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Investigates Investigates Money Diaries The Journal TV Climate Crisis Cost of Living Road Safety Newsletters Temperature Check Inside the Newsroom The Journal Investigates Daft.ie Property Allianz Home The 42 Sport TG4 Entertainment The Explainer A deep dive into one big news story Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture have your say Or create a free account to join the discussion Advertisement More Stories Count Staff examining spoiled ballots at Cork City count centre this morning. The ballot with the suspected excrement was discivered at the county centre in Mallow.Niall O'Connor/The Journal Ballot paper smeared with suspected excrement found in Cork count centre The ballot has been retained and placed in a biohazard bag. 2.10pm, 25 Oct 2025 Share options A BALLOT PAPER smeared with suspected excrement has been discovered in a Cork ballot box. Sinead McNamara, returning officer for Cork, confirmed that the discovery was made at the County Cork count centre in Mallow earlier today. It is understood that the ballot was found in a box from Cork North West – it had a large blotch of what appeared to be defecation material. “SHIT REAL SHIT” was written on the ballot paper in pen. The ballot has been retained and placed in a biohazard bag. It’s not known if it’s animal or human waste, or some other substance concocted by the voter. Advertisement The discovery was made this morning as count staff emptied boxes in two locations in the county. City ballots are being counted in Nemo Rangers GAA Club near Turner’s Cross and Mallow is handling the county boxes. The Journal's Election Centre There was an average of about 8% spoiled votes according to completed tallies. The Journal saw several with abusive messages written on them, anti-migrant comments, anti-Government comments and even the names of candidates who they would have preferred. These included Cork native MEP Billy Kelleher, who lost out to Jim Gavin in the competition to be the Fianna Fáil candidate. Maria Steen’s name was also written on some ballots. However the spoiling of votes in Cork appears to be relatively low compared to other parts of the country with the county swinging to an approximate 68% Catherine Connolly victory. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Support The Journal Niall O'Connor Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “Ballot paper smeared with suspected excrement found in Cork count centre”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “Ballot paper smeared with suspected excrement found in Cork count centre”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... 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