maxwells_daemon: (Kzin)
[personal profile] maxwells_daemon
I enjoy elections and think it is important to vote. So much so, I vote in two different countries where I am eligible to vote.

But I don't agree with today's PCC (Police and Crime Commissioner) elections. I think criminal justice is the one of the worst things to make directly elected (just look at elected prosecutors and judges in the US). So, I've been wondering what to do. Many people have suggested not voting or (better) deliberately spoiling their ballot as a protest. On the other hand one of the candidates does seem better qualified than the rest, so it would be a pity not to register my opinion. [*]

In the end, I went and marked "scrap PCC" (ie. spoilt) as my first choice and my preferred candidate (Tim Starkey, Labour) as second choice. I don't know whether that will be counted the way I want, but it's the best I can do. (They could discard the whole ballot as spoilt, or count my second choice as a first choice.)

The polling station was empty (apart from the tellers, one of whom was off making tea) when I went in at 5pm, so I guess most people are not voting. I told the teller that I was sorry that they had to be there, but he said he enjoyed elections. Even more than me, it seems!

* Also, The Economist argues "If turnout in next week’s elections is really low, England and Wales (Scotland is sensibly sticking with police authorities) could end up with mighty figures who feel untrammelled by public scrutiny."

Date: 2012-11-15 06:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] parrot-knight.livejournal.com
I voted - I suspect that at 4pm voting in my part of Woodstock was still in single figures. We have the same preferred candidate, but spoiling my ballot did not occur to me.

Date: 2012-11-16 01:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] e-pepys.livejournal.com
Do you mean that spoiling the ballot is something you would never do, or is it something you might have done in this or another case?

Date: 2012-11-16 02:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] parrot-knight.livejournal.com
I'm not sure whether I would ever spoil a ballot, truthfully; but I can't rule it out. It never occured to me as an option, though.

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