Best way to register a protest vote?

[AIstolemylunch]

What's the best way for someone that having see all the manifetos now can't vote for any the mainparties?

One - Cross through all the boxes on the right and write 'NO VOTE' across names - so they know it's a specific no vote and gets recorded as such, rather than as 'voter intention unclear'

Two - Don't go out to vote so contribute to 'historic low voter turn out' to indicate disatisfaction with all the main parties, and indeed British politics today as a whole?

Three - Vote for an independent (if standing)?

Hello

So is that offical now, please???

If so, my family and I may make and effort to register out total dissatisfaction the the clowns that are messing up and will ruin the lives of the taxpayers

As taxpayers and two of our kids are in tax bracket we have accccepted that the country needs to run and support the vulnerable!! However, it hurts when you see clowns throwing away our many and now the real and present danger of a coalition party that may be hell bent of hitting those nearing avg pays and above and also hit those with their own property, etc!!

Just saw this on Twix, made me think of this thread

That TwiX post is patronising twaddle really.

Like we aren't aware of that. However, if you've red lines re policies, you're not just going to vote for any party, even if you like some of their manifesto.

I haven’t said it’s childish.
If you don’t vote for anyone, whether you turn up or not, then you clearly don’t give a shit who wins. Spoiling your ballot paper seems pointless. It’s a bit like farting at a public meeting: rude without giving any clear message.
I don’t think you can blame the people who are standing for what they believe in for not believing in the same things you do. You could have stood if you’d wanted to.
I think it’s more respectful of the process (and the candidates) not to turn up than to spoil your ballot paper.
Your question is a bit like asking ‘how many angels can dance on a pinhead’ because one non-vote can never have any significant effect, but I have given it my serious consideration.

"If you don’t vote for anyone, whether you turn up or not, then you clearly don’t give a shit who wins"

The OP doesn't care who wins.

Because of trans rights? Or is this one of the private school ones? Can't remember now. Whatever - how utterly feeble.

Almost as feeble as believing humans can change sex 😂

"Almost as feeble as believing humans can change sex 😂"

Is that how you want to frame this?

We all know people can't change their biological sex

But we also know that gender is a social construct, that human beings are infinitely complex, and that people's perception of their own gender may not fit with their biological sex.

And I'm happy to live in a world where we can socially accommodate and accept the tiny number of people who can't be happy or at peace unless they present as and live as a gender that's different to their sex.

It’s a bit like farting at a public meeting: rude without giving any clear message.
😂
I think an actual vote is always better than spoiling or abstaining. You can always message certain candidates to say why you can't vote for them. It's a bit late in the day now though.
OP did you do the "I side with"?

It was campaigned for and put forward to the commission by the None of the above organisation.

And although they "won" nothing has been done to put NOTA on any electoral ballot.

Women's sex-based rights and the safeguarding of children. Not trans rights.

A sincere thanks for that!!!

I guess its not in the Jackasses interest as they know the turnovuts will be a lot bigger and the majority vote would go to NOTB as they are on the whole, lying, three faced, selfish, entitled clowns that preach BS and practice the opposite of what they preach, if that makes sense

Sadly too many die-hards that would vote for labour/tories come rain or shine as they are seriously blinkered in their outlook!!!

I have just checked and in May only 24.9% of the electorate voted in my area for the PFCC. So 75% didn’t vote, and has there been any reaction to that?

If there was 100% turn out with 75% spoiled ballots would that provoke a reaction?

Not every voter understands you can spoil a ballot paper so some of us like to explain how you can do it and that it is recorded.

Seriously?

I have no idea how any woman can vote Green.

OP

Respect my sex if you want my X is quite a good thing to write if that is why you don't want to vote. Just put something about your main gripe.

Nobody is forced to vote for anyone in the UK.
As far as I can find out, there was a recommendation for a public consultation rather than actual implementation.
If a certain threshold of ‘none of the above’ triggered some action then it wouldn’t be entirely pointless to use the option. I don’t support the idea though. Saying ‘none of the above’ is like saying ‘someone should do something’.

I am also contemplating spoiling. I am going to write to each candidate in my constituency and ask them my 2 ‘red line’ questions. Then regardless of how I vote, they will be aware of the issues that matter to me. And if everyone does the same, they build up a picture.

I know that no-one is forced to vote in the UK. It was poorly phrased.

And yes I do believe that "somebody should do something" and those somebodies should be those that want to be in power.
I am of an age from when politicians and parties had to chase the following voter and tried to encourage everyone to vote. The parties should be trying to woo all those that are eligible to vote so they can gain a majority that means something instead of having a majority of those that do vote. The majority of which has been as low as 20%.

I also believe that you can't have a true democracy unless you can vote in a negative fashion. Why should I have to vote for the "best fit" when that "best fit" is very little that I support and my vote would ratify the rest of the poor policies.

I also of the opinion that a NOTA box would not only bring out more voters but would gain traction with those that vote to protest or for the "bets fit".
But as it won't happen we will never know.

How exactly do you want it to work? At what point (what percentage of the electorate voting NOTA) would action be triggered, and what would that action be?

Isn't that where the sensible debate comes in?
What happens if NOTA wins outright? We either go back to the drawing board or we start seeing coalition councils and the parties have to find out why they lost.

What happens if NOTA comes second? Parties that come below NOTA have to go back to the parties and the electorate and find out why.
What would be a sensible mark at which NOTA becomes an issue i.e. there are enough votes that the democratic parties should take notice,

I have no idea but at least it would be better than having to spoil a ballot or voter for the least worse option.

Its all moot anyway as it will never happen, in the same way that PR will never happen.

I don’t see any reason why parties would be more motivated to find out why they lost or to form coalitions, both of which they already do. Most people standing want the power to do the things they believe in and that’s not a bad thing.
I think it’s more and more difficult to get decent candidates because of on-line and in-person abuse. We’ve had two MPs murdered in the last ten years.
Vetoing everyone who’s standing is unlikely to suddenly produce better candidates for a rerun of the election, which seems to be the logical outcome of a NOTA win.
You always have the option of standing yourself if you disagree with the other candidates, or persuading someone you agree with to stand. That is why I dislike the option so much. It suggests an us and them mentality in which politicians are a breed apart who ought to improve things, whilst nobody else has any obligations whatsoever. ‘Someone should do something’.

And yet your solution doesn't solve the problem of having to vote in a positive manner that ratifies all of the policies, whether you like them or not.

Given that the cost implications of putting NOTA on a ballot are minimal and apparently the results are not going to bother anybody, why not just do it and see what happens?

How exactly do you want it to work? At what point (what percentage of the electorate voting NOTA) would action be triggered, and what would that action be?

The pertinent question to ask @WhatWouldJeevesDo . I don't think those suggesting this have thought that far ahead.

Looking into it a bit further

Here's their website https://nota-uk.org/ which tell us they've been around since 2012. So appear to have achieved absolutely nothing over the past twelve years. Although do seem to have a gift for exaggeration. Just not communication or the ability to influence people and bring about change.

They reference a report from the https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/200/political-and-constitutional-reform-committee/publications/
This is the Committee's 2014-15 session which amongst other things did recommended recall petitions - which has come to fruition as we've seen in a number of recent by-elections. The report recommendations did not however extend to adding NOTA on election ballot papers.

That said the report https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmpolcon/1128/1128.pdf
does make reference to work they did on voter engagement and an interim report on that published in November 2014 https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmpolcon/232/23202.htm. That link just then provides further links to individual chapters and sections, but not, as far as I can see a single link to the full report. Anyway the conclusions https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmselect/cmpolcon/232/23211.htm does make an important observation ...........These are all legitimate reasons for people to disengage from the electoral process, and it cannot be said that low turnout levels and registration rates are the result of apathy on the part of the public

Scroll down far enough - I've saved everyone the pain of having to do so - and you'll find

51. We recommend that, in the event that voting in certain elections is made compulsory, an option to vote "none of the above" or to "abstain" should be one of the options set out. These options could also be included even if voting were not compulsory. (Paragraph 178)

Paragraph 178 is simply copied verbatim from another section of the report, with that then including para 176

176. A number of written submissions recommended that there be an option for "none of the above" on the ballot paper if voting were made compulsory—so that people were not compelled to vote for one of the candidates standing for election—and others supported the option of voting formally for "none of the above" on the ballot paper, whether voting was compulsory or not.[401] A written submission from Nota UK stated that being able to vote for "none of the above" would allow people to actively withhold consent from the parties standing for election.[402] Being able to vote for none of the above was the most popular choice by 38 Degrees members in their survey of "What would make you more likely to vote in the 2015 General Election?", picked by over 18,000 of the 84,000 respondents.[403]

However the outcome despite all the tortuous content above was that NOTA did not as stated earlier feature at all in the Committee's ultimate recommendations.

There was a parliamentary petition started earlier this year. With the public lack of interest such that it had only received just over 6,000 signatures when it, like all other live petitions, was stopped when the July GE was called.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/650023

The wording of the petition gets back to your original question, but as you might have guessed already raises more questions as opposed to any answers.

I urge the UK Government to permanently adopt "None of the above" on all ballots starting with the next general election, to enhance democratic choice and allow voters to express dissatisfaction. If NOTA wins most votes, consider rerunning the election, possibly with initial candidates disqualified.

Sadly it does not give away whether that will be all elections, or a specific election such as the GE; or indeed whether it would apply to the overall result, or individual constituencies. Or is there is some sort of NOTA victory margin needed - what would consider rerunning be defined by? Or get into any of the implications of delayed results, or the simple practicalities and logistics of re-running an election. Presumably a month or so gap would be needed to re-issue voting cards, postal votes; re-book spaces to be polling stations; arrange all the staffing needed for polling stations and the count. Just minor details like that. And find new candidates if the originals are somehow disqualified. And what would happen then if NOTA won again, would the election continue ad infinitum. And that's before we get into costs of running an election.

Not convinced any joined-up thinking has been applied. Reality detachment on a grand scale.

Thanks OP for starting this. I am in exactly the same situation. I have always been politically engaged and generally on the side of Greens or Lib Debs. They have both gone bat shit bonkers on women’s rights and there is no way I can vote for them.

And yes to the PP that said it’s one issue but it is a MASSIVE issue to me and many others.

I am going to start persuading people to spoil papers. If enough people do it it will be remarked on and Labour will realise they don’t have a massive mandate. They DO get recorded.

I'd vote for the local nutter. (to clarify I mean the independent local in the monster raving looney, or lord bucket head style. Not the sitting MP who might also be a local nutter)

I’m very impressed with your research on this as well as spoilt ballot papers.
You are a star!

Unless the bar for action were very low (which would be problematic in itself) by ticking ‘none of the above’ you would in effect be voting for ‘any of the above’.
I don’t think that should be formally encouraged.