[Livia]

Originally Posted by joeysteele

If anything other than a cross as a vote is on the ballot paper, it is a spolied ballot.

If that one has been counted and allowed it has to be surely wrong.
I've been at counts, anything with writing on the ballot paper is discarded.

But Joey, you know a half-decent agent will argue for every spoilt ballot paper. If I'd seen this one I would have argued for it for my candidate, and so would you probably! I remember having argued over a paper where the voter dad drawn a penis next to the Conservative candidate and nothing next to any of the others and I ended up having it counted. You have to be willing to argue and it depends on the returning officer... but when all the agents and reps gather round to inspect the spoilt papers, you can guarantee a couple will be argued for and added to the result.