Spoiled ballots?

[Binglebong]

As far as I can see there is no point to the election on Thursday - the MEPs will have nothing to do wish I'd stood. So I am seriously considering using it as an opportunity to spoil my ballot with Woman - Adult Human Female.

Any thoughts?

I saw some TRAs getting very cross on twitter about an adult human female spoilt ballot......

I am conflicted. On one hand I want to tell political parties just what I think of their utter failure to stand up for women's rights and the safety of children and scrawling that on a ballot paper seems momentarily satisfying. On the other hand, Brexit is so awful I want to send a clear message to the Labour party and Tories that they are both equally culpable for the shitstorm of Brexit - and I fear that any spoilt papers will be ignored.
Of course, if it makes the TRAterati froth for a few minutes then that diverts them a bit from their usual misogynistic attacks on women I suppose?

I'm in two minds. I was thinking of a protest vote but then what if Brexit is cancelled, or just drags on and on we might actually need MEPs there to represent us?

Brexit is so awful I want to send a clear message to the Labour party and Tories that they are both equally culpable for the shitstorm of Brexit

How will you do this with your vote? Genuine question, because I want to do it too!

VOte for one of the other parties if you want to express dissatisfaction at Brexit handling .

If you are remain you can find out which is the best party to vote for in your area.

Personally I am voting green because Tory and labour are rubbish, the vote is about Brexit alone in reality, and our local greens do accept that there are limits to the transwomen are women line that need to be addressed up front , whereas the local Lib Dem’s want to tackle problems if/when they arise. So the greens would support private gender neutral facilities whereas the Lib Dem’s woule only consider that after assaults. SO green is my best anti Brexit option

If you spoil your paper they won’t take much notice but Will assume it support some their narrative in some way

I'm not going to spoil my ballot paper. This election is a chance to send a message to the UK's political parties that there are still a lot of us who want to stay in the EU. So I'm going to hold my nose and vote LibDem.

I almost certainly wouldn't do that in a general election. I live in a constituency with a huge Labour majority and I can't see that changing any time soon. I will vote on principle in the GE and that means nobody who represents a party that struggles with basic biology will get my vote. If there's no suitable candidate then I might spoil my paper.

However, the Euro elections have a different voting system so my vote makes more of a difference.

As others have said Bernard - By voting Lib Dem or Green rather than my normal Labour. But I can't decide which of the two is less misogynist / destructive in terms of women's rights / children's safety.

This website gives information on tactical voting if you're a remain voter
www.remainvoter.com/

Thanks for that flintyminty. I was either going to hold my nose and vote LibDem or vote Change UK. That link steers me to Change UK which I can live with.

If I'm not going to vote LibDem I might respond to Vince Cable's leaflet and tell him why his party doesn't attract my vote these days.

I’m spoiling but I have made A Vow in the name of Emily Wilding Davison not to vote until someone knows what a bloody woman is.

But I understand that loads of people care more about Brexit than me. I’m sure Emily would understand in that case

I feel the same- torn. This vote will not alter Brexit so I think I will spoil my ballot in the way you suggest.

First of all, there’s every point in voting on Thursday. We may be leaving the EU, but observers will be watching to see how the country votes and the immediate future of politics in this country will be affected accordingly.

If we vote for the Brexit or UKIP parties, the UK will be assumed to want hard right politics and politicians. We’ll see more of them in the media; other political parties will move to the right because that’s where they think the votes are to be had.
Those MEPs will also be claiming their salaries, expenses and pensions, of course, which gives them more money to back their parties and promote their beliefs.

If those parties lose their MEPs, the UK will be seen as not supporting the views of those parties.

Spoiling your ballot, as I’ve said elsewhere on this board, is a complete waste of time. No-one who matters will know why you’ve spoilt it; they’ll care even less.

These people who encourage us not to vote, or to spoil our ballots - they actually want to stop you voting against their favoured candidate.
Doing either of these things is simply an extra vote towards a candidate or Party you probably despise.

Normally I don't agree with spoiling a ballot, as people have said who notices? But at the last election there were a lot of images of spoilt ballots (showing how they were spoilt) and the numbers were recorded. So for once they did get seen and can make a difference.

And upsetting poor delicate little TRAs is always a plus.

This is a pretty important vote.
Vote a remain party if you want to remain.
Brexit Party if you want a hard leave.
Or maybe Labour if you think you can do both at the same time!
Brexit is still a huge unresolved issue and this is a chance to express your view whatever it is.

Spoilt ballot papers get put in a pile with blank papers and ones where someone has drawn a smiley face instead of a cross in the box and ones where someone’s voting intention is not crystal clear (and cross or a tick in one box).

They are then sorted and the ones which look like the person intended to vote for one party, but didn’t just cross or tick are shown to the candidates to decide whether they will accept them as a vote or not.

So if you put your cross in a box next to your chosen candidate and wrote on the paper as well, I think this would mean that the candidates would look at (and read if it was short) your ballot paper and decide if it counted as a vote. What you wrote could cause the candidates not to accept it though.

there were a lot of images of spoilt ballots
Why would the bbc have done that? What could they have been encouraging?

Sorry, but spoiling a ballot paper for an election like this, with actual sexist and racist fascists standing for election is pissing on the graves of the sufragettes, not to mention the women and men who made sure we've had 70 years of relative peace and human rights in the EU.

The recommendation in the East’s of England is to vote for the Green Party.

Currently weighing up spoiling my paper vs voting green. What a mess.

I'm in the same boat wrt Greens who have a serious problem with anti semitic previous too. But Politics is the art of the possible.

One spoilt paper could green light another bp man as an MEP to join with the other tiny motley crew of right wing men in the EU parliament.

there were a lot of images of spoilt ballots
Why would the bbc have done that? hmm What could they have been encouraging?

Sometimes a news story is...a news story. And all the media were covering it so if they all had an agenda, and given bias is claimed in so many different directions, I think they pretty much cancel each other out.

I do not agree with any of the political parties. A protest vote requires not only the negative of voting against a party but a positive of voting for. And as the monster raving lunatics no longer appear to be in action the only way to make it clear that you are voting against all of the parties is a spoilt ballot.

And if you're going to spoil it at least make it clear why.

Please vote. We have had flyers through our door from Tommy Robinson and you can guarantee his voters will be out in force. If only to stop the fascist far right for claiming they represent the will of the people, use your vote.

I spoiled my ballot in the recent local elections, as did 30,000+ other people throughout the country. And I'll do it again, until the time when I can vote with heart again.

In the forthcoming euro-elections I think I'm going to vote for Change UK - if they are on the ballot that is. I do, think, however, that the pro remain vote is going to be seriously split - and the turn-out extremely low. In my constituency, at the local elections, the turn-out was just 27.5%, and I suspect on Thursday it will be even lower.

is pissing on the graves of the sufragettes

Hyperbole and emotional blackmail just don't cut it, I'm afraid. People should turn up ( out of respect to those that have gone before) and vote, or spoil, as they feel appropriate or meaningful for themselves.

Spoiling a ballot paper is green lighting them.

This is too important an election for faux protests.

Voting is a very hard one and recent privilege for women particularly.

Millions of EU/UK women have been deliberately disenfranchised and desperate to vote.

This action of spoiling ballot papers is being encouraged by the far right.

I was thinking of spoiling my ballot but after reading this thread I will vote for a remain party this time.
Roll on the general election when I will be writing 'suck a lady dick, woman= adult human female'