overvote meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

overvote

noun

Etymology From over- + vote.

Government, Politics US A case in which a voter has marked a ballot for more choices than allowed by the rules

An overvote that took the form of punching Gore's chad and then writing his name (or Lieberman's) in the place for a write-in candidate would unambiguously manifest the voter's intention to vote for Gore.2001, Richard A. Posner, Breaking the Deadlock, →ISBN, page 78:

Business A case in which more votes are cast in a voter's name than allowed under the rules

Overvotes are a relatively common phenomenon for shares held in a street name.1978, Martin Lipton et al., Takeovers and Freezeouts, →ISBN, page 17:

verb

Etymology From over- + vote.

Government, Politics US To spoil a ballot by marking it for more choices than allowed by the rules

[…] a poll worker can manually override the program and accept the ballot, even though it has been overvoted or undervoted.2005, United States Government Accountability Office, Elections, →ISBN, page 10:

Business To cast more votes than allowed under the rules

I know a great deal of difficulty ensues, and frequently brokers' shares are overvoted.1955, Stock Market Study, page 1429:

Obsolete To outvote or overrule

Caleb and Joshua would have been overvoted by almost six hundred thousand Israelites; […]1653, William Jenkyn, An Exposition Upon the Epistle of Jude, published 1839, page 119: