,” said Elaine Mullally, entrepreneur, businesswoman, and former general election candidate. “When the system offers no real choice, spoiling your vote is a legitimate way to stand up for democracy and fairness.”
The group emphasises that every spoiled ballot is officially recorded, and that the campaign’s purpose is to highlight the growing disillusionment among voters who feel shut out of Ireland’s political system.
Campaign Leaders
Elaine Mullally
Independent Politician, Entrepreneur.
Eddie Hobbs
Presenter of Counterpoint & Author.
Paul Treyvaud
Entrepreneur, Chef and Restaurateur.
Aidan Joyce
Technology Strategist & Venture Builder.
Declan Ganley
Entrepreneur and businessman.
Nick Delahanty
Candidate for Presidential Nomination, 2025
Ivor Cummins
Technical Manager, Biochemical Engineer.
Michael McCarthy
Independent Content Creator.
Press Conference Details
Venue: Dublin
Date: Friday, 17th October 2025
Time: 2:30 p.m.
For Media Enquiries
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.spoilthevote.ie
Social Media: X – Spoil The Vote HQ
27 Responses
Not living in Ireland I can’t do much to help except wish you well. I had intended to return to vote for Maria Steen and even canvass for her (even thought of returning to cast my “spoilt” vote….well used NOT spoilt really !!).
Best wises and God bless.
Declan,
Many thanks for your comment, indeed Maria Steen would have been a wonderful candidate, alas we were Robbed!.
But as you said – Casting a spoilt vote won’t really be a spoilt vote, it’s going to help us send a thundering message to our tone deaf government.
Stay in touch and doing give us a follow and social media.
All the best for now.
Best wishes with this campaign.
Our democracy is important & has under assault since 2020 at least. That’s when I noticed it anyway.
Since then we’ve have ‘government by crisis’, where each crisis is used to emasculate the people & empower foreign bodies & NGOs.
Government is not listening to the people. It is listening to NGO’s & unelected EU bodies. It’s has adapted WEF stakeholder capitalism, where, it seems, everyone bar the people are ‘stakeholders’.
We need to pull our democracy back to the people.
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for your well wishes and comments.
“Government is not listening to the people” – I would go further and suggest that we are being purposefully ignored.
If history is anything to go by, democracy will revert back to us.
– UK 1990 “poll tax” → mass protests, policy scrapped, PM out
– Tunisia/Egypt 2011 → regimes fell after ignoring demands
– France 2018–19 fuel tax → government forced into concessions
– Sri Lanka 2022 → protests ousted president amid economic crisis
The crack are starting to appear – breaking point is not so far away.
Very curious to see what the outcome, if any, of this campaign will be. Would it be worth adding a target % of spoiled votes the campaign is aiming for to the FAQ, or what we will be defining as a successful campaign?
I like this …
🇮🇪 The Story of the Vote in Ireland
The story of voting in Ireland is the story of people refusing to be silent. It’s a history shaped by courage, struggle, and the belief that every voice should count.
In 1918, Irish women went to the polls for the first time. The Representation of the People Act gave the vote to women over 30 who met certain property conditions. It was a start — not yet equality, but the crack in the wall that had kept half the population out. In that same election, Countess Constance Markievicz made history as the first woman ever elected to the British Parliament. She refused to take her seat in Westminster and instead helped form Dáil Éireann, the first Irish parliament — a powerful act of independence.
By 1922, when the Irish Free State was born, Ireland had gone further than almost any other nation: full and equal suffrage was granted to all adults aged 21 and over, men and women alike.
But in Northern Ireland, equality lagged behind. Through the 1950s and 60s, gerrymandering and property-based voting rules meant that many Catholics and nationalists had limited political power in local councils. Change came when the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association formed in 1967, calling for fair voting, fair housing, and justice. Young people marched under the slogan “One man, one vote,” demanding equality.Their courage led to major electoral reforms.
That’s why turning up and voting for the Government blocked candidates whither it is Nick Delahunt Bob Geldof Conor Bertie or my favourite Maria Steen, anyone except those two tulips chosen by the Government.
Ireland’s story proves that democracy only lives when the people take part. The vote isn’t just a mark on paper — it is the voice of the people. As mentioned above let it roar.
Fantastic peice of writing.
What our forefathers fought for.
We need to keep Ireland as we know it alive.
Gangster Government + Useless Opposition OUT 🇮🇪
Well done to all involved and I look forward to seeing how this works out too. My first time ever to deliberately spoil a vote, sadly I don’t see an alternative this time round.
Same spoil the vote rather then not vote is my choice I don’t see why I have to vote for ppl I don’t think are suitable
In a country of nearly or around 5 million people the government have given us 2 people and let us vote for a president, every Irish Citizen should have the right to run for president and let the people decide, with 2 candidates your are not given a choice, this is the choice of the government, vote for your best friend, your mother, your Father your daughter your son, anyone but the people on the ballot,
I think this is a legitimate and fair campaign, but spoiling your vote is symbolic – and branding it as though it will “change everything” is a bit misleading. It may impact media coverage, but it won’t impact politics.
What difference will 19,000 spoiled votes and 50,000 spoiled votes make? None. I think it is more worthwhile to either pick a nominated candidate or sit at home. I think spoiling your vote lends credibility to a multitude of candidates you may not even support – who will manipulate the number of spoiled votes to demonstrate support of their own, when that may not be the case.
You can express your dissatisfaction with the current process without spoiling your vote.
A Chairde na Páirte
Is díol molta gach uile dhuine agaibh as ucht an suíomh idirlín seo a chur ar bun leis an bhfeachtas i dtaobh #scriosanvóta scriosanvóta25 scriosdovóta a chur os ard.
Tá iarrtha agam-sa ar mo lucht leanúna ar Facebook & ar X a vóta a scriosadh. Is trí ainm Mháiria Bean Uí Stíbhin a scríobh ar an vóta a scriosfas mise mo vóta féin.
Tugaim tacaíocht iomlán don fheachtas tábhachtach seo agaibh-se agus tabharfadh mé gach uile chúnamh daoibh trí ábhar a sholáthar sa nGaeilge arb í an chéad teanga oifigiúil í.
Is mise, le gach uile bheannacht
Ciarán Ó Coigligh
This election has revealed how totally Ireland’s democracy has been demolished. Our Government is no different than Putin in Russia. The campaign should include a demand for the removal of both leaders of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael as they have shown themselves to be devious and corrupt, incapable of upholding the Irish Constitution and honouring its people.
Best of luck, hope we get 100000+ #Spoilthevote
Let us vote no to the destruction of our democracy .
We are not permitted free speech and expected to accept the governments orders through the national airwaves of RTE and the bought off radio stations. We are living in the dilution of our country and our culture with open borders permitting the unknowns dismantle our communities and values we fought so hard for in Irish history. Shame on you Micheal Martin and Simon Harris and Leo Varadkar you have all betrayed our country with all your colleagues in government. The presidential election campaign has been an insult to the Irish people time to speak up and shout from the ballot box. Thank you to this group got thieve courage
A spoiled vote is a vote that counts.
Filling the withdrawal of Jim Gavin. The election should have been cancelled to allow the process to start again this time to allow us choice Maria steen should be on that ballot paper
I’ll be spoiling my vote, I’m sick to the teeth of this government.
The good news is that everyone I speak with are spoiling their vote, with many people surprising me by their decision. I believe the spoilt votes will be very substantial and shocking to the government.
I wish you all the very best on Friday. I would love to be present, but circumstances prevent me from doing so.
Patricia Keane,
Author, Series Producer, and Presenter.
How detached RTE is from their viewers. Not once have they mentioned the -spoiĺ the voþe- option. Turn it off . What is local radio doing.
Who are these people? I recognise two names, neither of which would I like to be associated with. Heather Humphreys is a centrist candidate. Maria Steen didn’t make it on to the ballot because she didn’t get enough support. Spoiling your vote is childish. After this election is over, which everyone knew would be run according to existing constitutional rules, then make a move to change the constitution via a referendum if you wish.
at the moment, you’re just ‘spoilers’ suffering from sour grapes.
So happy to see this coordinated and cohesive movement to direct real change. Thank you all
I will spoil my vote I am sick of being dictated to by these traitors turned their backs on the Irish people now it’s payback time get them out .
Delighted to see this fair play to you all 👏👏👏
Im deeply Saddened that this morning when I vote it will be my first time to spoil my Vote..my gran uncle would be ashamed off me and turn in his grave as he fought for independence in this country. And got shot for the privilege off us today to vote.
My reasoning for this is that we now have a shit government who are not listening to the people off Ireland . .
And it has now become a dictorship so much so that the two parties who hated each other for years became buddies over night. Do not be fooled by that it’s about money power control and most off all greed. They don’t care ..
Im spoiling my vote for the first time ever so the Irish people wake up and smell the roses . . Martin Ring.
Many thanks to the organisers or this campaign, God bless them.
I will be spoiling my vote for the first time ever.
After watching Declan Ganley on the “Tonight Show” I am writing his name on the ballot paper. If there is or was ever a more articulate speaker anywhere in the world I have not met him yet. Declan was the only one on the show that stated exactly the root cause of the Citywest riots. It is so hard to listen to justification for letting in more and more immigrants into the country. Would it not be far better to send a recruiting team out to where these “necessary workers” are and select only the ones that can contribute their services to this country.
The cracks are really starting to show. Hopefully the tipping point comes after this “election” and we can start working on getting Ireland back to the wonderful country we all deserve it to be.
Are ye happy with the results?