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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that if you believe in democracy, then you believe in the right to abstain from voting?

72 replies

CrystalHaze · 07/05/2015 13:03

Sick of the sodding sight of smug, self-righteous 'I've voted, you MUST vote too' posts on social media.

If you believe in democracy, then surely you have to accept that some people will not vote and will not care that they didn't vote, and that people whose decision to vote or not was swung by a facebook post are probably people who haven't applied a great deal of critical thought to their choice?

Or is there the remotest chance that there are people out there who haven't spotted that there's an election today, or who somehow 'forgot' and need to be reminded via facebook?

[And yes, I did vote. I didn't need to be 'told' to do it either. Managed to make that decision all by myself, but thanks for the billion reminders, facebook activists]

OP posts:

KidLorneRoll · 07/05/2015 14:17

The suffragettes didn't fight so everybody had to vote. They fought for people to have the right to choose for themselves.

In some ways, I've changed my mind on this matter. People shouldn't just vote for the sake of it. An ill-informed vote for, oh, a racist bunch of lunatics is more harmful than not bothering at all.

DoraGora · 07/05/2015 14:18

The racist lunatics are voting for racism. That's democracy.

DoraGora · 07/05/2015 14:19

The fact that NOAs can't vote in an NOA is actually not democracy!

VelvetRose · 07/05/2015 14:21

I don't think voting should be compulsory but I do think it's wrong not to vote. I was in a shop 5 minutes ago and the 5 staff were standing chatting about the fact that 3 of them couldn't be bothered to vote. Those were the words they used. I just think it's taking their rights for granted which, given the effort it took to achieve universal suffrage, is wrong.

LurkingHusband · 07/05/2015 14:24

My voting system would be very, very simple.

Everyone must vote
A none of the above box is provided
A winning candidate must secure 50% of the electorate (since Labour and Tory are so keen on FPTP, let's gold plate it).

If no candidate receives enough votes, the constituency does not return an MP.

Would certainly liven things up.

Oh, and point 3 is not a million miles away from the requirements for strike ballots - sauce for the goose etc.

howabout · 07/05/2015 14:33

When I see this I always read it as "vote early vote often" and no I do not need some self righteous nut job patronising me on social media while hoping they will subliminally persuade me to vote in the way they would like. I voted 2 weeks ago by post. Why can't we all be left alone to do this or use a digital format? Then the schools could get on with educating my DC and all the campaigners could get a proper job!

merrymouse · 07/05/2015 14:41

You don't have to vote for anybody, you can spoil your paper.

You are then counted as somebody who turned up and cared, not somebody who was probably too busy playing on-line bingo.

TedAndLola · 07/05/2015 14:44

If my only options were, say, Tory and UKIP, I would spoil my paper rather than not turn up at all. Whilst it probably won't change anything at least it says "I care, I'm engaged, but you do NOT represent me" rather than "meh".

Topseyt · 07/05/2015 14:45

I favour compulsory voting. A none of the above box would be necessary for people who did not like any of the options available.

Any constituencies where NOA actually won would not immediately return an MP of course, and would have to hold by-elections in the hope that this might possibly force our hopelessly out of touch career politicians to actually listen to the public and try much harder to reconnect. If that happened a few times then perhaps it might keep them all on their toes much more.

At present you do have the right to not vote, but for me that is too passive an option. If you don't vote, you are just accepting what comes, not trying to influence it in the only realistic way possible.

There is no such thing as the perfect voting system, but we need to work with what we have if we want to have any influence at all.

redexpat · 07/05/2015 14:49

All those posts on social media have pretty much the same effect as posters in windows and on placards in gardens. The more that pop up, the more undecided voters see people they identify with as voting, the more likely they are to go and vote.

Noodledoodledoo · 07/05/2015 14:52

To be honest I am quite tempted to tick the 'I've voted box' on Facebook as it is getting on my nerves and you can't shut it down! Takes up too much space on my phone!

I have voted but don't feel the need to publicise it to my friends or persuade them to do the same!

TeaPleaseBob · 07/05/2015 16:03

I think at least spoiling ballot papers shows the numbers of truly unrepresented/ disillusioned people in the country whereas not doing anything is very easy to ignore (and they will why would anyone politician try to get your vote if they believe you just can't be bothered). There are bound to be huge sections of our society under represented because they simply don't vote. Probably the very same people who will suffer the most.

I believe everyone has the right not to bother voting or spoiling their paper but I can't understand why you would chose to do so.

Government works for us and should be held accountable by us (idealistic I know) but this only works if we all exercise our right to have a say. If you don't bother voting I assume rightly or wrongly that you're ok with the way things are now.

SoupDragon · 07/05/2015 16:05

Spoiling your paper doesn't show that you care or are engaged. It lumps you in with the idiots who can't properly fill in a ballot paper.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 07/05/2015 16:20

Better to be lumped in with the idiots who can't fill in as ballot paper (can't be many) and turned up, than to be lumped in with the idiots who can't even be arsed getting off the sofa to vote....

Plus spoiled votes are all checked carefully by a human, observers from political parties will also see them.

merrymouse · 07/05/2015 16:29

The number of people who genuinely turn up to vote but are unable to fill in a ballot paper correctly is very small. A large increase in spoiled ballots would be noticed.

On the other hand it is very difficult to send a message by being lumped in with the roughly 35% who don't register/didn't know their was an election/don't know who the prime minister is/can't be arsed.

SoupDragon · 07/05/2015 16:44

An idiot is an idiot, however you are lumped in with them.

SoupDragon · 07/05/2015 16:45

I think your smug sense of superiority is unfounded.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 07/05/2015 16:53

I think your smug sense of superiority is unfounded

Eh?

Nanny0gg · 07/05/2015 16:54

if you don't want to vote, you should go and spoil your ballot paper instead. It's less than 90 years ago that every woman over the age of 21 in the UK were given the right to vote. That for me is a reason to turn up in itself.

^^This.

And not voting doesn't send a message, because no-one knows whether it's apathy to the current parties or apathy because you couldn't be arsed to get out of bed.

If you want to send a message, spoil your paper.

SoupDragon · 07/05/2015 16:56

The smug sense that a person is somehow superior for spoiling their paper rather than deliberately not voting.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 07/05/2015 16:59

The smug sense that a person is somehow superior for spoiling their paper rather than deliberately not voting.

I've not said that. It all depends why you want to abstain. If you are doing it personally because all the candidates are crap it doesn't really matter how you do it. If you want your abstention to mean some thing/have a political impact/be recorded you need to spoil your ballot.

One is only superior to the other in terms of potential impact, not in terms of the actual voter.

OddBoots · 07/05/2015 17:03

I liked the closing statement from Philomena Cunk on Election wipe last night.

"Election day is your chance to do democracy. You don't have to stand up and be counted, you can sit down and be ignored if you like, because that's your democratic right. You can choose not to matter, that matters, if you want it to. It's up to you."

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