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Original poster

Spoiling my ballot.... how?

28 replies

ICouldShowYou · 03/12/2019 14:34

Sorry about another election thread but for the first time ever in my voting life, I’ve decided to spoil my vote.

But I haven’t a clue how to do it, as silly as that sounds

I want to write ‘I have no faith in any of you’ across the ballot but I’m not sure if that’s how it’s done.

I realise I sound clueless and that’s because I am.

OP posts:

user1480880826 · 03/12/2019 14:36

Sure, go for it. You must be really happy about the idea of another Tory government if you’re prepared to waste your vote.

littlemeitslyn · 03/12/2019 14:37

Utterly pointless

midsomermurderess · 03/12/2019 14:38

It sounds so childish and nobody cares.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Politics

Original poster

ICouldShowYou · 03/12/2019 14:39

Sorry, should have made it clear I’m in a very safe labour seat.

But thanks for not answering the question.

OP posts:

Pilipilihoho · 03/12/2019 14:40

You can spoil it however you like - there's no set format.

Just don't put a cross anywhere near any of the boxes, as all ballots are looked at by the agents etc to determine whether it's actually a vote and someone has just screwed up.

EcocabbyRickShaw · 03/12/2019 14:40

It's not pointless. It's engagement with the democratic process every bit as much as casting a vote. If you don't have any faith in anyone why would you vote for them?

OP you just do as you've suggested and that's it done. Or you could go ruder, it doesn't matter

Ifimnottheone · 03/12/2019 14:42

Why would you go to the effort of doing that? Really, no one will even care....

Greyhound22 · 03/12/2019 14:42

As a poll clerk and vote counter I can tell you it's really pointless spoiling your vote. Very tedious. No one gasps in horror or spends any time discussing your profound message. We put it in a pile and the Chief Counter checks them - sometime the candidates also want to check them - then they are totalled so we can deduct them from the totals. It's all done very quickly.

Also if you spoil it in a certain place - i.e. draw a penis next to the Tory candidates name - they may well decide you were voting for that person and add you in the vote.

It's a waste of your time going to vote and the person's counting who by about 3am has lost the will to live and is on about £3 an hour.

DarrellMakepeace · 03/12/2019 14:43

You may have no faith in any of them. Regardless, they will be making decisions about your life.

Women died so you could have this privelige.

The party leaders don't get sent the spoiled ballot papers you know. There's no handwringing session whete they get to read your comments across the paper.

LochJessMonster · 03/12/2019 16:16

If you want to spoil you ballot, do it. Not hurting anyone.
Write anything you want just make sure there isn't a cross in any of the boxes.

Women died so you could have this privelige. do fuck off with that. Women died to give us the choice to vote if we wanted.
Forcing someone to vote is just as bad as not allowing them to vote.

Elphame · 03/12/2019 16:31

I'll just be striking through the whole list and writing None on mine.

Original poster

ICouldShowYou · 03/12/2019 16:47

Thanks Elphame

And yes, LochJess the women died argument is ridiculous, I agree.

I wouldn’t draw a penis on my ballot because I’m not a teenager.

I’ve made my decision, it was a long thought out process, I’m not doing it to be a smart arse, I’m doing it to express how I’m currently feeling.

OP posts:

LochJessMonster · 03/12/2019 16:53

I'm considering not voting, as I am so torn between Tory and Labour.

I strongly support Brexit (so therefore really need to vote Tory) but disagree with a lot of their other policies/agree with Labour on some of theirs.
So I feel like if I don't vote for either, it supports my support of both (does that make sense??)

This election is a mindfuck.

Fluffycloudland77 · 03/12/2019 16:58

No one cares how your feeling though.

It’s the green ink brigade all over again.

Sparklingbrook · 03/12/2019 17:00

Nobody will care but if it makes you feel better to go to the effort...

WarmSausageTea · 03/12/2019 17:01

Anything that doesn’t have one cross in one box will count as a spoiled vote - a tick, penis or steaming turd in one particular box will be queried, but potentially count as a vote for that candidate - so to spoil your ballot, leave it blank, put one giant X through the whole thing, write a 1000 word essay, whatever.

Strikes me as a colossal waste of time, but if it makes you feel good, crack on. 🤷🏻‍♂️

PrettyShiningPeople · 03/12/2019 17:04

I thought you were supposed to put a cross in every box and write “none” across the whole paper, to spoil it in an unambiguous way, if you must.

CheshireSplat · 03/12/2019 17:06

I've spoiled my ballot paper once. In the police and crime commissioner elections. I thought that PCCs were an awful idea but didn't want to not vote in case that was construed as apathy.

OP, I think you're getting an unduly hard time. You've had lots of advice in how to spoil the paper but I wanted to come on here and stand up for you!

lunar1 · 03/12/2019 17:06

It's completely pointless, I used to do vote counting. The spoiled ones were seen briefly, by us passing them on to the person in charge and them shoving them into a box to be destroyed later.

Absolutely nobody of significance will see it.

Elphame · 03/12/2019 17:48

Absolutely nobody of significance will see it

Doesn't matter and I don't care - I will have bothered to vote. The number of spoiled papers is reported in the official results and if it gets big enough then the media will start to comment on it.

Maybe then we'll get the same choice that Australia has to chose "None of the above".

User478 · 03/12/2019 17:53

Australia has a "none of the above" option because it is compulsory to vote. Can you "swap" your vote? www.swapmyvote.uk/

WTCT · 03/12/2019 17:57

On similar previous threads, both counters and candidates have said they do see and read spoiled ballots.

safariboot · 03/12/2019 17:58

Just do anything that's blatantly not a vote. Scribbling, writing, or drawing over the whole ballot paper should do the trick.

MrsJoshNavidi · 03/12/2019 18:01

Spoiling your vote is not pointless.
Spoiled votes are counted, and huge numbers of spoiled votes would be taken seriously by political parties.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 03/12/2019 18:16

I've been wondering about this, because I live in a constituency which is usually Tory but has gone LibDem a couple of times. I can't in all conscience vote for either party & nobody else will ever get in here.

I'm going to avoid writing anything in the boxes & write (somehow) that this is a spoiled vote.

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