Local elections 2018 - mass protect vote?

[Mner]

I know a few others are struggling on who to vote for in these upcoming elections. All of the left wing parties are ignoring women's rights, even the Women's Equality Party has abandoned us. I am not voting UKIP and too left wing to vote Tory.

I thought we could potentially do a protest vote en masse...?

We could draw a box for an additional party on the ballot paper and write/vote for "the Women's Protest Party". Maybe in a red pen so it is really obvious...?

We could even go to the press with it beforehand and say that xxx people across the country are planning on spoiling their ballot papers in May by writing Women's Protest Party on their papers? With a strapline e.g. of We support transrights but refused to vote for any party who wilfully ignores our biology...?

What do you think? If we are going to go to the press with it, we would need some way of recording the number planning to do it... (just thinking like the @mayday4women twitter account getting women to resign en masse). I would be happy to collate the names or is there another way we could it...?

Any thoughts?

[SwearyG]

DH and I are spoiling our ballots in May. It sickens me to do so but there isn’t an alternative is there? We’d be totally on board with a mass movement.

We were thinking of XX in all the women’s boxes and XY in all the men’s. And then writing something like Sex Not Gender across the paper. Or women don’t have dicks.

I think something coordinated could be really effective.

[Mner]

I always vote, have never done a protest vote and am even a green party member (although not for much longer) but I cannot vote for any of them when they are not listening to us

[GabeIsShocking]

I am not voting labour again. There is nobody else to vote for.I will likely spoil my ballot. I will not vote for any party again that doesn't apologise to us for the way they behaved. I will never again vote for the big players in this. If someone like Raynor ever went for leadership of the party I would not vote for her as a result of her failure as shadow minister to hold the government to account on the trans issue and her investment in that Facebook group.

[Ekphrasis]

I feel it would only be effective if words were very carefully chosen.

Knowing the generalised mild patriarchal misogyny that tends to be subconsciously around in the media and society, I fear your op suggestion would be ignored.

A specific political statement in a hashtag stylee similar to sweary might have more impact, quite what I'm not sure. #debateforwomen #yesitsadebate etc maybe...

[Mner]

Happy to have a rejig of the words. #manfriday?

[merrymouse]

If you spoil your ballot do they actually keep a record of how it was spoiled?

[XXHelenaXX]

If we are doing that, it has to be something more specific than just "women protest"

"NO to self-ID"

[XXHelenaXX]

GabeIsShocking

Agree 100%

[womanhuman]

I think no to self-id’ is perfect.

[womanhuman]

And I’m totally up for protest vote.

[MumOfTheMoos]

They keep a record of the number but not how. The only people who see them are the returning officer and the respective agents of the candidates.

If it's clear you haven't voted for anyone on the ballot paper then the attention given is next to zero. If it looks like you have favoured one candidate over all the others then all the agents have to agree that is the case.

I have a lot of sympathy for it as an idea but in my experience of counts it will have very little impact on the candidates or parties and the press will have no view of it.

I too feel politically homeless but I am going to go on council candidates that do not support Self ID and go from there and let them know why I'm supporting them and let the ones who thought they had my vote in the bag, why I'm not supporting them.

[boatyardblues]

I’m glad you started this thread OP. I was thinking of starting over the weekend, as a consistent campaign ‘handle’ or phrase will help to show it is a concerted “fuck you” that needs addressing.

[mrsreynolds]

Great idea

[Mner]

Sky news reported that 200 people were looking to leave the Labour party en masse re self ID when they were talking to Amy re #ManFriday so I don't think it's completely dead in the water as a press idea.

Maybe we just need to think of something really simple that makes our point.

[Fruufruu]

I think these people have the right idea about making a protest vote clear:

www.votenone.org.uk/protest_votes_count.html

Unless we have a decent independent candidate in my area I'll be using a single strike through all the candidate boxes with "none" and whatever phrase / hash tag seems most popular to protest self-ID.

[GabeIsShocking]

Mayday4women should trigger the mass resignation now.

[GabeIsShocking]

There has been a mass Labour HQ resignation today.

[TimbuktuTimbuktu]

I'm up for this. We need a campaign and press coverage first/as well though.

[Strigiformes]

I'd be up for this, will be interesting to see if any notice is taken of it. Will definitely have to be organised and a slogan to be used.

[Mner]

Some ideas into the mix...?

#WaronWomen
#XX
#NoToSelfID
#FuckOffSelfID..?
#TERF?

[Fairenuff]

Maybe just phone or email all the candidates and say you will vote for the one that will publicly declare that they are anti self ID and pro safety for women.

Even if they don't do it they will at least know why they didn't get your vote.

[RueDeWakening]

My DH attends the count at elections. If you planning on spoiling your ballot, be aware that part of the agent's job is to argue that votes should be counted.

E.g. Someone drew a dick in one of the boxes at the last election. Agent argued that since it was the only box marked, it was a valid vote. Vote was duly counted. I'm sure the person who spoiled their ballot would be horrified, but them's the rules.

[OvaHere]

I think it should link with one of the official groups WPUK, MAYDAY4WOMEN or Fairplayforwomen who could have details on their sites about the coordinated protest vote.

My choice would be WPUK because it links the spoiling of the ballot to the 5 demands laid out by them. The chosen wording for the spoil could be something like #WPUK2018 - a hashtag that links everything back to the campaign.

It needs to be coordinated so the message is very clear.

[Bumblebzz]

Pity we can't just persuade candidates to actually stand..

[AreYouTerfEnough]

The link above demonstrates how to make a protest vote. I’m going to do this.