Is it better to spoil your paper or just not vote?

[cremeeggsonboxingday]

I am really struggling with deciding who to vote for tomorrow in the local election. To be honest, I can't bring myself to vote for any of them. I'm just wondering what would be the best way to make an impact. Would a low voter turn out send a message or would it be better to write exactly what I think of them all on my paper?

Yabu = don't vote
Yanbu = spoil your paper

Maybe someone needs to stand with the name 'None of the above' as in some film, he won by a wide margin!

@JudgeJ @CheeseBoard2022 not all areas are having elections. Some re-elect the entire council e.g. every four years, others may elect, say, a third of the council each year.

That's a shame. I really want to kick my local MP about, he lies about everything. He took a photo with my DC headteacher saying he had a fantastic morning speaking to the parents and kids about concerns.
He was late and there for 5 minutes, took a photo and ran off again!

Neither will make a difference.
Pick whatever minority party or independent you want to boost the vote share of. (But be careful with independents, when I did some basic research on mine, he was linked to the BNP!).

For me I ignore national politics when it comes to the local elections and go for the candidates that have the best policies locally (and how they’ve done locally if elected before), which often is completely different from nationally.

I’ve voted locally this time for candidates I’d never vote for nationally due to their policies on some local issues. Don’t confuse local issues with national politics.

My choices are very limited tomorrow, so it'll have to be a choice for the least bad option. I feel I'll have to vote for the councillors who I don't hugely agree with overall, but who are engaged and active in the community.

I agree with a PP, for locals it's far more about what they do (if a standing Councillor) or their connection to the area than it is about the party.

As said above spoiled ballots do get attention paid to them - both by agents/candidates trying to argue them as a valid vote and as a whole number. It's also, imo, the only way to actively abstain. I feel utterly depressed that there is nobody to vote for to represent me but I'm buggered if I'm not going to exercise my right to vote, which in this instance will be spoiling my ballot. Will it make much/any difference here? I doubt it but it's all I can do. Would it make a difference where elections are close run things? Maybe. I've known of local seats coming down to fewer votes than I have fingers on one hand - I suspect in that case the agents might have taken note on how some papers were spoiled.

Or this:

Oh for an edit button (seriously MN - why not do one when you broke fixed things?)

I meant to say that where I am now I honestly couldn't pick for candidate reasons. We're a new ward and not a single candidate has bothered themselves to put a leaflet through my door let alone knock on it. Aside from party politics I have nothing to go on. Why would any of them personally merit my vote, let alone politically? I suspect I'm not alone in being completely disregarded by the candidates. They need to be better (I spent weeks and weeks tramping the streets with leaflets for family members when I was younger, we would make sure we got to every address at least once and all doors were canvassed).

I've spoiled no end of ballot papers in Local Elections as we have a bunch of idiots standing.

I usually put " none of these numpties" across the paper.

However, if you are going to do this make sure you keep your message away from the boxes or some desperate candidate could claim the mark as a vote !

I sometimes add my own candidate on the bottom and vote for them

I have been in the same situation in the past in a local election. I spoiled the ballot paper, for the first time in my life. I was surprised at how good it made me feel, despite knowing it wouldn't make any difference. Give it a go.

I think you have to vote even if it's the least worst candidate. We live in a democracy and voting is important. I don't think it should be mandatory but I think not voting then whinging about whoever gets in is a bit rich.
If you don't like the candidates then can you get involved in local politics at all and try and help better candidates stand. Maybe you could stand yourself?

Spoiling a ballot paper is so pointless. No one cares

I've seen a council ward won by two votes. Two votes out of over 2,500! I think there were two recounts.

The most bizarre one was a parish council vote where there was a dead heat after two recounts. The returning officer looked up the procedure and picked a name out of a hat.

I agree the number-crunching scrutineers from the political parties are all over ballots at the count, especially where it's close. They're obsessive.

It's not pointless, as outlined above, and I've been involved in local politics since 2001 thanks.

If you spoil you paper, keep it simple. I used to do vote counting. The spoiled ones went in a separate pile, they were seen and checked but not read. We had people clearly pouring their heart into them and taking hours. Nobody important sees them, and nobody has time to read them.

Not voting or spoiling your ballot is basically the same as voting for the incumbent, imo. It's basically saying that you approve of how he or she has been doing things - or at least you don't disapprove enough to do something about it.

I don't understand why people are so desperate to find the perfect candidate. They don't exist. You'll never agree on everything. But there's always a "least worst" option.

This!!

I will never not vote, but last two elections spoiled my vote. This one I will probably spoilt again with "If you don't know my sex, you aren't getting my X"

I have always voted and PP has mentioned women have died for my right to vote!

This!!

I will never not vote, but last two elections spoiled my vote. This one I will probably spoilt again with "If you don't know my sex, you aren't getting my X"

I have always voted and PP has mentioned women have died for my right to vote!

Me too! It was most uncomfortable as my father was one of the candidates. When they went to the second recount we were gnawing our fingers to the bone!

Drawing lots is indeed right when it comes to a tie. Sounds awful doesn’t it? But is surely the fairest way to deal with things.

For the people saying spoilt votes just go on a pile, I was just looking at information about our local candidates, and came across this in the results from the last local election - so they are not just counted, they are seperated out in to different categories of 'void' votes.
I will be spoiling my vote - we have only 2 candidates to choose from and I don't want to vote for either of them, but I won't abstain. I don't care that they personally won't see what I write.

You're voting for local councillors, not political parties. Is your council currently fit for purpose?

As said above spoiled ballots do get attention paid to them - both by agents/candidates trying to argue them as a valid vote

And that's the only reason. they're not paying the slightest attention to why you've done it, just whether the marks on the paper can be construed as a definite mark for one candidate only.

Its a remarkably ineffective way to send a political message.

If there are no candidates you actively want, then vote for the least bad. Either a person you think would be good in the role. Or the one that's going to lead to the cheapest council tax (it would be good to have a bill that isn't leaping up)

I think some people claiming to have worked at election counts where spoiled ballots effectively just got cast aside either (a) didn't work at election counts and are just making that up for their own reasons, eg to scold women on MN; or (b) were part of the most badly run election counts in the UK, given the legal rules.