An '''overvote''' occurs when one votes for more than the maximum number of selections allowed in a contest.<ref>[http://www.eac.gov/voting%20systems/docs/vvsgvolumei.pdf/attachment_download/file/ 2005 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines], pA-13 [[Election Assistance Commission]]</ref> The result is a [[spoilt vote]] which is not included in the final tally.
One example of an overvote would be voting for two candidates in a single race with the instruction "Vote for not more than one." [[Robert's Rules of Order]] notes that such votes are illegal: "If he votes for too many candidates for a given office, however, that particular section of the ballot is illegal, because it is not possible for the tellers to determine for whom the member desired to vote."<ref>RONR [10th ed.], p. 402, l. 8-11</ref>
Undervotes combined with overvotes (known as [[residual vote]]s) can be an academic indicator in evaluating the accuracy of a voting system when recording [[voter intent]].<ref>
{{cite paper
| last1 = Alvarez | first1 = R. Michael
| last2 = Katz | first2 = Jonathan N.
| last3 = Hill | first3 = Jonathan N.
| title = Machines Versus Humans: The Counting and Recounting of Pre-scored Punchcard Ballots
While an overvote in a [[plurality voting system]] is always illegal, in certain other [[electoral methods]] including [[approval voting]], overvotes are not possible<ref>[http://www.approvalvoting.org/glossary.html Citizens for Approval Voting - Voting definitions and examples]</ref>
In the corporate world, the term "overvote" describes a situation in which someone votes more proxies than they are authorized to, or for more shares than they hold of record.<ref>[http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/proxyprocess/proxyvotingbrief.htm Briefing Paper: Roundtable on Proxy Voting Mechanics<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==See also==
*[[undervote]]
==External links==
*[http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-05-10-recountmethod.htm USATODAY.com - How USA TODAY and others examined overvote]
