Advice on spoiling ballot

[JellySlice]

I'm firmly in favour of Remain.
I am also firmly Gender Critical.

Not only is there nobody I can vote for, but, as I am also in a firmly Conservative constituency, there is hardly any point in voting!

Is there a way to spoil my ballot that clearly demonstrates my inability to exercise my democratic rights?

But it's not just about self-ID. Self-ID is the worst of it ATM, but the GRA itself is bad law and redundant. It is not possible to change sex. Pretending that it is, legitimising that pretence and enforcing it upon others is harmful.

True, but I suppose I am thinking about what's currently on the table and what needs to be dealt with most urgently. The Lib Dems have said they're committed to pushing self-ID through if they get into power; I assume Labour would be similar. I just wonder how you would convey that the GRA is a bad law without leaving it open to interpretation that you think it needs reforming to make it easier to "change sex"?

@JellySlice
Perfect. I dont mind what I'm to write on my ballot. I would prefer enough of us to write the same/very similar thing. Try to not dilute the message. And happy to post my pic here too. For any brave roving reporters.

In terms of making a peaceful protest, I’m not convinced that ballot spoiling will have anything but fleeting impact, if that. Every election there are spoiled ballots, and they are simply a footnote, if they make the news at all. I don’t think - from a feminist point of view - I could sacrifice my sufferage, knowing what it took to get women a vote, and how our rights are suppressed in many countries. If you don’t like the other candidates then the logical way forward is to stand, yourself, but I know that’s not plausible for the majority of people. I agree that it’s bad to be faced with a set of options which aren’t good, but I can’t get over the fact that spoiling a ballot has as much heft as crying into the sea.

Then you avocadoze can vote for whatever party you like. This is how voting works. You disagree, ok. I see NO other choice.

how you would convey that the GRA is a bad law without leaving it open to interpretation that you think it needs reforming to make it easier to "change sex"?

On a spoiled ballot, I can't. But the GRA allows males to be redesignated as women. The fundamental issue is that males cannot be women. Humans cannot change sex and it is bad law to pretend that they have.

Hence why I think the important point is that TWAM, not that self-ID is even worse than the GRA.

spoiling a ballot has as much heft as crying into the sea.

So does casting any vote that does not support either Brexit or transgenderist ideology, in my constituency.

Spoiled ballots may be a teardrop in the ocean, but they do get counted and announced, just as votes for every party or independent get counted and announced.

Spoiling my ballot is still me exercising my hard-won democratic right to state a preference in the way our country is run. My preference in this election is "None of the above".

I think I'm going to go with "PROTECT WOMEN'S RIGHTS. TRANSWOMEN ARE MEN."

If I can fit in an additional "no self-ID" somewhere I will do.

I'm glad i read this thread because someone suggested emailing all the candidates asking them if they commit to protecting the sex based rights of women. I will do that.
I came on to say what many others have said, if you spoil your ballot, what you have done is Not Voted, just like the people who stayed at home.
If you want to make it a media issue, you need to get a lot of people in the same constituency to spoil in the same way. Because the nature of spoiled ballots aren't recorded - they might report 23 spoiled ballots, but no one knows how many say 'boris is a knob' or 'woman =adult human female'. But if they all say the same thing one of the candidates or aided might notice - there would have to be loooadds because they don't get close, they just hang around and glance at the vote counters. (I did this job and no one gave s shit about spoiled ballots, the candidates were all shattered and wanted to know if they could celebrate or go to bed!)

I am in a previously Tory safe seat but with a strong remain backing as well - south Cambs. Heidi Allen has gone to be replaced by Anthony Browne as the Tory candidate - previous aide to Johnson and has written some shockingly racist articles. Lib Dem’s have a chance with unite to remain. They were second last time. There are no independent candidates.

I am between spoiling my paper and voting Lib Dem. I have emailed our Lib Dem candidate re my self ID concerns but heard nothing yet. I don’t want to facilitate Browne getting in by spoiling my paper.

I spoiled my paper last time. It is awful that no mainstream party gives a shit about women’s rights.

Re the idea that a spoilt ballot is a wasted vote, so is a vote for a candidate you don't want! I'm going to quote two people who were much cleverer than me on this matter:

"A ballot is like a bullet. You don't throw your ballots until you see a target, and if that target is not within your reach, keep your ballot in your pocket." -- Malcolm X

"No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party who ignores her sex." -- Susan B. Anthony

No-showing at the polling station is taken as voter apathy and contentment with the status quo. Spoiling a ballot in a way that is clearly intentional shows voter dissatisfaction.

I don't want to waste my vote, but genuinely, who am I supposed to vote for? You know when you vote it is supposed to be for a party but honestly, there are none that are acceptable to me.

May I suggest that those of us who do spoil our ballots post pictures of them on this thread - just to assist any journalists who may wish to run with a story

From another thread on spoiling your ballot:

Be careful. Photography is not illegal in itself, but it may breach the rules on publicising information obtained in a polling station. That definitely includes taking a photo of a ballot's unique identity number (let alone publishing it globally by posting on the internet)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32451429

I still think publicising our actions by posting a picture is a good idea, but best to cover up the ident number before taking the photo.

Incumbent, Tory, vast majority, front bencher, not a chance he'll be ousted.

Alternatives? Labour, LD, Green. That's it. So I shall spoil my paper rather than not vote as I have too much respect for the women who won me the vote to do anything else.

As they announce the number of spoilt papers, I would have thought that if there's a large increase in that number then someone somewhere will notice and maybe even take an intererst.

I do know that when you don't vote it is taken to mean you are either satisfied with the stats quo or aren't interested in politics at all.

Neither is true for any of us on this thread, or on any of the other threads.

IF YOU DON'T VOTE YOU ARE SAYING YOU DON'T CARE EITHER WAY. If that isn't you but you can't vote for any of your candidates then spoil.

Please vote.

I live in a constituency which was Liberal/LibDem for over a century until 2010. The locally well-respected Tory who was elected then has now retired and I really don't like the look of the successor candidate. I left the LibDem party over their attitude towards women's rights, but they are the only possible contender to oust the Tories. Time to email their candidate (who was formerly a Tory) in the hope he hasn't swallowed the party line totally on this.

From another thread on spoiling your ballot:

May I suggest that those of us who do spoil our ballots post pictures of them on this thread - just to assist any journalists who may wish to run with a story

Be careful. Photography is not illegal in itself, but it may breach the rules on publicising information obtained in a polling station. That definitely includes taking a photo of a ballot's unique identity number (let alone publishing it globally by posting on the internet)

<a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32451429" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32451429

I still think publicising our actions by posting a picture is a good idea, but best to cover up the ident number before taking the photo.

Oops. Wrong thread.

Advice needed please. I can't bring myself to not vote or to vote for any of the three main parties. Will my vote count if I put a clear cross in the fourth candidate's box and write a clear No plus a gender critical message next to the other three candidates? My intention would be clear and I'd feel slightly better thinking that at least one person would have even glanced at my message.

I will need a very fine nib pen , plus a miracle as we're in a pretty safe Tory seat.

If you write a slogan or any other words on the ballot, your vote will not count. It is a spoilt ballot.
www.votenone.org.uk/how-to-vote-or-vote-none.html

If you want to vote for 'none' you have to do it in a specific way;
www.votenone.org.uk/protest_votes_count.html

I don’t need anyone to read my ballot past NONE and counting it in the spoiled pile. I have emailed all candidates about self ID plenty and had zero responses. I will be emailing them all to say I spoiled my vote and if anyone is willing to stand against self ID bill they will get my vote in future. If they don’t think about the huge % of votes they could grab if they only listened to women then that’s on them. The same way it’s the parties fault for note providing any choice for women, and it’s their fault that the tories are in and have done what they’ve done- that isn’t a failing of women who have no one to vote for.

Suffragettes would most definitely support all and any protest against self ID bills. Erasing the legal meaning of ‘women’ erases women’s right to vote on women’s issues. There is no way to evaluate women’s vote as a group on women’s issues because women will now always include men. There will be no way to evaluate how many women are mps there are, or which party supports women mps, or how those female mps vote in women’s issues, because women will now always include men. There is no way for women to form protest groups and discuss issues that effect us because of our shared experience because women will always include men. Erasing the legal definition of women causes all of the above. We can vote, but it won’t count unless it’s on men’s issues. So in other words we can return to our female socialised roles of putting the interests of our fathers, husbands and sons first, while we loose our political voice. Suffragettes will be turning in their graves at how women have welcomed in our erasure of the vote they got us.

‘If you write a slogan or any other words on the ballot, your vote will not count. It is a spoilt ballot.’

That is incorrect. The only criterion is whether you have made a clear choice .

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media/3906