At some point in my life while discussing voting with my father he recounted that prior to our immigrating to Canada in the 1970s, in UK elections he would go into the booth and scrawl "bollocks" across his ballot. It was his way of expressing his disillusionment with the politics in England at the time, which probably played a part in his and my mother's decision to leave the UK for Canada in 1974.
For many years, I've argued that declining rates of electoral participation might not necessarily be a sign of apathy and disinterest in politics, for some non-voting might be a political choice -- it might very well be an act of protest. However, this is impossible to measure, as there is no indication you are "acting" politically or you are just uninterested and apathetic.
How then does one "actively" display one's disillusionment or contempt for the process, candidates or parties? There is my father's solution, to walk into the polling station and scrawl your message across the ballot in the form of an expletive or some pithy comment. It's cathartic for the actor, but ultimately an expression that goes no where because it is not counted. The returning officers during the count may be appalled or amused by your protest, but such "spoiled" ballots are lumped together with ballots, left blank, with more than one candidate selected, or filled out incorrectly (i.e., your considered outrage is grouped with the expressions of those too addled or inattentive to do the process correctly.)
To make your disillusionment and/or contempt count you have to go through the extra step of officially declining your ballot. This is the tactic advised by Democracy Watch in their announcement today (Fitzpatrick, 2018). According to the organization's head, Duff Conacher, "declining your ballot essentially says you're voting non-of the above," outside of voting for the None of the Above Party which is available only in 42 ridings. It is more of an active expression because it clearly shows you are an engaged participant by taking the time to turn up to the polls to say "no."
This option is available in only three provinces, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta. The federal government's last tweak of the national voting process under the Harper government in 2014, made it very clear it had no interest in tracking declined ballots (Press, 2014). So in the national elections, you can decline your ballot but it won't be counted. In Ontario, it has become a more popular option. In 2011, Elections Ontario reported 2,335 declined ballots (0.5%) with 12,892 'spoiled' (Bastellaar, 2014). In 2014, 29,937 Ontarians declined their ballots, the highest number since 1975 (Fitzpatrick, 2018, Press, 2014).
How do you decline your ballot? It's a bit more than "just saying no." First, you must receive your ballot. After the returning officer has handed you your ballot, you return the ballot to the officer saying you "decline the ballot." The returning officer should then write declined on the back of the ballot and set it aside to be counted separately.
Remember that not many people know about this option and this could very well include some deputy returning officers. You might have to remind them that this allowed under Section 53 of the Ontario Elections Act.
Sources:
Robert Bostelaar. 2014. "I decline: A guide to refusing your Ontario ballot" Ottawa Citizen. 10 June 2014. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/i-decline-a-guide-to-refusing-your-ontario-ballot
Megan Fitzpatrick. 2018. "Advocacy group urges Ontario voters to leave ballots blank on June 7: Democracy Watch advising voters they have the ability to decline all options." CBC News. 25 May, 2018. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/advocacy-group-urges-ontario-voters-to-leave-ballots-blank-on-june-7-1.4676788
Ontario. 2017. Election Act, R.S.). 1990. Toronto: Queen's Printer for Ontario. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06#BK144
Jordan Press. 2014. "Declining Your Ballot: Not in the next federal election" Ottawa Citizen. 24 June, 2014. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/declining-your-ballot-not-in-the-next-federal-election
For many years, I've argued that declining rates of electoral participation might not necessarily be a sign of apathy and disinterest in politics, for some non-voting might be a political choice -- it might very well be an act of protest. However, this is impossible to measure, as there is no indication you are "acting" politically or you are just uninterested and apathetic.
How then does one "actively" display one's disillusionment or contempt for the process, candidates or parties? There is my father's solution, to walk into the polling station and scrawl your message across the ballot in the form of an expletive or some pithy comment. It's cathartic for the actor, but ultimately an expression that goes no where because it is not counted. The returning officers during the count may be appalled or amused by your protest, but such "spoiled" ballots are lumped together with ballots, left blank, with more than one candidate selected, or filled out incorrectly (i.e., your considered outrage is grouped with the expressions of those too addled or inattentive to do the process correctly.)
To make your disillusionment and/or contempt count you have to go through the extra step of officially declining your ballot. This is the tactic advised by Democracy Watch in their announcement today (Fitzpatrick, 2018). According to the organization's head, Duff Conacher, "declining your ballot essentially says you're voting non-of the above," outside of voting for the None of the Above Party which is available only in 42 ridings. It is more of an active expression because it clearly shows you are an engaged participant by taking the time to turn up to the polls to say "no."
This option is available in only three provinces, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta. The federal government's last tweak of the national voting process under the Harper government in 2014, made it very clear it had no interest in tracking declined ballots (Press, 2014). So in the national elections, you can decline your ballot but it won't be counted. In Ontario, it has become a more popular option. In 2011, Elections Ontario reported 2,335 declined ballots (0.5%) with 12,892 'spoiled' (Bastellaar, 2014). In 2014, 29,937 Ontarians declined their ballots, the highest number since 1975 (Fitzpatrick, 2018, Press, 2014).
How do you decline your ballot? It's a bit more than "just saying no." First, you must receive your ballot. After the returning officer has handed you your ballot, you return the ballot to the officer saying you "decline the ballot." The returning officer should then write declined on the back of the ballot and set it aside to be counted separately.
Remember that not many people know about this option and this could very well include some deputy returning officers. You might have to remind them that this allowed under Section 53 of the Ontario Elections Act.
Declined Ballot
Declined ballot
53 An elector who has received a ballot and returns it to the deputy returning officer declining to vote, forfeits the right to vote and the deputy returning officer shall immediately write the word “declined” upon the back of the ballot and preserve it to be returned to the returning officer and shall cause an entry to be made in the poll record that the elector declined to vote. R.S.O. 1990, c. E.6, s. 53.
Sources:
Robert Bostelaar. 2014. "I decline: A guide to refusing your Ontario ballot" Ottawa Citizen. 10 June 2014. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/i-decline-a-guide-to-refusing-your-ontario-ballot
Megan Fitzpatrick. 2018. "Advocacy group urges Ontario voters to leave ballots blank on June 7: Democracy Watch advising voters they have the ability to decline all options." CBC News. 25 May, 2018. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/advocacy-group-urges-ontario-voters-to-leave-ballots-blank-on-june-7-1.4676788
Ontario. 2017. Election Act, R.S.). 1990. Toronto: Queen's Printer for Ontario. https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e06#BK144
Jordan Press. 2014. "Declining Your Ballot: Not in the next federal election" Ottawa Citizen. 24 June, 2014. http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/declining-your-ballot-not-in-the-next-federal-election
Comments
Post a Comment