nota option was first used in the election in which year
None of the above In 1991, elections that led to the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Soviet version of "none of above" led to new elections with new candidates in 200 races of the 1,500-seat Congress of People's Deputies.[4][5] More than 100 incumbents representing the Communist Party of the Soviet Union were defeated in the run-off, leading to Boris Yeltsin to later say the "none of the above" option "helped convince the people they had real power even in a rigged election, and [it] played a role in building true democracy."[4]