Voters will be able to spoil their votes intentionally following the nationwide introduction of electronic voting - though the act of protest will become more public.
Under the current paper system, approximately 1 per cent of ballot papers are spoilt - though most of them are ruined by accident rather than design.
The issue led to a barrage of questions yesterday to the Minister for Environment and Local Government, Mr Cullen, and officials.
"You don't have a constitutional right to spoil your vote. This new system is about helping people to vote - not about helping them not to do so," said one official yesterday.
Mr Cullen's predecessor, Mr Dempsey, considered giving voters the option of rejecting all the candidates on a ballot paper by selecting a "None of the Above" category, but he rejected it.
Forty six thousand votes were spoiled in the 1999 European Parliament elections.
"Some of these were deliberately spoiled votes, but most were not," said Mr Cullen.
"For reasons such as confusing handwriting, a mistake in numbering, or the failure to make sure the ballot paper was properly stamped, thousands of people who made the time to participate in an election had their votes cast aside," he said.
Twenty one thousand votes were spoiled in the last local elections, when 40 seats were decided by fewer than 50 votes, he went on.
Once electronic voting is introduced everywhere, voters will get a ticket allowing them to vote once their name has been crossed off the register. The machine is then turned on to accept their vote. A person seeking to spoil their ballot paper could refuse to go any further and quietly leave, while those wishing to publicly declare their refusal to choose any of the candidates offered could ask the polling officer to turn off the machine.
