diff --git a/src/vote/ScoreItem.tsx b/src/vote/ScoreItem.tsx
index a0df6b02..7dc62a69 100644
--- a/src/vote/ScoreItem.tsx
+++ b/src/vote/ScoreItem.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { range } from 'lodash-es'
-import { Dispatch } from 'react'
+import { Dispatch, useEffect } from 'react'
 import { default_max_score, default_min_score } from 'src/admin/BallotDesign/Wizard'
 
 import { Label, TitleDescriptionQuestion } from './Item'
@@ -25,6 +25,21 @@ export const ScoreItem = ({
 
   const scoreOptions = range(min_score, max_score + 1)
 
+  // On first load, set all scores to 'BLANK'
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const update: Record<string, string> = {}
+    options.forEach(({ name, value }) => {
+      const val = value || name
+      const key = `${id}_${val}`
+
+      // Stop if we already have a stored value
+      if (state.plaintext[key]) return
+
+      update[key] = `BLANK`
+    })
+    dispatch(update)
+  }, [])
+
   return (
     <>
       <TitleDescriptionQuestion {...{ description, question, title }} />