I just spoilt my ballot paper

[KatherinaMinola]

Anyone else? Anyone else going to?

How very mature

It isn't 'pathetic' and nonsense' to me. I wanted to use my vote. Had there be a candidate I felt I could have given it to I would have but there wasn't and so I spoilt my paper. I felt slightly ridiculous being in a Tory stronghold in the southeast and being the only one in the polling station they must have heard all the pencil marks and been a bit bemused wondering how elaborate an 'X' I thought it was necessary to make. Nevertheless I was nearly in tears on leaving. So emotional not feeling there is support for women on this issue, or even any hint of a discussion about it.

It isn't 'pathetic' and nonsense' to me. I wanted to use my vote. Had there be a candidate I felt I could have given it to I would have but there wasn't and so I spoilt my paper. I felt slightly ridiculous being in a Tory stronghold in the southeast and being the only one in the polling station they must have heard all the pencil marks and been a bit bemused wondering how elaborate an 'X' I thought it was necessary to make. Nevertheless I was nearly in tears on leaving. So emotional not feeling there is support for women on this issue, or even any hint of a discussion about it.

This^ I suspect everyone that spoilt their papers today takes voting very seriously. If we didn't we just wouldn't have turned up. There was no-one on that paper that I felt I could vote for. Not one person.

Totally agree Afat.

Everyone that has given thought to how to vote ultimately votes (or spoils their ballot paper) to try and make things better. As there is not clear consensus of what would further the cause of improved women's rights in this local election we should not be criticising other people's choices, none of us posting what decision we came to here made our decisions lightly.

I’m going to do it.
Will report back.

Done it - and DH too. It was done with a heavy heart but we could not vote for anyone on the ballot paper. I have never not voted before, and have always been very mindful of the women who fought so hard to give me this right. It's a very strange feeling - but I felt it better to register my opinion in some small way than just not bother turning up.

I just put None of the Above - Sex not Gender.

I spoiled my ballot as well. I felt terribly sad about it. It was the first time I've ever not voted. I wrote an anti-Brexit message and said No to males in women's spaces and used the spoiledforwomen hashtag. No idea if it will make any impact but I couldn't give my vote to any of the parties in good conscience. They were all either shit on self-ID or Brexit or both.

I voted for my local workers party as they are gendercrit and haven't swallowed the cool -aid. Oh and changing sex is impossible.

Lucky you Rolling Crone.
I'm going to spoil mine shortly for the first time ever. I can't vote Labour because of AWS.
Perhaps I'll write that.

Well I spoilt mine with the message as Labour don't know what a woman is this woman won't be voting for you

I did it. X in two boxes to confuse, then I wrote a bit about rights of women and girls. Then some short statements.

You can take in another pen, btw - there was an article on this last year. You are allowed to mark your ballot with any kind of pen/pencil.
With a fine-tipped pen there was actually quite a lot of space.

I felt a bit bad when I saw the nice elderly lady at the table, whom I have seen every election since moving there, but then I thought - no, she doesn't want some someone with a penis there when she is having an intimate examination or trying to get changed at a leisure centre - and that strengthened my resolve.

Yup. Can't say how. 😉✊️💜💚

Of all the things wrong with the UK and the World right now, I voted.
I totally think a spoiled ballot paper would be cutting ones nose off to spite their face!

I voted. I absolutely support anyone not engaging with voting or spoiling a ballot on principle.

I spent many years not voting on principle and I used to spoil my husband’s proxy vote for him before I left him (LOL).

What matters to me is that people’s engagement with the ballot box is an expression of their principles.

My husband and I spoiled ours, with sadness, not just because of AWS, but also Brexit.

Not that it matters, as we’re in the safest of safe Labour areas, but hey. Sick of all this shite.

Spoiled my vote too. I'm a super safe Labour seat and there was not one fucker on the entire ballot paper to whom I could give my vote. I'm disgusted by all the parties and the independents were single-issue eccentrics obsessed by parking or potholes or something.

I always vote. It felt wrong to sit at home and be counted amongst the disinterested, so I exercised my right to vote and right to protest at the same time.

For the first time ever, I didn't actually vote. Just returned my postal vote

No point writing anything on a ballot paper as it is not read and I don't actually think whomever wins will care less. They still won. It would only be if we had a majority system based on actual votes cast including spoiled ones that the number of spoiled ones would actually matter. And we don't

Just feel totally sickened by it all. There is genuinely no choice if every party is equally abhorrent.

Spoiled mine too.

I agonised all day but now I've done it I'm a bit happier. I'm in a marginal seat where there are often recounts so as well as SexNotGender, NoToSelfID and SpoiltForWomen I put XX part way in one of the boxes but trailing across the lines to the next candidates. I'm hoping at least the agents will have to read it as they haggle over a possible vote.

She said there’s no place for misogyny anywhere and women need safe spaces as do trans women. She finished by saying she would follow the debate more closely going forward and thanked me for raising it with her. She also offered to meet with me in person to discuss further, whether she gets elected or not.

I would seriously consider a vote based on that.

She is prepared to engage, says they are for the equality act exemptions (not sure if Lib dems are officially or not? Would be good to know).

I wouldn't blame anyone for not knowing about Self-ID. It has been very much presented politically as 'just paperwork'. What I do judge is people not then listening to concerns and questions and supporting debate.

Spoilt mine too. Annoyingly I hadn't seen the spoilt for women hashtag, so wrote no self id.

Thankfully have a good independent. But for the record Labour, it's almost the only time I've not voted for you and it was because of your unchecked misogyny.

I spoilt my vote too. I wrote a long explanation over the candidates names.

I don’t really care if anyone says “waste of a vote” - that seems silly as you could argue that about any single vote cast in a safe seat; the point for me is that I vote for the person who best represents my interests, regardless of tactical voting. I genuinely believe that’s no one at the moment and that’s the statement I made.

I’m a bit sad about it but I’ve made it clear to my MP why and also to the poor canvasser who called round last week and got an earful...

There were only 2 spoilt ballots in my ward - so perhaps they did get examined?