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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To spoil my ballot?

163 replies

OvariesBeforeBrovaries · 05/05/2017 13:32

I know IABU to talk about politics when there's a bajillion other threads on it already. I await your Biscuit throwing Grin

I've never even contemplated doing this before, in my head I've equated it to being the same as not voting at all. I want to vote, I want to take part in this democracy, but I'm so frustrated and disenfranchised. I don't want any of them to win. I don't want party politics and adults acting like kids slagging off other parties and other people in the newspapers and on TV because they have opposing politics. I want a group of people who have been elected for their own personal politics and views to sit down together and figure something out, rather than three or four groups of people waving their willies about and refusing to budge on issues because "that's what the party does" and just coming out with random slogans that mean nothing instead of actually answering questions.

I can't vote Conservatives. Hell would freeze over before I did.

I won't vote for Labour because while I think Corbyn is neither the demon nor the saint he's been made out to be, regardless of him the party is in a complete state and until one side or the other decides fuck it, this isn't working and does something to lead to a more united party, I can't vote for them.

My political views align with the Lib Dems, I think, and I like that Farron seems able to separate his religious views and his politics (unlike May who got all pissy about "Easter" but sees nothing wrong with food banks and disabled people dying), but I went to uni in 2012 so voting Lib Dem feels like heresy as one of the first years to be hit with £9k a year tuition fees (that said, I'm in Wales so the government fee grant took care of the extra, which may be why I'm not so militant about it).

Plaid, Greens etc feel like a wasted vote.

UKIP is a joke really.

What I'm getting at is, is spoiling your ballot the same as not voting at all? I don't want to write an essay on there because I know it won't get read, just to scribble all over it or draw in my own "none of the above" box or something. Last GE I saw people really criticising those who spoiled their ballots and I agreed, but now I feel so disenfranchised by it all. Do you vote for the lesser of all evils, just so that at least you've voted?

OP posts:
Original poster
OvariesBeforeBrovaries · 05/05/2017 14:53

Very mature attitude OP

What?

OP posts:
Original poster
OvariesBeforeBrovaries · 05/05/2017 14:59

In my old area I would have voted Plaid based on local candidates because he was a decent guy and the only one who responded when I contacted them all.

We moved to a new area last week and it's hard to find information about the candidates who've been announced. The current Labour MP seems pretty good but it's hard to separate a vote for the person from a vote for the party in my head. Can't find out anything about the Plaid candidate. Lib Dem candidate is 19 and seems quite focused on issues affecting younger people from the limited stuff I've read so I'll probably vote Lib Dem.

Thanks all for the perspectives. I'd never dream of not voting at all but in the 2015 election I knew exactly who I wanted to vote for from the start and I despaired at other young people for not voting/spoiling their ballot. This year I can almost see where they're coming from. It definitely feels like gritting your teeth and voting for the best of a bad bunch!

OP posts:
user1493759849 · 05/05/2017 15:02

I think when women died to allow women to get the vote, it's terrible to not vote (JMO.) I am a lifelong Labour supporter, but will be voting for Conservative on June the 8th. Not so much because of Corbyn (though he is a contributory factor,) but because the whole party is terribly disjointed, and frankly, a fucking mess.

Also Corbyn is coming out with many promises that he simply will not be able to keep. He has also changed his stance on several things too (The EU, Trident etc,) which worries me. I don't trust him, and I don't believe him.

Never thought I would see the day I voted Tory, especially as I almost cried when they won the election in 2015, but Green, UKIP, and Libdems are not on my radar; they are all a wasted vote IMO, and I simply CANNOT vote for Labour.

And as I think MAY is a good leader; Conservatives it is.

Best of a bad bunch IMO.

GrimmDays · 05/05/2017 15:36

No. Not turning up just looks like apathy. If you spoil your ballot paper you'll be included in turn-out figures, and the number of spoiled ballots is counted. If more people did this, it would be more apparent that people don't like the candidates, rather than just not being arsed to go out and vote.

GrimmDays · 05/05/2017 15:36

This ^ It is using y ur vote whilst protesting. Basically it is saying every option in shite. Not turning up is assumed to be laziness.

GrimmDays · 05/05/2017 15:39

I am a lifelong Labour supporter, but will be voting for Conservative on June the 8th.

This surprises me hugely as I know a lot of lifelong Tory voters who are voting for literally anyone else because they cannot vote for a party who has persistently fucked over the vulnerable and disabled for the last few years.

LucyTheLocalBike · 05/05/2017 17:41

I'm unsure who to vote for at the moment but it will sure as fuck NOT be the Tories. I despise what they have done to the poor of this country and fear what the next 5 years would bring.
ABC - Anybody But Conservative

greenworm · 05/05/2017 17:44

I think you should vote for the least worst option. Read all the manifestos and make a pros and cons list if necessary.

Spoiling your ballot won't achieve anything.

QuietCorday · 05/05/2017 17:52

There's no point in spoiling your ballot. They are separated out and counted but completely disregarded. No-one gives a shit about them.

You are better voting for your least worst option.

PolarBearGoingSomewhere · 05/05/2017 17:55

Up until the EU referendum I thought it was "soil your ballot" Luckily I hadn't (and haven't) ever done it Grin

listsandbudgets · 05/05/2017 18:05

The procedure for spoilt ballots at the count os that candidates and their agents are all offered the opportunity to look and them and agree that it is spoilt and can not be counted as a vote for their party... thus the comments are usually read by the candidates so spoiling is not as much of a waste as you may think if you dont want any of them but want to get a message to all of them

BoneyBackJefferson · 05/05/2017 18:08

greenworm Fri 05-May-17 17:44:34
I think you should vote for the least worst option. Read all the manifestos and make a pros and cons list if necessary.

Why should anyone vote for something that they don't support?
I would feel a lot worse doing that than spoiling my ballot.

Besides until they powers that be give us non of the above what else can we do, because I won't support the current shower of shit that we have in parliament and spoiling my ballot is the only way of showing that.

IHaveBrilloHair · 05/05/2017 18:08

I spoiled mine yesterday for the first time ever.
I did what felt right for me.

Fruitcorner123 · 05/05/2017 18:14

Why don't you look how your lib dem candidate voted on tuition fees. If he/she wasn't for then vote lib dem. Remember the lib Dems get blamed for not opposing the tuition fees but it is the Tories who actually increased them.

Fruitcorner123 · 05/05/2017 18:18

user as a labour supporter how on earth can you think she is the best possible leader? Which left wing policies of Theresa May's do you support? I get lib Dems and spoilt ballots and other smaller parties but voting for the Tories when you are a lifelong labour supporter I struggle with. Please could you explain how you can go from one to the other!? I am not trying to have a go at you I just really really don't get it.

Fruitcorner123 · 05/05/2017 18:21

Also sorry just read that the lib dem candidate is 19 so he can't be blamed for tuition fees.

Sittinginthesun · 05/05/2017 18:25

I've just tried one of those online "who should you vote for" quizzes. It appears that I am slightly positive to Labour, slightly negative to LibDem, very negative to Conservatives. Despite saying that May is a far stronger leader than Corbyn. And I like our Conservative MP.

I take my vote seriously, but I am stumped this time.

Coulddowithanap · 05/05/2017 18:30

Spoiled votes do get counted (I work on the count in my area)

For the local election yesterday we had a low turnout of roughly 30%. If the other 70% of people bothered to go and spoil their ballot then local councillors would have to take notice!

FineSally · 05/05/2017 18:41

Yesterday, in our mayoral election, I voted Labour for the first time in my life.

I voted for the candidate, and I would have still voted for him had he been Tory. IMO its a pity that a local mayor has to have a party affiliation.

Regarding a PP suggestion that you go through all the parties' promises & work out the best fit... last time I did that, my best match was with the BNP. (I didn't, of course.) Their election propaganda was very convincing, and quite far removed from the radical views expressed in the media.

The problem I have with this approach is that I cannot trust anybody to actually deliver what they promise.

The other problem with Labour is that they are likely to have a change of leader some time within the next few months, and I'd prefer to know what I'm voting for, not take a punt on getting a clone of Tony Blair (or, even worse, the man himself makes a comeback).

user1493759849 · 05/05/2017 18:43

Why should I NOT vote for Conservative just because I used to support Labour? Labour and Corbyn are a joke. Corbyn actually said tonight that they did so badly in the local elections because 'people forgot to vote.' He is deluded! Tim Farron is a tit, and Libdems are a joke too, and there IS no-one else to vote for. UKIP? The Greens? Do me a favour!

Also, despite what a poster said above about how everyone she knows is voting for ANYone but Conservative, (because they hate them for what they did to the disabled and suchlike; ) voting for ANYone else because you don't like the Conservatives or Theresa May, is more ludicrous than a lifelong Labour voter voting Conservative, And it shows people don't know what they are on about or what they are doing.

In addition, many people I know who are lifelong Labour supporters are voting for Conservative this time.

I have seen dozens of reports on tv this past few weeks, and dozens of people interviewed have said they are normally a Labour supporter, but are voting Conservative this time. Mainly because The Labour Party are a farce, they loathe Corbyn, and they think Theresa May is the right person to lead the country at the moment.

The local elections, and how the Conservatives have slaughtered Labour is a good indication of how the General Election will go.

I fail to see how or why anyone would vote for Labour; they are a hot mess. Voting for Labour while they are such a joke is way more ludicrous and hard to fathom than someone being a lifelong Labour supporter voting Conservative. And it is verrrry easy to switch from one to the other!

And re what the Conservatives did to people; yeah it's not great, but all they were doing was undoing the damage Labour did; overspending to the nth degree and leaving the country in a mess. Do you not remember the little note left by the Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer saying 'there's no money left!'

Painful. As I said, it baffles me why ANYone would vote for Labour, truly. I like Theresa May. If you don't get that, there isn't much I can do about it, but i am not about to change my mind because of a few people on mumsnet who don't 'get it.'

boatrace30 · 05/05/2017 18:51

Definitely spoil your ballot rather than not voting. It is counted and can therefore be viewed as a protest against the available candidates.

user1493759849 · 05/05/2017 18:53

How is it counted if it's 'spoilt?' Confused

Who does the vote go towards?

ExplodedCloud · 05/05/2017 18:58

It is counted as a spoilt ballot and declared as such. It doesn't count for any candidate but it is included in the turnout.
So if there are 200 voters and 100 turn out you have a 50% turn out.
If 10 of those are spoilt you have 10% spoilt. If the winning candidate gets 45 votes then they have 45% of the vote, not 50%

Bearbehind · 05/05/2017 18:58

I agree OP.

All this, women died for the vote etc rally grates on me. I would vote if there was anyone worth voting for.

I'm sickened by the fact UK politics has descended to voting for your least worst option or a protest vote rather than the candidate your beliefs are most aligned with.

I've never not voted in more than 20 years but I'm in a Tory constituencies with UKIP close behind and I and a resolute Remainer so that's not an option.

I will not vote for Corbyn as he's proven time and time again he has no clue about current politics.

LD are predicted to get about 5% in my area so what's the fucking point?

Bearbehind · 05/05/2017 19:04

And I say that as a life long Tory voter who has always thought spoiling your ballot paper was a spectacularly dumb thing to do.

I'm just horrified and sickened by the lack of options.