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Research on invalid voting has expanded rapidly over the past few years. This review article for the first time examines its principal findings and provides a new theoretical perspective on the origins of invalid votes based on a two-dimensional framework. The main results of 54 studies using both individual-level and aggregate-level data as well as the results of experimental and qualitative studies are analysed. The meta-analysis of all existing aggregate-level studies finds that compulsory voting, quality of democracy, fragmentation and closeness of the electoral race play important roles in explaining invalid voting. On the other hand, the research is accompanied by many theoretical and empirical contradictions that hamper the accumulation of knowledge in this field. We therefore conclude by suggesting the challenges for future research.

The active involvement of citizens in decision-making processes via geoparticipatory spatial tools is becoming a popular research field among geographers, GIScientists, environmental psychologists, political scientists and many others. This paper presents the idea of the Index of geoparticipation – an indicator-based index divided into three dimensions (communication, participation, transparency) that helps to evaluate the state of geoparticipation among Czech municipalities. It describes the current state of geoparticipation at the municipality level in Czechia. It aims to fill the research gap in finding which components of geoparticipation at the municipality level are being used, and how their use is affected by the size of municipalities and their membership of Local Agenda 21 networks. The paper builds upon an extensive dataset collected by the authors from all Czech municipalities (n=6 258) and presents various “shades” of geoparticipation in Czechia. Highlights for public administration, management and planning: • The highest average values of the Index of geoparticipation were obtained from the regions’ capital cities, followed by statutory cities, municipalities with extended powers, municipalities which are members of the Healthy Cities of the Czech Republic (HCCZ) network and cities. • HCCZ member municipalities use geoparticipatory tools significantly more than the rest of the Czech municipalities • The communication dimension is the most widely implemented pillar of the Index of geoparticipation • There is no significant relationship between social exclusion and geoparticipation at the nationwide level

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