Unprecedented numbers of spoiled ballots delay council election counts

Are they on the fence? I thought they'd fully swallowed the kool aid. Might have to rethink my views on them.

I was planning to spoil mine, but it turned out there was a WEP candidate, and I thought that was a clearer message about my priorities, even if they are on the fence about TWAW.

I wrote across all the lines ‘Someone whose party supports women’s sex-based rights - not gender’. That was great in an empty polling station with 2 DC observing and asking me why I was writing, what was I writing etc. etc.

On mine I wrote

None of the above
Sex not gender
Women don't have penises

For the second year running.

Handy hint, the pencils are scratchy and noisy, I take a pen with me, much quieter.

The number of spoilt ballots wasn't reported, but voter numbers were ludicrously low.

Less than 19% in some wards.

www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/your-council/elections-and-voting/city-council-election-thursday-2nd-may-2019

In your opinion, LassOfFyvie.

But in my opinion: yes - there is a big and positive point in spoiling one's ballot paper. Because your spoiled ballot paper DOES get scrutinised, both by polling officials and by the electoral candidates involved, and their support framework.

I never understood the point of spoiling ballots

There isn't one.

I spoiled my ballot in the way shown in your OP as I wasn't sure how to do it. First time ever (20 years of being Lib Dem, through and through!) and I wanted to make it clear that I believed none of the parties on the ballot represented me (only the four main parties in my ward and, as per usual, Labour won with over 4 times the number of votes of the nearest candidate).

I wish I'd thought to write exactly why though and will do so for future.. unless there is an Independent who stands up for women (not sure how likely that is!).

So so bleak out there politically for women though!

I never understood the point of spoiling ballots. In the Australian prebecite on gay marriage people who were pro-gay marriage were spoiling their ballots because they were anti-plebiscite. Obviously there was still a clear majority but if enoughofthem did so then gay marriage could have been put off for another decade 🤷‍♀️

(Apologies for typos btw).

The vote share as a percentage almost certainly won't, given that the Brexit Party are going to be standing in every region and they're polling significantly. The numbers may well.

Well, should the Euro elcetions take place (not a given) then the Brexit Party and Change UK will be added to the mix. I'll be surprised if the Lib Dem vote holds up (there's an argument that CHUK shouild step aside so there's one Remain voice but too many egos in that party for them to do that).

You can't simply apply pre-referendum assumptions to what people are doing now.

Don't know about that. May deeply unpopular for many raesons and the Lib Dems have been the protest vote for unhappy Tories since Moses was in short pants.

I didn't vote Lib Dem but I think they'll have primarily gained ground because of Brexit. A lot of people went for the most significant unambiguously Remain party in their area and for many obviously that's the Lib Dems.

We didn’t have a vote here but to see the Lib Dem’s had gained plus the Greens made me feel sick considering their attitudes towards women and children. I feel like we need proper representation - we don’t have any with any clout. It also made me think that most people are sick of what they see as two polarised sides - labour/conservative and so they just opt for Lib Dem as some sort of super reasonable middle ground. Little do they know. It did make me worry about what would happen if there was a general election soon.
I can’t vote conservative. They are presiding over all this mess- and so many other messes. Can’t vote labour because they have no idea what a biological woman is and so much more. I wouldn’t even consider Lib Dem they are riddled with madness and green just don’t even constitute any kind of horse in the race. If I spoil my vote I risk not even being able to back the least worst option. But honestly I have no idea what that would be.

I wrote women = adult human female on mine too

I put two Xs in every box with a woman candidate as I heard they will check more closely if you’ve put Xs and then wrote woman =adult human female at the bottom.

I'm not sure why the LibDems are crowing; it's pretty obvious they only picked up seats by default.

What does that mean?

Me too - deathly silent room, me behind a flimsy screen going ‘scritch, scritch, scritch’ with a little pencil

I actually know and like our Labour candidate, and the local labour branch passed a ‘no self ID for AWS’ motion last year, so I decided to x his box, and also write on the ballot, hoping it would at least have to be discussed as ambiguous by candidates and election agents. I wrote ‘Women’s Rights are for Female People’ (had to turn the ballot sideways and write it across the lined part).

I’ve been to the count several times in the past, but not this time, due to my little girl’s ongoing additional care needs.

“I spoiled mine but wrote my reasons, which was very conspicuous in the empty polling station!“

Lol, that was me exactly - you could hear me writing with the crappy pencil provided. A sticker would have been ideal.

I love the sticker idea! Imagine if all 170,00 FWR readers did this at the next election, what a splash it would make...