Canvassing/Voting/Ballot Papers

[Furries]

Firstly, I have NEVER been canvassed on my doorstep by any of the political parties. This pisses me off! In my adult years, this is from living, for quite some time, in two very different parts of London. So, not a case of not living in either for long enough (ie moving on before voting year came round again). And now living semi-rural for almost 12 years.

So, I can probably safely assume that I won’t be canvassed again in the near future.

Come election time, I’m pondering what to do. IF I end up voting Tory, purely down to this issue, I’ve got a query.

If I put an X in the box for the Tory candidate, but write a statement on my paper along the lines of “This is a hostage vote - because all other parties cannot honestly answer what a woman is’. Will my vote count, or will it be classed as spoiled? I don’t want a spoiled vote to mean that someone else gets in by the back door!

Also, if my vote was counted, will my comment be fed back to the statistics/feedback for other parties? I feel like, if I am going to vote Tory, I want the other parties to realise WHY I’m doing so.

Am wondering if we can all devise a standard line to write on our ballot papers - so that it’s overwhelmingly obvious WHY women are voting a certain way. I’m worried that the Respect my sex won’t have much impact if MP’s aren’t replying in the lead up to elections. But if there was a standard caveat line that we all use on our ballot papers, maybe that could be quite powerful?

Will my vote count, or will it be classed as spoiled?

That depends. It's literally returning officer judgement. If your Tory X is clear and your statement isn't in any other boxes, my guess (from reading about how these decisions are made) would be yes.

Also, if my vote was counted, will my comment be fed back to the statistics/feedback for other parties?

No, not at all. If there is a debate about whether the vote counts then reps of each party may get a look.

Emailing your candidates and perhaps going to see your MP are far more powerful.

I have worked on local and national elections. Any potentially spoiled votes are put to one side and are examined during the count to establish if they are a genuine vote or not.
I would say that if you plan to write anything make sure it is in the bit that contains the candidate’s name and you clearly put an X in the box, as any other mark against another candidate will render your vote void.
All the candidates and the returning officer participate in this process so they will all see your comments.
Whether it makes an impact is another question.

What would happen in my city's elections would be that, at the count, your vote would be put in the 'query' pile by the vote counter, and passed to the Returning Officer (or one of the Deputies / presiding officers).

The Returning Officer then shows the queried votes in 'huddles' throughout the evening to the candidates and their agents. The aim is to seek agreement as to whether individual ballot papers are 'a clear intention to vote' or 'spoiled'.

So our RO might say, I'm minded to class this one, with a smiley face in the box next to one candidate's name only, as a clear intention to vote - do we all agree? Good. This one, on the other hand, is just a drawing of a cock and balls and I'm minded to say it's a spoiled ballot. Agreed?

This system also has the advantage that any messages are seen by Party candidates and agents, whether they be 'spoiled' or not. (English city.) They may or may not tell their local and national Party people about any repeated messages - but they certainly get seen.

I know you're not likely to get a doorstepper OP but Women Uniting have this crib sheet to ask canvassers - just thought it might be useful.

women-uniting.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/RespectMySex-doorstep-questions.pdf

I've never been canvassed and it's baffling, very marginal seat ld/tory.