TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The number of Florida voters who failed to cast a valid ballot for president spiked during the 2016 election, in what appears to have been a significant protest over their choices.
State officials released a report this week showing more than 161,000 of the electorate did not cast a valid vote for president in November. The rate of invalid votes for president in 2016 was more than double the rate it was in 2012 and 2008.
This number includes those who wrote an invalid name on the ballot, like Mickey Mouse, or left the ballot blank. It also includes those who voted for more than one candidate.
Republican Donald Trump won Florida and its 29 electoral votes by defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton by nearly 113,000 votes.
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