Local elections how to spoil ballot?

[sessell]

I've always voted, even in local elections. However, as a GC lefty I am stuck. Our labour council are generally good, but the local candidate is an avowed, authoritarian TRA, though her promotional materials don't mention that, just standing up for women! I have seen her on FB laying into a GC woman and bragging about protesting outside a Woman's Place event . I really don't want to support them into a position where they could decimate single-sex spaces. Similarly greens, and lib-dems. I can't vote Tory for their cruelty. So I am left with spoiling my ballot. I'll write something like 'sex not gender identity in local politics.' But I wondered if any others are in the same position and if we could coordinate a slogan. It's a small protest, but candidates do read all spoiled ballots.

Hm, I used to agree, HPFA, but we need a sensible PR system. Here in Scotland we have a voting system that most people really can't and don't understand. (I've read several things that explain it and still can't fully get my head round it) (modified D'Hondt, if anyone is wondering). Electoral systems need to be easily understandable for the average person.

I already said I am involved in encouraging people to get out and vote that don't usually.

I am not harassing anyone, but I am not going to say nothing to people who think they're taking a morally superior position in defence of women, which is likely to have negative consequences for vulnerable women.

Now I have work to do, so I am going to leave the thread, but I really hope anyone lurking on the thread considers what I've said. Do look on your local social media and do ask questions. Don't focus on broad questions do focus on the exact details of local issues. That's where you can have an impact and create real change.

Again, though we're back to you feeling your views on this matter are more important than whether or not services that vulnerable women area in your area rely on exist in four years time

Some services for vulnerable women will no longer exist if they become mixed sex. So yes, this is important, its not a niche issue, it impacts 51% of the population.

Things that are controlled at a local (rather than county) level:
Environmental health
Housing
Leisure
Local tax collection
Planning applications
Waste collection

Children's centres and refuge funding are not controlled by local councils so it's rather disingenuous of you to imply that they are @SushiGo

I've spoiled my ballot after lengthy deliberation and exchanging messages with my party's local candidate. I couldn't vote for them in good conscience. I really don't feel good about this (pretty depressed / nauseated, actually), but here we are.

Just to correct that- it depends what elections you have today and your council structure. In my ward we are voting for Unitary Council today (which does everything a district and county council do in other areas)

So not disingenuous at all.

Not true. They do get read. All the spoilt papers get put in a pile and have to be agreed by all parties that the paper is spoilt. I've seen everything from "don't know enough about the candidates" to "cunt" on a ballot paper (I've been involved in the count). Messages can be helpful.

Absolutely.

I don't know why some posters keep denying this happens, when it does.

The people who get to see the messages are the candidates (often people who are already councillors), their agents (usually active in the local party), and the returning officer (a senior council officer).

Maybe the 'deniers' are aware of some counts are so badly and illegally run that proper process doesn't take place but such instances must be vanishing rare. A bit Dunny-on-the-Wold.

I relate, Auld - I am feeling just like that. I haven't gone yet but my Lab candidate in fact forwarded a tweet with the petulant letter to Charity Comission regarding LGBA, and Greens and LibDems have sold their collecttive souls years back (and are not really in the contest), so will likely spoil... at least it seems I don't have to agonize much about what to write as unlikely to be read or remembered by many.

I can read thank you, someone up thread who stood for a seat didn’t see the spoiled papers, an other did and clocked UKIP was written. In these examples what good did it do?

Someone casts a cursory eye over your spoiled ballot paper and moves on to the next job in hand. That’s hardly campaigning and won’t make the slightest difference to how your local government is run - a wasted vote

@SushiGo

Please don't, so many local services that women and children rely on are reliant on Councillors not being useless.

Please, please vote for whoever is the best of the bunch. There may be independent options if you don't want to vote for a particular party.

This! Absolutely this!

Didn't you watch the Jackie Weaver clip of abusive men shouting their views? Did none of you read her article where she states that so many white older men are councillors? It's because people don't bother to vote them out.

They're making decisions that benefit their own pockets and those of their mates.
If you decide to waste your vote in this way, don't complain when the local beauty spot is concreted over by development companies, women's and children's services are withdrawn, your car is damaged by potholes in the road. All those things have happened in my area thanks to County Council decisions.

All of the candidates in my area are white men, every single one. It makes no difference how I vote.

They're making decisions that benefit their own pockets and those of their mates.

That's Labour out in Liverpool then

My choice was TWAW, TWAW, TWAW (and here's a justification from Mermaids), and the Tories. No independents or other options. I work in a setting where TWAW non-compliance could well cost me my job and my peace of mind. I hope then that you'll forgive me from being unable to cast a positive vote.

I genuinely don't understand why people keep saying no one looks at spoiled ballots.

If it is unclear who you have voted for, Then they are absolutely looked at by either the candidates or their agents, as part of the process of deciding who the vote is for.

DH is an MP so I’ve been to a fair few counts and seen it happening.

Yes. They look to see if the marks on the paper can be construed as a valid vote for someone.

They are not paying attention to his it's been spoiled, and no record is made of marks on the paper that is not considered a vote.

See the link above on guidance to (A)ROs

It really isn't an effective way to protest, though that's no reason not to do it if you feel strongly that you want to.

I've voted in every election since I was 18, including from abroad and the many years I regularly moved around rental addresses in London, making an active effort to stay on the electoral register.

Mostly I've sighed, gritted my teeth and voted for the least worst candidate. This is just no longer good enough. Least worst is still actively shit.

I'm also done with people telling me I'm "wasting my vote". Previously this was because I dared to vote outside the Labour/Tory two party tedium (grew up in the West Country and used to have a lot of respect for the LibDems). I've been told (aggressively) that not voting Labour, is just as bad as voting Tory.

Women protested, suffered and died for my right to vote. I take it seriously, but not to the point of voting for the slightly less dangerous idiot in a parade of chancers. That is supporting a broken system.

I'm going for Binface/Animal Welfare in London Mayor, and Adult Human Female in locals.

Thank you but none of you have raised anything that I haven't already thought about.
I do find it interesting though how, even in the ballot box, women are harangued like disobedient children and told that our personal feelings should not matter.

That was not directed at you Beowulfa

I won't vote for the lesser evil, on account that it's still evil and when things inevitably start happening that I don't like, I can't moan because I gave them the power knowingly.
So my two options are: not voting at all or spoiling my ballot. Be angry at the system that's put us in this situation, not at the people left with no choice.
And I wrote to my openly GC labour representative (not from this election) and received radio silence. That tells me what I need to know.

Women protested, suffered and died for my right to vote. I take it seriously, but not to the point of voting for the slightly less dangerous idiot in a parade of chancers

Can we get this on a sticker excellently put

@LatteToday

I genuinely don't understand why people keep saying no one looks at spoiled ballots.

If it is unclear who you have voted for, Then they are absolutely looked at by either the candidates or their agents, as part of the process of deciding who the vote is for.

DH is an MP so I’ve been to a fair few counts and seen it happening.

That isn't what people are saying. The tellers look at every ballot paper and the spoiled papers are put in their own pile.

The presiding officer will look at them to determine if the tellers' decision is correct and some presiding officers read out not only the total of spoiled papers but group them into different categories.

If the result is close and/ or there are more spoiled ballots than the number between the winning candidate and the next highest then the candidates will want to scrutinise spoiled ballots to see if they can be allocated. Although if it's that close it's likely to be a recount.

Spoil them if you want but don't kid yourself you're making a great stand for democracy.

What democracy? I have no one to vote for.

Women protested, suffered and died for my right to vote. I take it seriously, but not to the point of voting for the slightly less dangerous idiot in a parade of chancers.

For those people suggesting I vote for the least worse option, that'd be the conservatives.
Unfortunately, they don't have a great disability track record, even at our local level. I would be betraying ds to vote for them.
But if I vote Labour, Lib Dems or greens I betray other people's daughters.

So is there a mystery third option I haven't thought of? As far as I can see it's don't vote, spoil my ballot or send yet more letters to be ignored.

@LadyBuffOfBuffdonia

I won't vote for the lesser evil, on account that it's still evil and when things inevitably start happening that I don't like, I can't moan because I gave them the power knowingly. So my two options are: not voting at all or spoiling my ballot. Be angry at the system that's put us in this situation, not at the people left with no choice. And I wrote to my openly GC labour representative (not from this election) and received radio silence. That tells me what I need to know.

Yeees, I do see your point.

But not voting is voting, in a sense.

I plan to use 'I bloody voted for you!' as fuel for when I start pestering my MSPs.

Didn't you watch the Jackie Weaver clip of abusive men shouting their views? Did none of you read her article where she states that so many white older men are councillors? It's because people don't bother to vote them out

the JW clip illustrated very well why so few women are keen to get involved.