Spoilt votes - post them here so that the parties/papers can see them

[MrsFogi]

I know there is a split of opinion about spoiling ballots vs voting for the least bad option.

If you do decide to spoil your ballot it feel free to post a photo of it here (be careful not to include any information that identifies you and in particular not to include the ballot's unique identification number) in case any of our loitering journalists wish to pick up the story or in the hope of giving the parties/candidates some pause for thought.

In case it is of interest (and you want a place to post your views for/against spoiling ballots), there have been a number of threads about spoiling ballots, a few links below:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3751902-Spoiling-my-ballot?pg=2 www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3749890-Can-we-talk-spoiling-ballots-again-sorry
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3743237-advice-on-spoiling-ballot
Advice on Spoiling your vote

And I'll kick things off with my postal vote. With hindsight I should have used a slightly darker purple sharpie.

This time with attachment!

I'll be spoiling too. I feel it's a worthy way of protesting. And living in an ultra safe Tory shire seat that voted heavily to Leave the EU, I have the luxury of knowing it'll make bugger all difference. If I was in a marginal, this would be very hard. But like most voters who live in safe seats my vote means nothing. A protest makes me feel better and better than just abstaining.

It is advised not to take photos inside a pollng station so those who do so need to be careful.

MrsFogi you live in my constituency!

Not sure if you contacted the candidates. I have met with Bob Neill MP (Con) before, and he gets it. I also had a great written response from Angela Wilkins (Lab) who said she found the issue difficult but recognised the threats to women and girls that TWAW/self-ID posed. Interesting.

Admire your bravery.

I'll be spoiling. There is no one I can vote for.

I wrote " women dont have penises " on the last one

waves small world that’s my home town

Hi MacaroonMama - glad I’m not the only GC woman in the village! Yes I have contacted the candidates - I agree Bob does get it - but there is then the minor issue of Brexit, the others felt more like they were offering platitudes.

I think I've finally decided to spoil.

I live in one of the most marginal seats (less than 50 votes in it at the last election, where the previous Tory MP lost his seat.)

It's an agonising choice. I've written to my Labour MP several times over the past couple of years about the GRA and her responses have been of the 'TWAW, lalala, fingers in my ears, can't hear your science-based arguments transphobe' variety. In other parliamentary and constituency business she has been extremely lacklustre and I simply can't bring myself to vote for her, never mind Corbyn and the momentum misogynists. Had almost decided to vote Tory, because the close margin here means its a case of voting for one to keep the other out, but my conscience won't let me. Not for Brexit, not for the NHS, not for austerity: I cannot live for the next 4 years with the knowledge that I endorsed and enabled their arrogance and casual, systemic cruelty. LibDems aren't in the race here, but the idea of voting for them as a GC woman is laughable anyway.

And so NONE is my considered and extremely reluctant response. I have not come to the decision lightly and can hardly believe it's actually come to this.

I've spoiled - although TBH, even outside of this issue, none of the people standing were people I would want to vote for - and I tried really hard to find something to redeem the independent at least (well, the real independent. The ex-tory independent was irredeemable for many, many reasons).

Nothing happens when you spoil. Literally nothing.

Oh fgs. This is like a silly teenage club.

It does make sense to post them here however, at least you can all pat yourselves on the back.

Literally no one apart from you is going to give a flying fuck.

Nobody

Like nothing happens when i vote anything. I am in a safe labour seat - it will make no difference to the outcome whatever I vote but for my conscience and the slight hope that a few people will see it and take note, i intend to spoil. You do what you want with your vote and i'll do what i want with mine.

I intend to spoil.

I think a list of us who do, respecting confidentiality, would be a great idea (and I asked a bit about this last week).

Dunno if fair play for women or any of the other groups might be worth suggesting that to. If it was something a website was willing to collect info (even if not necessarily accurate due to usernames or similar confidentiality) of all women country wide who are doing this then we could send it round to parties and say look at all the votes you are missing out on. If a group was willing to collect this info then links about telling them you are/do spoilt your ballot could be posted on twitter etc

If it’s known that spoiling our ballot was to count for more in this way then maybe more women would use their voice this way.

Oh and for the record I’m spoiling my ballot (with the traditional NONE) not because I think it will do anything but because I can’t vote for any candidate here as they all support erasing women’s rights. There is no lesser evil and I won’t not vote. Like a poster said on another thread it’s about personal and political integrity. It will be counted, it will show I want to vote, but that no candidate offers any choice.

That doesn’t add up to anything currently. It would be great if it could, if someone would collect this info and use it for us. I think it could count then. In the meantime I will spoil my ballot and email all candidates as to why. (And I’ve emailed them all previously about this).

Voting there is not mandatory - or is it? If not, a spoiled ballot would mean more than sImply not voting.

It doesn't count for anything.
It's immature and a waste of your privelige.

It equates with saying 'well I can't change anything so I'll just do nothing' and acceding to the majority in your area without a fight.

People who count the votes just chuck spoiled papers in the bin. They are not running off to the party leaders in a frenzy whilst fanning themselves with a bunch of spoiled votes and crying out that Something Must Be Done.

See to me it equates with saying “all options have treated me with contempt, so I vote for none of them.” I can understand the predicament. Each to their own.

My DH counts votes.
From what's been written on that spoiled vote, they would "award" it to any female candidates on that card.
Counters are told to see if there's any type of pretences, if not they get shredded.

I couldn't disagree more with your post Home2018

The political situation at the moment is shambolic. A vast number of people are voting tactically in one way or another, and so their voices - the things they actually want and need - are not being represented. They are voting for what they don't want, and for what they see as least worst. For those of us who don't see that there is a least worst, who cannot go against conscience, instinct and integrity and actively endorse any party, the only option is to show up at the polls and register that position.

Literally no one apart from you is going to give a flying fuck.

I don't think that's true. I think, if a significant number of people take the decision to get themselves to a polling booth and spoil their ballot papers, politicians should give a fuck about the fact that they have alienated an engaged electorate by spectacularly failing to represent their views.

Literally no one apart from you is going to give a flying fuck

Sure seems to bother you, though.

It's immature and a waste of your privelige

I think it is you that needs to grow up.....You can vote for that with which you are in profound disagreement with if you think that makes you grown -up. Others will choose to act on their own conscience.

It’s a democratic protest.

Imho voting for any candidate who will wipe out women’s rights is an abuse of your privilege. Because that’s what making ‘women’ and opt in catagory means. Women’s vote as group on women’s issues will forever be a meaningless term now. Once self ID bill is past then any democratic power women as a group have is gone, as every women’s discussion, women’s group, women’s issue will now be meaningless as it will always include men, so erases our shared reality, our voice and our sex based protections.

It is most definitely immature and reckless to heckle women about how we are partaking in the democratic process.

There are so many other reasons for spoiling too......lots!

It's immature and a waste of your privelige.

I would argue that being an elected Member of Parliament is a privilege, and dismissing the views of a large number of the people you seek to represent, and supporting policies that will disadvantage them is the bigger waste of privilege.