Local elections how to spoil ballot?

2-minute action.
If you are in Wales, the BBC wants to know if/why you did or didn't vote in the Senedd elections. Please tell them, especially if you spoiled your ballot because you are politically homeless as an adult human female.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-57086750?fbclid=IwAR1S1dvQclCakBSyokffodf6LYzxefxMcakAV1hjqlwGyZQKcPucvB6WrdI

@noneedtoexpelme, have a on me.
It's all a bit shit, really.

On the plus side, I went off on one last night when talking to a friend who is a bit Woke and in a position of some influence. To my amazement and surprise, she agreed with me, so perhaps there is hope, after all.

I knew to take a pen this time. the bloody pencil was really scratchy and loud last time I hauled my disabled arse to the polling station to register a protest vote. as someone who deperately relies on local services and needs those services to be single sex.

ps this thread is a good 'un for comment bingo. there is always "no-one reads"... followed by, when I am at a count... plus a mention of a penis or two, plus an if you don't vote you are responsible for.... plus women died for your vote...

grumpy - it hurt me too. First time in 40 years that I have done this. Am gutted.

I researched candidates, two of the three votes got a proper vote. one got "annotated" with an x in the least worst box with a different colour pen. I don't care what other people think. this is what I want to do.

I took a sticker in pocket that I had prepared earlier, and for the first time in my life, I spoiled my ballot.

It fucking hurt. My DM brought me up to exert my right to vote; she was born only a year after women got the right to vote on an equal footing with men.

Sadly we don't get Wokebros here checking if we've voted (this is donkey-with-a-blue-ribbon territory) because I would have been very willing to lay into one.

spoilt my ballot and a very unlucky young wokebro knocked my door to see if I have voted. He won't be doing that again. I really lost my temper with him. Really fed up today, especially after the Sinnot result.

Thank you for the sticker tip. I went with a shorter version of the Susan Anthony quote upthread.

I have the right not to vote for people who won't represent me.

They're making decisions that benefit their own pockets and those of their mates
If you decide to waste your vote in this way,don'tcomplain when the local beauty spot is concreted over by development companies

This has already happened.

women's and children's services are withdrawn

What difference when womens services are mixed sex just to keep them, I'm doing this for women.

your car is damaged by potholes in the road

Again already happened, plus all the other things you can probably think of*

The way I see it is I no longer have a voice. I've done what I can to explain to my (ex)GC representative in generals my concerns, but it's become very clear she is powerless to address the issues. I say ex because she suffered terrible in party bullying very publicly and was made to tow the line.
I now have no recourse left. So whilst it's a perhaps futile gesture, is it's the only one left to me. I am not able to express myself publicly or on social media as to do so would risk my profession.
Equally, last general I was proud to vote for our candidate as she had values that reflect mine. That she was a woman was a happy coincidence. As much as voting for white men continues the cycle, I think not voting for the right candidate because they're male is a poor look out.

Not voting at all is unthinkable

Spoiling the ballot is not voting.

I asked how long should women wheeshed. No swearing or personal slurs.

I'm blocked on twitter by the only candidate I would vote for.

I don't think I'm "morally superior" for spoiling my ballot, I don't think I'm better than anyone else for doing it but I simply will not put a cross in a box for those who think men can be women and everything that flows from that ideological position.

Didn't you watch the Jackie Weaver clip of abusive men shouting their views? Did none of you read her article where she states that so many white older men are councillors? It's because people don't bother to vote them out

the JW clip illustrated very well why so few women are keen to get involved.

But not voting is voting, in a sense.

I plan to use 'I bloody voted for you!' as fuel for when I start pestering my MSPs.

For those people suggesting I vote for the least worse option, that'd be the conservatives.
Unfortunately, they don't have a great disability track record, even at our local level. I would be betraying ds to vote for them.
But if I vote Labour, Lib Dems or greens I betray other people's daughters.

So is there a mystery third option I haven't thought of? As far as I can see it's don't vote, spoil my ballot or send yet more letters to be ignored.

Women protested, suffered and died for my right to vote. I take it seriously, but not to the point of voting for the slightly less dangerous idiot in a parade of chancers.

What democracy? I have no one to vote for.

The presiding officer will look at them to determine if the tellers' decision is correct and some presiding officers read out not only the total of spoiled papers but group them into different categories.

If the result is close and/ or there are more spoiled ballots than the number between the winning candidate and the next highest then the candidates will want to scrutinise spoiled ballots to see if they can be allocated. Although if it's that close it's likely to be a recount.

Spoil them if you want but don't kid yourself you're making a great stand for democracy.

Women protested, suffered and died for my right to vote. I take it seriously, but not to the point of voting for the slightly less dangerous idiot in a parade of chancers

Can we get this on a sticker excellently put

I won't vote for the lesser evil, on account that it's still evil and when things inevitably start happening that I don't like, I can't moan because I gave them the power knowingly.
So my two options are: not voting at all or spoiling my ballot. Be angry at the system that's put us in this situation, not at the people left with no choice.
And I wrote to my openly GC labour representative (not from this election) and received radio silence. That tells me what I need to know.

That was not directed at you Beowulfa