thiswaycomessomethingwicked:

thecoppercow:

Yes. But only because I’ve spent ages ranting about how non-voters are
bad/pampered/derelict in their civic duty. So it’d be a bit hypocritical of me
to stay home now.

I can respect people
who vote for dumb (not evil) shit, or at least try and understand their views, see it from their point of view while disagreeing,
but I cannot respect people that do not go to the ballot booth at all. It’s not a personalised shopping list, no party or person is ever gonna agree with you on 100% of things, nor should they. It’s more like a menu – you pick the one that’s closest to you, or you think will make moves towards getting there, or will at least register as not-the-one-you-don’t-want.

Or, if you absolutely hate them all, (or perhaps if you’re jewish, or another minority that might want to vote for a party but can’t because its current incarnation is actively dangerous and racist to you, or refuse to vote for your usual party in moral solidarity, but all the others in your area are bad too – this is a perfectly valid reason) still go into the booth, still take your polling card anyway, and scribble a giant willy on there.

Or a pussy, or a giant unhappy emoji, whatever. Maybe write “I CANNOT”

You’ll be registered as having turned up to vote, you’ll have exercised your right to be there, but imo it’s like an active protest vote, rather than a passive one. People staying at home are, imo, just lazy dicks.

yes yes! Active protests votes are the way to go if you’re going to protest vote. I know Australians are quite fond of them and use them when the two options are equally bad (and actually equally bad, not false equivalency equally bad). 

There’s nothing worse* than politicians thinking they can get away with things because the population is too apathetic to care which is what not voting tells them. It doesn’t register as “oh people are disenchanted with and/or disenfranchised from the system maybe we should fix this.” Rather, it registers as “people are fine with the status quo.” If you go in and vote, even if you write in a protest vote because, like the example above, you’re Jewish or another minority against whom both main parties are pretty equally terrible, it still registers as “people are voting.” 

Does the UK register the umber of spoilt ballots? I believe Australia does (or did, according my Australian step-dad when he used to live there). Because if the number of spoilt ballots is counted then even your protest vote counts in a real way if there’s enough. I know Australia has had to re-do elections when people like Micky Mouse have been elected. But that’s the Aussies. 

–

*there are totally worse things. but you know what my hyperbole is saying. 

The amount of spoilt ballots in the last general election was 97,870 so cause I could find a number yes we do count them here. (It was addressed in specific constituencies where there were a high number of them in like statements etc)