Existe un voto nulo.

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Breakdown of Existe un voto nulo.

• existir: to exist
• el voto nulo: the spoiled vote

Questions & Answers about Existe un voto nulo.

Why does the sentence use existe instead of hay?

Both can express existence, but they are not identical in tone.

• Hay is the most common everyday way to say there is / there are.
• Existe is a little more formal or precise, closer to there exists.

So:

• Hay un voto nulo. = the most natural everyday phrasing
• Existe un voto nulo. = correct, but slightly more formal, technical, or emphatic

In election-related language, existe can sound like part of a report or official statement.

What form is existe?

Existe is the third-person singular present indicative of the verb existir.

Its infinitive is existir = to exist.

Because the noun phrase is singular — un voto nulo — the verb is singular too:

• Existe un voto nulo.
• Existen votos nulos.

This is different from hay, which stays the same in singular and plural:

• Hay un voto nulo.
• Hay votos nulos.

Why can’t I say Es un voto nulo here?