Advice on spoiling ballot

[JellySlice]

I'm firmly in favour of Remain.
I am also firmly Gender Critical.

Not only is there nobody I can vote for, but, as I am also in a firmly Conservative constituency, there is hardly any point in voting!

Is there a way to spoil my ballot that clearly demonstrates my inability to exercise my democratic rights?

[MIdgebabe]

Generally, I would avoid spoiling a ballot, in honour of the women who got us the vote.

However,

firstly it must be totally clear that you didn't just have difficulty filling it in

A clear x in every box would suffice.

Then each spoilt ballot paper is checked over by a few people , to ensure no papers are being mistakenly or deliberately misfiled by the counters, so if you wrote a few words they would be seen by low level people in the various parties.

May not make much of an impression due to the late night and general pressure of counting, but if you have no free vote anyway due to the stupidity of our voting system, it won't hurt

There isn't much space to write, so plan ahead

[Bardonnay]

I feel exactly the same - there is advice here on how to use your ballot to make a protest vote count:

http://www.votenone.org.uk/protestvotess_count.html

[Bardonnay]

http://www.votenone.org.uk/protestvotescount.html


Sorry, think this is a clicky link

[aliensprig]

Please don't spoil your ballot. If everyone who is undecided does this we will end up with the tories again. If you're going to vote, vote tactically so that we get some sort of change. As a pp mentioned, what's the point of having fought for the vote if we're just going to waste it?

[Tartyflette]

I cannot in all conscience vote for any of the parties on the ballot paper. Tactical voting would not work, I live in one of the safest Tory seats in the country and the sitting MP, an ally of Boris, was parachuted in over the heads of the local constituency party at the last election. (I'm not a Tory anyway but voters here would elect a sheep if it was wearing a blue rosette)
The issue of self-ID rules out Lib Dems, Labour and Greens for me. There is also a local ratepayers/residents party who are Nimbys crossed with frothing-mouthed Brexiters.
So I shall do as advised on the protest vote website, draw a line down through the area where you are supposed to put your cross and write NONE across the ballot paper in bold caps . I may also write a GC message like Woman=Adult Human Female.
DH has stood been a candidate in many elections over the years and in his experience the protest votes and spoilt ballots have always been closely scrutinised; indeed he always looks them over, not least to make sure that the voter's intentions are clear and he hasn't missed any votes.
I can only hope that there may be enough protest votes for it to become newsworthy.

[Bardonnay]

That's useful to know @tartaflette . I agree with what you say and I'll be doing the same - I hadn't thought to write a GC message on the ballot paper but I will do so now

[underthebridgedowntown]

I've done vote counting for several elections, and more often than not the spoiled ballots are written on, most commonly with "none", "waste of money", "they're all useless", so you can write whatever you want across the whole thing. Don't need to put a cross in any of the boxes

[VoleClock]

i live in safe labour seat in London. I cannot in good conscience vote for anybody and intend to write woman = adult human female across my ballot paper. I always turn out in recognition of the women who fought for my right to vote but i can't give my support to any of the parties this time.

[EoinMcLovesCakeJumper]

This is my plan too. I live in a very safe Tory seat where the incumbent MP is overwhelmingly likely to be re-elected, and any "tactical" voting would be as good as useless. I actually emailed him during the GRA consultation to ask where he stood on self-ID, and I just got a mealy-mouthed standard reply about "individual organisations will be able to make exemptions under the EA". I had already addressed that issue in my email so it was fairly clear it hadn't even been read properly. So I'm not going to vote for him.

I can't bring myself to vote for any other party, given their contempt for and alienation of GC women. To me, voting for a party who I disagree with on an issue that's so fundamentally important to me, just for the sake of honouring the fact that I'm allowed to vote at all, is a far worse breach of my ethics than spoiling my ballot.

I wanted to ask, though - if you were to write a GC message across the voting slip, and you somehow made a mark in just one of the boxes while doing so, would they count that as a vote even if you had made it clear in the message that you had not intended it as such?

[JellySlice]

I will draw a heavy line straight down through all the boxes, and write elsewhere in the paper,

"I cannot vote for parties whose policy is to deliberately disenfranchise half of the population. Transwomen are men. Women do not have penises."

[Justhadathought]

If you're going to vote, vote tactically so that we get some sort of change

Not true! Just continuing to vote for those with whom you have profound disagreement is simply validating business as usual; and suggesting that the vote means nothing more than, literally, a box ticking exercise.

[Justhadathought]

I wanted to ask, though - if you were to write a GC message across the voting slip, and you somehow made a mark in just one of the boxes while doing so, would they count that as a vote even if you had made it clear in the message that you had not intended it as such?

Do as suggested on the link above. That's what I'm going to do. Put a line straight through all the candidate boxes, and write diagonally across the paper 'None'. Perhaps a GC message could be written vary carefully across the top of the ballot paper.

[Justhadathought]

what's the point of having fought for the vote if we're just going to waste it?

A vote is wasted if it means nothing. A ballot spoiled with intention is still a vote. Turning out on election day and marking your paper is what is necessary to honour the struggles of those before us.

[cwg1]

I don't know how to find it, but there was an FWRers who spoilt her euro-ballot and it was a work of art

IRRC, she had a postal vote, so was able to spend time on it. She put green and purple venus symbols in the boxes and wrote a message as well. It was fab!

[TiredofthisBS]

Why do people insist on trying to guilt you into placing a tick next to a candidate?

By spoiling my vote I will be exercising my right to say that I can not In good conscience vote for any political party the wilfully and actively wishes to disregard my sex.

[Tanith]

What a complete waste of time!

Do you know how that work of art was recorded? I can tell you. They break down the numbers according to whether the ballot is unmarked, too many candidates selected or defaced and write it on a form. That’s it.

They do not record, or care about, the reason. They barely notice it as they count up the thousands of ballot papers.

There are people who really want you to spoil your vote so it’s one less vote for a candidate opposing their own preference.
Parties also get media coverage according to the number of votes they poll.

Spoil your vote if you’ve absolutely set your heart on it, but don’t think for a moment you’re making any kind of protest that anyone will listen to.

You’re certainly not making the kind of sacrifice those suffragettes did all those years ago. Anyone can scribble on a bit of paper - my toddlers do it all the time!

[TiredofthisBS]

And it is our right to do so. It's called democracy. I can choose to vote or note but sitting on my arse at home is not as meaningful to me as making the effort to go to the ballot box and register the fact that I don't think any part in the country is good enough to run it.

You don't hear us shouting don't vote or make comments about not spoiling your vote do you?

We're grownups we can decide for ourselves.

[EoinMcLovesCakeJumper]

I don't think anyone is claiming that it's a noble sacrifice, Tanith. Just that, for my own personal moral values, voting for a party that doesn't actually want the support of people like me is not something I am prepared to do. Why should I give them the benefit of my vote when they don't think I deserve a public voice or to even keep the rights that I currently have?

[theflushedzebra]

what's the point of having fought for the vote if we're just going to waste it?

I have nobody to vote for. I cannot vote for a party that will erase women's legal rights by introducing gender self ID. I nearly talked myself into voting tory the other night - but I don't think I can.

I'm in exactly the same position. as the OP anyway.

Tory stronghold - no party represents my strong feelings to Remain/softest brexit possible and preserve women's legal rights under the Equality Act. So I'm stuffed.

[cwg1]

Well - it was recorded, because I saw the photo here on FWR

Seriously, though, I'm sure there'll be books about our campaign one day and it would make a lovely illustration, along with all the beautiful banners, the photos of women's statues wearing their t-shirts and so on

Even more seriously, the courage shown by so many 'ordinary' GC women, no matter how 'small' their actions might seem never fails to inspire me. Of course, that's just like the suffrage campaign. I'm a suffragist rather than a suffragette but all were so wonderfully courageous in many different ways.

[CeridwenTheWitch]

I think it would be good if we all wrote the same thing for those of us spoiling our ballots, or all put a sticker on that said the same thing. Ideas are:

• Woman = Adult Human Female
  
• Transwomen are men
  
• Sex not gender
  
• A sticker with that quote on it about parties not working for the female sex.

[theflushedzebra]

I was thinking:

• Protect Women's Rights / NO Gender Self-ID

[ShippingNews]

You do know that nobody will read these spoiled votes ?? You can put all the meaningful comments you like, and nobody ....NOBODY will see it, except for one poor overworked polling booth worker. Who will glance at it and pop it onto the pile of spoiled votes.

Surely , if you want to make yourself heard, you should vote tactically so that at least it will make some difference.

[theflushedzebra]

I'm wondering if it's worth finding out if any of the individuals standing in my constituency are against gender self ID. They may get my vote then.

[GrumpyHoonMain]

It will be pointless because nobody will read or action the comment. You should vote and then express your opinion on Twitter or through your MP