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

I spoilt mine with the very sophisticated "fuck self-ID with your lady penis"
Not exactly Shakespeare but I think I made my point.

I've just had a Green party person knock on the door.

Him: Just reminding you to vote
Me: Done it.
Him: Can I ask if you voted Green?
Me: No, I didn't.

Him: Can I ask why?
Me: Because Greens support Self ID
Him: Oh. What's Self ID?

At this point I'm thinking "You have pink and blue hair. You are humouring me" then "hmm, maybe he doesn't know. How do I explain Self ID in 30s?! "

So after a bit of "Do you really not know what Self ID is?" it came out as a garbled...
Me: It's throwing women under a bus. You need to look it up. It's mixing up sex and gender, and will have all sorts of consequences.
Him: Oh. I didn't know about that.
Me: Really?! You need to read your manifesto.
Him (sheepishly): Did you vote Labour then?
Me: No. I spoilt my ballot paper.

I'm quite surprised at how shocked he looked. Poor lad. Thought I was going to have to make him a cup of tea to recover.

Bad many of them do it by choice and get paid. Quite well. I nearly did it but DH Xmas work do meant I couldn't leave DD.

I’ve spoilt my vote. It was that or not voting at all, as for personal reasons I cannnot vote for either Conservative or Labour this election. And I felt unable to give my protest vote to LD or Greens due to their views on women. I live in a strong Tory constituency anyway.

I crossed it out and put None, Protect women’s sex based rights. It was also very quiet and empty, so they could definitely hear my pencil scratching on the paper!

What an absolute waste of fucking time!

Remember not everyone on the internet is who they say they are and have a think about who has a vested interest in stopping women on a website known to lean to the left from voting.

Spoilt mine, for the first time.

But I live in a really safe seat so whatever I vote makes no difference anyway. It still felt radical though! I wrote a big fat 'NONE' across the paper, then 'protect women's sex-based rights' underneath. I would have written more but I was the only one there and the scratch of my pencil was deafening!

I texted DH that I felt like a suffragette

Remember not everyone on the internet is who they say they are and have a think about who has a vested interest in stopping women on a website known to lean to the left from voting.

I'm beginning to wonder who might have a vested interest in stopping women doing protest votes.

Spoilt mine. Easy peasy. Fairly empty and they may have realised but they can't do anything.
Also got a photo which I will post when I've redacted.
maidenover or anyone else who wants to tell women what to do with their vote - Who exactly do you think you are? And who do you think we are? Many of us have been on here for years trying to find another way. This is now our choice. Not yours.

Remember not everyone on the internet is who they say they are and have a think about who has a vested interest in stopping women on a website known to lean to the left from voting.

Same goes for you, mate. Except with a vested interest in stopping women from not voting Labour.

Hmm! Not sure what the Suffragette movement would make of women spoiling their ballot papers.

I think they’d tell you to grow up.

You’ve got the privilege of voting...so vote ffs. Choose the least worst option or at least vote tactically,

There’s times of protesting and this isn’t one of them. They will just chuck your vote slip in the bin. What a waste of your time and theirs.

Thanks for the advice regarding space invaders in polling booths.

To those who come on here to scold, belittle and educate us, give up the lecture.

The title of the thread is clear and perhaps it is YOU who should examine your own motives and why you are so keen to berate anybody who says no to voting in self ID.

*Hmm! Not sure what the Suffragette movement would make of women spoiling their ballot papers.

I think they’d tell you to grow up.*

Hmm...I disagree. I think they'd be proud. There was so much propaganda around (like this thread) that they could see through pathetic attempts to discredit their actions.

They were dubbed Panks as a derogatory term. It was an early version of TE*F

spoilt with green and purple sharpie. similar to first one.

Partner says he'll do the same.

Believe or not women are pretty good at reading tone when we trust our guts. It’s why we can spot the awa a mile away. We can also go through each other’s post histories and see what we’ve been saying on this subject and others for the last five + yrs. I very much doubt an awa is going to spend that many years arguing against self ID just to be able to persuade women to spoil their ballot in this election. #conspiracytheorist

What would the suffragettes say about people who try to tell women how to vote? Hmm?
I'm 60 years old. I don't have to grow up. Thanks, I'm good.

I took a sticker with me, which I was glad about because I was the only person in there.
The people counting were having a conversation about spoilt ballots whilst I was in there, apparently only one before mine and that was just a mistake.
I'm wondering if they can take mine straight out and see how I voted?

Don't worry - It would be so highly illegal to interfere with a ballot box.

The people counting were having a conversation about spoilt ballots whilst I was in there, apparently only one before mine and that was just a mistake.
I'm wondering if they can take mine straight out and see how I voted?

How could they possibly know that? The box is supposed to be locked until it is taken to and opened at the count after the polling station closes. What exactly did they say?

There’s no least worst option (not sure least worst makes sense either?). Every option is erase women’s rights, there’s no ‘take away all women’s rights’ ‘take away lots of women’s rights’ and ‘take away some women’s rights’. It’s just complete erasure from all options.

I can't go until a bit later but I've made & printed a sticker to attach to my paper.

Some Labour supporters turned up in my doorstep the other day & I was fascinated that the man seemed to take charge of the conversation about women's rights while the woman stood there almost silent, other than to express surprise that I wasn't convinced by Labour's support for women. The man had the front to patronisingly tell me that "the trans issue is just one small issue & there's some really big things going on..." It was at that point that I realised I'd left a pan on the hob for the last 10 minutes that was supposed to be stirred frequently or I'd have pointed out that I'd said I was concerned about women's rights, not "the trans issue", & that I didn't consider policies that put 50% of the population at an increased risk of sexual violence to be "a small issue."

They didn't even know what the party policy was on another "small issue" that's very important to me.

The people counting were having a conversation about spoilt ballots whilst I was in there, apparently only one before mine and that was just a mistake.

They'd only know that if the person who spoiled it told them they'd spoiled it, which if they did by accident - as it sounds - they could well have done, perhaps to ask for a new paper. The polling station staff will have no idea how many spoiled ballots have gone into the ballot box.

Spoiled mine this morning. We only had 3 candidates as the greens threw their lot in with the LDs. So the paper was tiny - I prepared 3 stickers, written in purple and green, with #sex not gender #no to self ID, and the quote from Susan Anthony. They completely covered the candidates names but not the boxes, which I put a line straight through.

I had an email from the LD candidate at 7am telling me it's now or never. I emailed back, suggesting he reads the other emails I've sent him about why I won't be voting for them, and recommending he looks at the spoiled papers at the count.

Then at 4.30 this afternoon an oldish bloke in a dodgy hat, yellow scarf and rosette was on the doorstep asking me if I'd voted! I told him I spoiled and he asked why....
Reader, I told him

And here's a preemptive "Sod off" to anyone who'd like to tell me how naughty I've been today

@TiredofthisBS not saying you have to vote but if you don’t like any then don’t vote. Nobody is forcing anyone to vote just not to be an idiot and draw all over a piece of paper thinking it makes a difference.

And for those swearing on their papers, nobody should have to read that especially not the people helping out.

Women had to fight for a right to vote! Voting means picking a party not thinking you are clever by writing stuff nobody will see.

What would the suffragettes Think?
There's a picture that's been shared on here loads of suffragettes holding a banner
"No self respecting woman should wish or work for a party that ignores her sex"
As a self respecting woman, I couldn't in good conscience vote for any of the parties on offer, all of which are going to throw women under the bus at the first opportunity in one way or the other. So no.

*I think they’d tell you to grow up.

You’ve got the privilege of voting...so vote ffs. Choose the least worst option or at least vote tactically,*

I did vote. I took my toddler out in the pouring rain and marked my ballot paper. If there had been a none-of-the-above box I would have put a cross next to that one. We don't do that in the UK so I freestyled. And tactical voting only works in marginal constituencies.