The Government You Deserve?

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by MGR1

As my dad always says, "If you don't get off your arse and vote, you have no right to complain about the result. If there isn't any party or individual you like, turn up anyway and deface your voting slip before dropping it into the ballot box. At least you made the attempt!"

I respectfully have to say that your father was mistaken. Defacing the ballot simply makes it a "spoiled Ballot". What you should do is vote by using a blank ballot. That is what is called a "null Ballot".

All the political parties (and the public) can get the numbers of null ballots. Null ballots represent a voter who cared enough to go to the polls but did not like any candidate. The parties pay attention to these numbers as each null ballot is truly a potential vote lost.

A spoiled Ballot just means that the person is too stupid to fill out a ballot correctly... or is from Florida... that may be redundant

[Eichhörnchen]

That's some very useful info right there. Thanks

[Oberon]

Not sure if it works that way in the UK or whether a null vote is counted as a spoilt ballot.

[Betonov]

Doesn't work here.
A null ballot = a spoilt ballot

Votes are counted in proportion to valid ballots so 20 votes fox x among 100 valid, 1200 spoilt and 2000 null is still 20% of votes

[Eichhörnchen]

How about a gnawed ballot? Does that count as a spoiled ballot?

[MGR1]

Originally Posted by Platapus

I respectfully have to say that your father was mistaken. Defacing the ballot simply makes it a "spoiled Ballot". What you should do is vote by using a blank ballot. That is what is called a "null Ballot".

All the political parties (and the public) can get the numbers of null ballots. Null ballots represent a voter who cared enough to go to the polls but did not like any candidate. The parties pay attention to these numbers as each null ballot is truly a potential vote lost.

A spoiled Ballot just means that the person is too stupid to fill out a ballot correctly... or is from Florida... that may be redundant

Unfortunately we don't get that option in the UK, as far as I'm aware. It's certainly never been mentioned in the instructions on the voting card that your issued with prior to election/voting day. It definitely wasn't an option when I voted in the Scottish Independence Referendum back in September.

Mike.

[Jimbuna]

A spoilt ballot paper is still included in the count but not attributed to any individual standing for election.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Not sure if it works that way in the UK or whether a null vote is counted as a spoilt ballot.

Originally Posted by Betonov

Doesn't work here.
A null ballot = a spoilt ballot

Votes are counted in proportion to valid ballots so 20 votes fox x among 100 valid, 1200 spoilt and 2000 null is still 20% of votes

A null Ballot is not counted as part of the election outcome. So in that context a null Ballot and a spoiled Ballot are the same.

However, after the election, the number of null Ballots is published and the parties do pay attention if the number of null Ballots should increase.

[August]

If write in candidates invalidate a ballot then why do they provide a space for it?

[Wolferz]

We don't get paper ballots in my state anymore. They use some weird free standing electronic voting machines that don't even have a curtain around them.
The poll workers have these little gizmos that look like miniaturized eight track tape cartridges that they use to ready the machine for the next voter by plugging it into a receptacle on the side of the thing.

Uber shady.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by August

If write in candidates invalidate a ballot then why do they provide a space for it?

Why would a write in vote invalidate a ballot?

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Wolferz

We don't get paper ballots in my state anymore. They use some weird free standing electronic voting machines that don't even have a curtain around them.
The poll workers have these little gizmos that look like miniaturized eight track tape cartridges that they use to ready the machine for the next voter by plugging it into a receptacle on the side of the thing.

Uber shady.

I was so happy this past election, my country got rid of the Electronic Touch Screen voting machine and went completely paper ballot.

[Betonov]

We'll never see electronic voting devices, since old people don't know how to use them and only old people vote for the dinosaurs in power.
Putting electronic voting devices means voting themselves out of parliament

[August]

Originally Posted by Betonov

We'll never see electronic voting devices, since old people don't know how to use them and only old people vote for the dinosaurs in power.
Putting electronic voting devices means voting themselves out of parliament

I gotta say that that's a remarkably short sighted viewpoint you have.

Regardless of what age group it currently favors you should remember that electronic voting systems are far far more easily spoofed than paper ballots. Remove the "paper trail" and you're basically handing the state (or anyone else with the techical savvy) the ability to instantly and untraceably alter the results of an election.

I'm not saying that paper ballots cannot be "stuffed" as they say, but it takes a lot more effort and it's a lot harder to conceal.

[Betonov]

Don't worry August, as soon as our morons of parliament figure out how they'll benefit themselves by having electronic voting system they'll implement it.
And the machines are going to be 4 times the price with half the quality because some brother of a prime moron can install them and not get a contractor by the usual means.

We can be quire capable of forcing the government to cancel certain projects that we find, comment dites-vous, de-liberating.* But when it comes to voting we can be the biggest idiots on the planet.


* Contrary to popular belief, Slovenes enjoy an above average, even for western terms, level of personal freedom and we will know when someone is trying to hoodwink us out of it.