Turkey ballot. Always add a 'none of the above' choice. This is the turkey.
This also makes the ballot less ambiguous.
In the election, if a candidate gets 50% + 1 vote, they win. If not, anyone getting less than the turkey is tossed and cannot run in the runoff. No candidates win? Enroll a new slate.
I guess you can think of 'none of the above' as a placebo candidate.
To make that work, I think you'd also have to make the initial campaign shorter to account for runoffs and the possibility of having to start over with a new slate.
And here you see the problem in the US having a fixed inauguration date.
In parliamentary countries, where the government can vote to dissolve itself, they tend to call for elections whenever the governing coalition is unstable, and elections can take as long as needed, and be re-held as needed.
This also makes the ballot less ambiguous.
In the election, if a candidate gets 50% + 1 vote, they win. If not, anyone getting less than the turkey is tossed and cannot run in the runoff. No candidates win? Enroll a new slate.