Local elections how to spoil ballot?

Thank you but none of you have raised anything that I haven't already thought about.
I do find it interesting though how, even in the ballot box, women are harangued like disobedient children and told that our personal feelings should not matter.

I've voted in every election since I was 18, including from abroad and the many years I regularly moved around rental addresses in London, making an active effort to stay on the electoral register.

Mostly I've sighed, gritted my teeth and voted for the least worst candidate. This is just no longer good enough. Least worst is still actively shit.

I'm also done with people telling me I'm "wasting my vote". Previously this was because I dared to vote outside the Labour/Tory two party tedium (grew up in the West Country and used to have a lot of respect for the LibDems). I've been told (aggressively) that not voting Labour, is just as bad as voting Tory.

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. That is supporting a broken system.

I'm going for Binface/Animal Welfare in London Mayor, and Adult Human Female in locals.

Yes. They look to see if the marks on the paper can be construed as a valid vote for someone.

They are not paying attention to his it's been spoiled, and no record is made of marks on the paper that is not considered a vote.

See the link above on guidance to (A)ROs

It really isn't an effective way to protest, though that's no reason not to do it if you feel strongly that you want to.

I genuinely don't understand why people keep saying no one looks at spoiled ballots.

If it is unclear who you have voted for, Then they are absolutely looked at by either the candidates or their agents, as part of the process of deciding who the vote is for.

DH is an MP so I’ve been to a fair few counts and seen it happening.

My choice was TWAW, TWAW, TWAW (and here's a justification from Mermaids), and the Tories. No independents or other options. I work in a setting where TWAW non-compliance could well cost me my job and my peace of mind. I hope then that you'll forgive me from being unable to cast a positive vote.

All of the candidates in my area are white men, every single one. It makes no difference how I vote.

They're making decisions that benefit their own pockets and those of their mates.

That's Labour out in Liverpool then

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.

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't complain when the local beauty spot is concreted over by development companies, women's and children's services are withdrawn, your car is damaged by potholes in the road. All those things have happened in my area thanks to County Council decisions.

I can read thank you, someone up thread who stood for a seat didn’t see the spoiled papers, an other did and clocked UKIP was written. In these examples what good did it do?

Someone casts a cursory eye over your spoiled ballot paper and moves on to the next job in hand. That’s hardly campaigning and won’t make the slightest difference to how your local government is run - a wasted vote

I relate, Auld - I am feeling just like that. I haven't gone yet but my Lab candidate in fact forwarded a tweet with the petulant letter to Charity Comission regarding LGBA, and Greens and LibDems have sold their collecttive souls years back (and are not really in the contest), so will likely spoil... at least it seems I don't have to agonize much about what to write as unlikely to be read or remembered by many.

Not true. They do get read. All the spoilt papers get put in a pile and have to be agreed by all parties that the paper is spoilt. I've seen everything from "don't know enough about the candidates" to "cunt" on a ballot paper (I've been involved in the count). Messages can be helpful.

Absolutely.

I don't know why some posters keep denying this happens, when it does.

The people who get to see the messages are the candidates (often people who are already councillors), their agents (usually active in the local party), and the returning officer (a senior council officer).

Maybe the 'deniers' are aware of some counts are so badly and illegally run that proper process doesn't take place but such instances must be vanishing rare. A bit Dunny-on-the-Wold.

Just to correct that- it depends what elections you have today and your council structure. In my ward we are voting for Unitary Council today (which does everything a district and county council do in other areas)

So not disingenuous at all.

I've spoiled my ballot after lengthy deliberation and exchanging messages with my party's local candidate. I couldn't vote for them in good conscience. I really don't feel good about this (pretty depressed / nauseated, actually), but here we are.

Things that are controlled at a local (rather than county) level:
Environmental health
Housing
Leisure
Local tax collection
Planning applications
Waste collection

Children's centres and refuge funding are not controlled by local councils so it's rather disingenuous of you to imply that they are @SushiGo

Again, though we're back to you feeling your views on this matter are more important than whether or not services that vulnerable women area in your area rely on exist in four years time

Some services for vulnerable women will no longer exist if they become mixed sex. So yes, this is important, its not a niche issue, it impacts 51% of the population.

I already said I am involved in encouraging people to get out and vote that don't usually.

I am not harassing anyone, but I am not going to say nothing to people who think they're taking a morally superior position in defence of women, which is likely to have negative consequences for vulnerable women.

Now I have work to do, so I am going to leave the thread, but I really hope anyone lurking on the thread considers what I've said. Do look on your local social media and do ask questions. Don't focus on broad questions do focus on the exact details of local issues. That's where you can have an impact and create real change.

Hm, I used to agree, HPFA, but we need a sensible PR system. Here in Scotland we have a voting system that most people really can't and don't understand. (I've read several things that explain it and still can't fully get my head round it) (modified D'Hondt, if anyone is wondering). Electoral systems need to be easily understandable for the average person.

Really all this shows is we need PR.

The old style broad church parties simply were not built for the societies we have now.

Would I like Labour to go full on in defending women's rights? Yes. Do I understand why they can't/won't? Yes. They would lose an enormous amount of activists, be embroiled in internal disputes and the only winners would be the Tories. Alba in Scotland thought they were going to benefit from the issue. How are they doing? Polling at about 2%.

I have no strong feelings about spoilt ballots - if people honestly feel they can't vote for any candidate then there probably isn't a better alternative. But please remember that only moving towards a political system where people's views actually count for something will achieve what we want.

Just wanted to say, well done for still exercising your hard won rights.

Women always need to respect the sacrifice of our suffragette sisters. We must always turn up and put a mark on that ballot paper. Doesn't matter if that mark is a vote or a spoil. Just make that mark.

I have my 'votes for women' face mask all ready for today. Will be taking my kids with me later so they learn how simple, easy and important voting is.

I spoiled my vote today for the first time. I’ve voted in every election since my 18th birthday so this was not a decision I took lightly. I cannot vote for any party that will strip me of my sex-based rights. You may have a vote now, but what’s to say they’ll stop at single-sex spaces and redefining our words? Thin end of the wedge. Sushigo You assume we aren’t also lobbying our local politicians, but most aren’t listening or privately agree with us on the doorstep but do the opposite in public. I did mark up my ballot with my reasons, but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t get read. It shows I turned up, that my vote was there for the taking but I could not vote for any of the candidates on the ballot. I exercised my right to vote, which is what the suffragettes fought for.

A tip for later voters - there was no privacy in my polling station due to COVID arrangements and a strict one in, one out rule. Everyone could hear me scribbling and I held up the queue. Stickers would be quicker and quieter if you have a lot you wanted to say.

There are some hills that I will die on and I won’t vote for someone who breaches my principles.

This. I will spoil my ballot as I will not vote Tory (she didn't even reply to my contacts), but I will not vote for a man who says "I would accept a man posing as a woman as a woman".

#labourlosingwomen and adult human female will be my words today.

SushiGo thing is we live in a democracy and you feel we should do one thing, but we actually all have the right to do another. I have voted very tactically and spoiled to vote I knew didn’t matter, voted for a party that won’t win to make a point, and voted tactically for someone I don’t want to vote for to keep someone I like less out. But we always have the right not to vote for any of them if we choose. It’s a matter of personal values and these may be even more important than other things. There are some hills that I will die on and I won’t vote for someone who breaches my principles.

This is a terrible waste of a vote, did you not study the suffragettes?! Women died so that we could vote. I’m really, really disappointed to read this thread.

IF the candidates actually read the ruined ballot paper they won’t pay much attention to it, they will have a lot going on, it won’t make an impact. Don’t waste the vote.