Hairyloon Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 The ability to be able to vote is a precious thing if you want to be pedantic. If you don't vote you shouldn't complain about who gets in:hihi: It doesn't matter who you vote for, the government always gets in. The thing to do is to complain to them. Write to your MP today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygardener Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 There already is in that you can spoil your ballot which gets counted, but formalising it would make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcoast Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 No point in voting if the party you support isnt on the ballot paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairyloon Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 There already is in that you can spoil your ballot which gets counted, but formalising it would make sense. Yes, but it largely gets counted as not having the competence to put a cross in a box. And what actually happens if a majority of papers are spoiled? I assume the election is declared void, but I don't know. And to those voting "no", would you say why? I cannot fathom a down-side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairyloon Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 No point in voting if the party you support isnt on the ballot paper. Voting in Britain is not often about voting for the party you want, but against the party you don't want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andygardener Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Yes, but it largely gets counted as not having the competence to put a cross in a box. And what actually happens if a majority of papers are spoiled? I assume the election is declared void, but I don't know. And to those voting "no", would you say why? I cannot fathom a down-side. Spoiled ballots are counted and in general viewed as "none of the above" not "can't put a cross in a box". They don't affect the outcome though, so if everyone bar 1 person spoiled their ballot whoever that person voted for would be elected. We don't have minimum attendance/percentage etc rules in the UK. First past the post means exactly that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southcoast Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Voting in Britain is not often about voting for the party you want, but against the party you don't want. Not for me its not,I wont give my support to any party I dont agree with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altus Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I think you're a bit deluded about spoilt ballot papers. No-one cares about them, they just get put in a pile at one side, the candidates and agents look at them before the count is declared, agree they don't count towards anyone's total and that's it. They are kept with the other ballot papers, but they don't count for anything. Who is the 'they' that might have to do something about it? If 'none of the above' had the most votes, the Returning Officer would just declare the nomination with the next most votes as the winner. Or in an extreme case, the election would have to be re-run until there was a proper result. I know they get discarded. 'They' being all the parties standing who would have to admit the electorate don't have enough confidence in any of them to want them to represent them. As for the returning officer declaring one of the other candidates the winner - don't you think that would somewhat undermine their claim to legitimacy if more people don't want them? What I think should happen would be the election get rerun. It's not going to happen of course because it would be too embarrassing for the political parties to allow the public to say 'we think none of you are fit to represent us'. They might have to then choose candidates that the public will respect rather than ones who will unswervingly follow the party whip, whatever the issue, in the hope of climbing the greasy pole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altus Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Voting in Britain is not often about voting for the party you want, but against the party you don't want. That's why we need some form of proportional representation. (And not that AV rubbish we had the referendum about.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubydazzler Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Yes, but it largely gets counted as not having the competence to put a cross in a box. And what actually happens if a majority of papers are spoiled? I assume the election is declared void, but I don't know. And to those voting "no", would you say why? I cannot fathom a down-side. What's the workable alternative being offered by the people who want this option? We normally have a choice of at least 6 different candidates and if you can't make a choice, what are you actually wanting to happen? I get the impression that some people would only be satisfied with themselves as the winner, except that they can't be bothered to do the work being in public office involves. Spoiled ballots are just that, if it's not apparent what the voter was intending, it's discarded. Yes they get 'counted' but not in any meaningful way. They're only counted at the start of the process, to balance the number of voters who presented at the polling station with the number of ballot papers that arrive at the count. At the end of the count, spoilt papers are inspected by the agents and candidates from all parties, who agree whether they show intention or not, and those that don't are discarded. They don't count. So unless you could persuade every person in the Ward not to vote, you may as well just stay in and watch telly. You're not really making a difference at all. Present a new way of doing things and maybe people might be impressed enough to support it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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