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 an important battle that is not nearly over.

Don't delude yourself that applies ballots are going to make a bit of difference.

It's going to take more than that.

Labour have a lot of seats but a very fragile vote share. They have vulnerabilities and a lot of campaigning is going to be needed but this spoiled ballot paper stuff is naive and ineffective.

Not the time to be applauding it when it's achieve squat all.

Excuse the dreadful typos

Labour have a lot of seats but a very fragile vote share. They have vulnerabilities and a lot of campaigning is going to be needed but this spoiled ballot paper stuff is naive and ineffective.

Maybe you haven't read all of this thread.

If you had you would be aware that most posters are more than aware of how fragile Labour's position is, but much more importantly the turnout, plus the spoilt ballots, are an indication of a failing system in terms of getting a Parliament that actually represents the country.

ie we aren't bogged down in the school boy ya boo sucks my side won yours lost which your comments we an example of, but a much deeper concern that if we had a voting process that allowed our voices to be heard we wouldn't be spoiling ballots.

And you may find them naive and ineffective but political commentators have thought it important enough to discuss.

So rather than worry about Labour being fragile, the issue is how to make sure we dont just sleep walk into another GE where even fewer people vote, and we end up with yet another unrepresentative HoC.

Well said. Re commentary on spoilt ballots etc I've missed it, could you suggest a source?
Im not on X.

Re commentary on spoilt ballots etc I've missed it, could you suggest a source?
Im not on X.

Neither am I! This was main stream media, ie talk shows and news reports.

But I'm afraid it was a hot topic at the end of last week, over the weekend, not they have moved onto something else.

The problem is that even now, daunting as it might seem, those who want to co-ordinate a spoilt ballot campaign should be getting people to think about it.

Its always too late if it only happens as and when an election is called.

This article says 100,000 spoilt their ballots last election. https://news.sky.com/story/why-youre-encouraged-to-spoil-your-ballot-rather-than-not-vote-at-all-13159455

Haven't seen any figures for this election.

To be effective it would need all those who just didn't vote to actively turn up and spoil their ballots.

The last sentence of that piece stands out to me, I wonder what the increase has been this time.

The total number of spoilt ballots in 2019 represented a 58% increase on the 74,189 votes that were rejected at the 2017 general election.

@Vegemiteandhoneyontoast

stands out presumably in the sense of how far journalistic standards have fallen?

2017 had the lowest spoil % since the 1992 general election.

2019 rate was little different from either 2015, 2005 or 1997. And lower (just) than 2001 or 1979 for that matter.

I suspect the 2024 % will be the highest seen in modern times General Elections, though a near three-fold increase on 2019 would be needed to reach 1%.

Seems some people are interested in spoilt ballots. https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/how_many_spoiled_votes_were_ther and a few were reported in the press https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/news/24435730.creative-spoiled-general-election-2024-ballots/

Excellent news.

Another newspaper taking an interest. https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/24434089.1600-spoiled-ballots-across-suffolk-general-election/

Worst turnout since universal suffrage too with only half the population voting. There is an analysis by age and ethnicity but strangely they dont seem to have looked at sex. Perhaps they couldnt define it?

Another newspaper taking an interest. https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/24434089.1600-spoiled-ballots-across-suffolk-general-election/

but sadly @anyolddinosaur failing to accurately report, likely more down to incompetence rather than deliberately seeking to mislead I suspect.

The article states There were more than 1,600 spoiled votes in the region during this year's election and goes on to provide a precise number of 1655.

It then provides a potentially useful map which gives the number for each constituency. Although strangely that adds up to 1755.

The actual official declaration of result statements for each constituency (all linked below) gives the true total number of spoils as 1352. So not over 1600.

Of the 8 Suffolk Constituencies the East Anglia Daily Times did manage to publish the correct numbers for two constituencies ( Bury St Edmunds & Stowmarket and West Suffolk) And was very close on two others - Lowestoft
actual 101 rather than 103, and Suffolk Coastal actual 189 rather than 185. Lowestoft had both the lowest turnout at 56.4% and lowest % of spoils at 0.24% for the eight Suffolk constituencies.

South Suffolk is probably a typo on their part - actual 183 rather than 153

Ipswich had an actual of 167 rather than 194.

Then the final two constituencies have much bigger inaccuracies.

To quote the article

Within the county, Waveney Valley saw the highest number of discarded votes - at 395.

Wholly incorrect. Waveney Valley had 131 spolis, 0.27% of ballot papers. It also had the highest turnout in Suffolk at 67.7% Won by the Greens who really do struggle to know what a woman is, but a relatively low % of spoils which is a bit surprising (and disappointing).

Finally Central Suffolk and North Ipswich which had in reality 215 spoils as opposed to the 359 stated in the EADT article. Its spoil percentage at 0.46% was the highest in Suffolk.

Overal turnout in the Suffolk constituencies 63% and overall spoils 0.36%.

83.4% of the spoils were the fourth category - void for uncertainty, with 7 of the 8 constituencies having this covering 81% to 88% of their total. West Suffolk a slight outlier at 74%.

So yes great than local press taking an interest, not so great that they can't get the basic facts right.

Well the heading says a trainee reporter, clearly in need of some training.

If you want to know how many there were in your area you can google the election result and mostly find the answer. A random google showed some councils hadnt given the information but the FOI request should produce figures for all of them in a few weeks.

Obviously more people just didnt go and vote, this was the lowest election turnout in years. I find it interesting that there doesnt seem to have been any published analysis of this by sex or of reasons for not voting. Women generally are more likely to register and more likely to vote.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10009/

Check the excel results spreadsheet, shows the spoils figure for each constituency.

Overall 116,063 spoils, or 0.40% of total votes cast. So the highest ever, but only just (previous highest recorded 0.38%)

These are the 25 constituencies with the highest %s

Chorley (speaker's constituency)
3.41%
Sheffield South East
2.18%
Cheltenham
1.95%
Epping Forest
1.86%
Bristol East
1.80%
Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney
1.70%
Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge
1.67%
Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
1.65%
Sheffield Heeley
1.63%
Mid Dorset and North Poole
1.59%
Doncaster North
1.51%
Leeds South
1.47%
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
1.37%
Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven
1.35%
Earley and Woodley
1.23%
West Dorset
1.16%
Maidenhead
1.01%
Oxford East
0.98%
Rotherham
0.98%
Sheffield Hallam
0.97%
East Grinstead and Uckfield
0.93%
Sheffield Central
0.89%
Cambridge
0.88%
Hexham
0.83%
Foyle
0.80%

That's really interesting, thank you.

Thanks for that. I couldn't find the link when I looked!

And also for the time taken to go through the spreadsheet.

I see from the spreadsheet that MPs have a "gender".

If that is how they are going to record "facts" how is the HoC ever going to be able to say it sucessfully represents the country because it has ?% of trans people.

Lowest turnout in years, highest spoilt ballots for years - the public are really saying we dont want any of you.