Use your vote . . .. and blank them all!

Here’s a novel idea for anybody sick of politics and politicans - vote “blank.”

HERE'S a novel idea for anybody sick of politics and politicans - vote “blank.”

The suggestion comes from the organisers of a  new campaign, www.blankvote.org.uk, who say voting “blank” gives voters the opportunity register a protest at the state of politics by casting a their ballot, but without voting for any of the candidates.

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The idea is that instead of placing your cross next to the name of one of the candidates, your pop your ballot paper in the box, but leave it blank.

Campaign co-coordinator Simon Pardoe said that in the last general election, 17 million registered voters did not vote. — that’s 40% of the electorate and almost as many as the combined vote for Labour and the Tories combined.

Those who don’t take part are rarely included in the election results, but if they were, the results in the 2005 election would look like this:

‘If we believe in democracy, then we have to make it possible for people to express their frustration and disillusionment with the current politics by using their vote, rather than by not voting’ says independent film producer Alan Golding, presenter of the Blank Vote online election broadcast, which you can see at www.blankvote.org.uk ‘The blank vote option changes the decision about whether or not to vote’ he argues.

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‘If you don’t want to support any of the candidates, you can show it, there’s no reason to be silent. Unlike not voting, blank voters cannot be dismissed as apathetic.’

Voting blank involves simply not selecting a candidate on the ballot paper. It’s the way to say “I believe in democracy and I will use my vote, but I do not support any of the candidates in this election.”

Voters in France, the Ukraine and New Zealand already have the option to mark their ballot papers "none of the above" if they don't like any of the candidates, but in this country In the UK, all votes, including blank and spoiled votes, are announced

on election night, and the 2008 London mayoral and assembly elections set the precedent for retaining blank votes formally in the results.

But what if the blank votes win?

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‘Voting blank is a protest; it’s not a vote for a candidate’ says Pardoe. ‘Only a candidate can win. So if there’s a candidate who you believe will represent local people and improve UK politics, vote for them. If not, show it by voting blank. A significant blank vote would demonstrate the level of dissatisfaction with UK

politics in 2010, and reveal a positive demand for real change.’

‘If significant numbers of people vote blank on May 6th instead of not

voting, it will be a key news story in this election’ said Golding.

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