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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Oh fuck I forgot to vote

104 replies

Icedlatteplease · 05/05/2023 00:30

Left home for work before 7am have s long commute and the car is messing up a previous back injury so came home exhausted and in pain.

I just completely and utterly forgot.

OP posts:
CallieQ · 05/05/2023 00:47

That's ok if you were going to vote conservative Grin

Jourdain11 · 05/05/2023 00:52

You go to the polls on Friday if you're voting Conservative, don't you know? It's a special arrangement so that the Tory candidates don't have to be around any commoners.

TheChosenTwo · 05/05/2023 00:54

Don’t worry op, some times things happen! Don’t give yourself a hard time <depending on who you would have been voting for>
and do hope your back recovers quickly - and on this matter i don’t care who you vote for, back pain is miserable!!

TyneTeas · 05/05/2023 00:55

I have a postal vote now for this reason. A few years ago I nearly missed voting (I had an accident and was in A&E). While I miss the sense of ceremony of going to the polling station, at least I know my vote is cast.

AngeloMysterioso · 05/05/2023 02:02

I didn’t even know it was today. I normally receive a polling card which I pop on the fridge as a reminder but haven’t had one this time for some reason.

Although fuck knows who I’d have voted for anyway, I’ve been politically homeless for some time now.

ObfuscationWithMenaces · 05/05/2023 06:03

Don't worry! It just means you can't moan about the things your coucil do or don't do in the future

Inthebathagain · 05/05/2023 06:05

Well, if the person you would have voted for loses by one vote, then you should kick yourself.

Set up postal voting. So much easier.

Quoronation · 05/05/2023 06:09

Don't worry about it

DisquietintheRanks · 05/05/2023 06:12

For the first time ever I decided not to vote. Couldn't bring myself to mark x for any of them. Sad.

PuttingDownRoots · 05/05/2023 06:14

We had Parish elections a couple of weeks ago. I completely missed it as all the publicity was for 4th May so the actual date on the Poll card didn't register.

It didn't even get a message in the school newsletter despite it being in the school hall which usually means alternative drop off and pick up arrangements.

FatOaf · 05/05/2023 06:17

I didn’t even know it was today. I normally receive a polling card which I pop on the fridge as a reminder but haven’t had one this time for some reason.

There probably weren't any elections where you live. There were none here (Shropshire).

00100001 · 05/05/2023 06:18

DisquietintheRanks · 05/05/2023 06:12

For the first time ever I decided not to vote. Couldn't bring myself to mark x for any of them. Sad.

Then spoil your vote! :)

FatOaf · 05/05/2023 06:23

Then spoil your vote! :)

Doesn't achieve anything. Nobody reads the comments people write on spoilt ballots.

I did it once for a police & crime commissioner ballot. I don't believe elected police & crime commissioners should exist, and the post definitely shouldn't be open to political party nominees. I wrote this on the ballot paper but I knew even then it was an utterly futile gesture.

ChairFloorWall · 05/05/2023 06:23

I postal vote, don’t know why more people don’t! So much easier.

GoTeamTired · 05/05/2023 06:27

I like the democratic act of physically going to vote. I know this sounds cheesy and idealistic.

But postal votes do seem much easier.

BugsyDrakeTableScape · 05/05/2023 06:33

When I used to do vote counts many years ago, we had to show all the spoiled votes to the candidates and agents to say why they weren't being counted and they had to agree they were spoiled and would not be counted.

So we did read them - and there were some cracking comments

DisquietintheRanks · 05/05/2023 06:39

Did the candidates read them @BugsyDrakeTableScape ? Interesting

User85398653 · 05/05/2023 06:40

AngeloMysterioso · 05/05/2023 02:02

I didn’t even know it was today. I normally receive a polling card which I pop on the fridge as a reminder but haven’t had one this time for some reason.

Although fuck knows who I’d have voted for anyway, I’ve been politically homeless for some time now.

i wondered where our polling cards had got to, then googled and found out we weren't voting in Northants

Original poster
Icedlatteplease · 05/05/2023 06:44

Tbh who I was going to vote for was a bit of a sore point.

It used to be s Conservative stranglehold until at last election we voted in a load of Independents.

The council has been unrelentlessly bad since. I don't think I've agreed with one decision. They seem to be very good at engaging friends on expensive useless commissions

Meanwhile our promised and budgetted new leisure facilities have not materialised (with no explanation) whilst our old gym (really old) and we're on the verge of losing our pool (which was rubbish and diabolically in need of replacement) because it's uneconomical to run. Both were too small for the size of town now. Most the public loos in the town centre have closed etc

I probably was on course to spoil my ballot anyway

OP posts:
MaisieMay23 · 05/05/2023 06:48

ChairFloorWall · 05/05/2023 06:23

I postal vote, don’t know why more people don’t! So much easier.

Because I don't want to. I like the process of voting in person & for me, it's less faff.

pussycatinfluffyslippers · 05/05/2023 06:49

BugsyDrakeTableScape · 05/05/2023 06:33

When I used to do vote counts many years ago, we had to show all the spoiled votes to the candidates and agents to say why they weren't being counted and they had to agree they were spoiled and would not be counted.

So we did read them - and there were some cracking comments

Yep. We did too.
And the candidates (or their agents) were allowed to see the front of the ballot paper to verify why they were not being counted, so could read the sometimes quite imaginatively rude suggestions. Grin

00100001 · 05/05/2023 06:51

FatOaf · 05/05/2023 06:23

Then spoil your vote! :)

Doesn't achieve anything. Nobody reads the comments people write on spoilt ballots.

I did it once for a police & crime commissioner ballot. I don't believe elected police & crime commissioners should exist, and the post definitely shouldn't be open to political party nominees. I wrote this on the ballot paper but I knew even then it was an utterly futile gesture.

Yes it does. It excercises your hard won right to vote. It also counts towards statistics,and might help "make a point" if 45% of votes were spoiled in protest.

wildfirewonder · 05/05/2023 06:51

ChairFloorWall · 05/05/2023 06:23

I postal vote, don’t know why more people don’t! So much easier.

But less fun. I like the polling station process. Postal voting is perfunctory!

wildfirewonder · 05/05/2023 06:53

FatOaf · 05/05/2023 06:23

Then spoil your vote! :)

Doesn't achieve anything. Nobody reads the comments people write on spoilt ballots.

I did it once for a police & crime commissioner ballot. I don't believe elected police & crime commissioners should exist, and the post definitely shouldn't be open to political party nominees. I wrote this on the ballot paper but I knew even then it was an utterly futile gesture.

The people counting for the parties read them, they are a source of much pleasure.

Miscellaneousme · 05/05/2023 06:53

I grabbed DH passport instead of my own by accident after a nightmare of a work day and then didn’t have time to go back with the correct ID, so I’ve not voted for the first time ever.