Coordinating spoilt ballots

[Binglebong]

I know there is a thread about have you spoilt your ballot but this is slightly different.

I'm trying to hold my nose and vote for someone but there is not a single potential MP in my constituency who does not disgust me. I don't want to vote Reform or someone as a protest as it might be seen that they have more support than they do. So the liklihood is that I will spoil my vote.

I know spoilt votes only really get looked at if there is a huge number or if the vote is close. But just in case I was wondering if it is worth having the same thing written on all of them to show that it is a massive issue that is losing them votes. What would you suggest (if you think it is a good idea).
Respect my sex if you want my X is a good one but is it the best?

This is true. The reason why staying at home is a bad idea is explained in this. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1808637781138129244.html

I wrestled with my conscience all the way to the polling station.

Spoilt my ballot.

And made it clear why.

This (drawing of male genitalsl) isn't This (female symbol)

but there is a record of spoiled ballots - nobody here is seriously thinking that someone is assiduously writing down what is on the spoiled ballots. 🙄

Someone i know has written "Don't vote, the government will get in" and made sure to put something in each box.

Even if just one person reads the comments on spoiled ballots it all helps in banishing the idea that it is a total non issue. That one person may well tell other people the sorts of things that they saw written on spoiled ballots.

I stuck three ( very 'middle class' 😉)stickers on my ballot which obscured totally all the candidate boxes, and also wrote in red felt tip " Women have dignity too".

The stickers say 'Transwomen are men: women require single sex spaces, services and sports for their dignity, comfort and safety'

Imagine a very close vote in a constituency, and a big pile of spoilt ballots in the corner, and a candidate thinking I would have won if those ballots had been for me.........

No Balls in Women's drawers?
No Penis is a Venus?

Sorry I'm not very good at this. I'm just going for Sex Matters for Women's rights

I think getting the women's rights issue over is very important however you do it.

Though the number who thinks a penis is female I think my slogan will be quite clear!

That said I am so cross not even any of the independents mentioned it (all male) so I have no choice. Gutted as this is my second time spoiling my ballot. Doesn't feel positive in any way

If it makes you feel better, voting for an independent with no chance is a bit like a wasted vote - similar to spoiling it?

I voted Green until this shit show. So, in a way I've been spoiling my vote all along...

I don't want anyone thinking that I haven't considered long and hard how to vote.
I've emailed 3 candidates and had responses from all of them (two of them could have been cloned).

Since I was among the first batch of 18-year olds eligible to vote I haven't missed a single one. I have no allegiance to any particular party, although my inclination has always been liberal.

Today though, no cross for anyone.
Instead "Woman = adult human female, so if you want my X respect my sex", which I think about covers it.

I've spoiled my ballot. I wrote 'no' in all the boxes and 'Respect my sex if you want my X' across the paper.

Sharpie or pencil? 😁

I couldn't work it out. I very much wanted to vote Labour, and I wrote twice to the Labour candidate. He could have been worse, but he wouldn't give me a commitment to clarifying the Equality Act, and he touted the confused party/manifesto line on a conversions practices ban. I couldn't call whether to give him a chance or not. So I put a cross in his box, and I also wrote next to it, "Women's rights matter; women's access to single-sex spaces and provisions matters." I think that means they'll have a bit of a quarrel over whether it's a valid vote or not. You're not supposed to write anything other than your X on the paper, but counters are told that if the voter's intention is clear, they should count it. I think it'll end up being contested in my very marginal constituency, which means it'll get seen. As I absolutely couldn't decide whether to vote Labour or to not vote/spoil my paper (there was no other candidate I would want to vote for) I think this was the best I could do.

That's pretty clever.

Same boat here.

Thanks BinkyBeaufort that summed it up very eloquently - have used it too, but with an X placed such that it will take an effort to decide if it's a valid choice

Sharpie, took it with me specially!

I've debated long and hard about what to do over the last few days. My constituency was a fairly safe Conservative seat in the last election but with boundary changes and a Reform candidate predicted to take a significant part of the Tory vote it's much less predictable and I didn't feel good about simply spoiling my ballot.

So I put a clear cross in the Tory's box and also attached some middle class stickers 😉in purple and green over the other candidates's names saying 'Respect my sex if you want my X' and 'Woman = Adult Human Female'.

As you are not supposed to write anything on your paper this should mean that it'll get debated about whether it's a valid vote or not but, if it comes to it, my intentions are clear and my vote will count.

@morningtoncrescent62 That seems like a very good solution in your circumstances.

I'm in what should be a Conservative safe seat and cannot bring myself to vote for anyone. I've just sat down with a box of self-adhesive address labels and have made myself a variety of stickers to take to the polling station this afternoon to spoil my paper. I'll decide which to use when I get there. The women's symbols, large ones, in neon pink highlighter and the suffragette colours are very visible.

Yup, happily I had purple and green highlighters. Did nice big capitals. Tucked my labels into my waistband so no suspicious faffing with a bag or pocket that might get the polling station staff coming over to the polling booth.

Ha, like minds @morningtoncrescent62 !

Even if just one person reads the comments on spoiled ballots it all helps in banishing the idea that it is a total non issue. That one person may well tell other people the sorts of things that they saw written on spoiled ballots.

This is what I think. If you cast a vote, then no one takes any notice of it because it is just one vote of thousands. So except in very marginal constituencies a single vote has no impact. But if you spoil a ballot, one person will read it, which is one more than you'd have reached if you'd put a cross next to someone's name.

That's exactly what I thought RoyalCorgi. There's a very interesting AMA at the moment in which presiding officers and tellers at the count describe what happens to the ballot papers.

Ooh, that's an interesting approach.

I went with respect my sex if you want my X and put something vaguely cross like in each box to increase the chance of it being examined.waves to local counter who recognises the description Really impressed by what some of you have done.