How to vote for ‘none of the above’ — without spoiling your ballot

[Thanks but no thanks]

If history is a guide, a majority of us — 50.8% in 2011 — will decline our ballots in Thursday’s Ontario election.

We’ll do this by simply not showing up at a polling station.

Some may wish by this action — or inaction — to send a message of frustration with the available choices. But face it: Don’t vote, and you’re more likely to be labelled apathetic than a conscientious avoider.

There is, however, a way to get your “none of the above†choice recognized. Not by spoiling your ballot with happy faces in all the white circles — again, open to misinterpretation of your motives — but by following Ontario’s formal procedure for declining to vote.

Here’s how it works.



Thanks but no thanks
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The deputy returning officer at your poll hands you your ballot and you hand it back. You can, if you wish, say “I decline†while doing this, but there is no requirement for any declaration, oral or written, under the Ontario Election Act. The DRO will write “declined†on the ballot, preserve it for the returning officer and note in the poll record that the elector — you — declined to vote.



Select few
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Only 2,335 voters — or 0.05 per cent of the total turnout — formally declined their ballots in 2011, Elections Ontario reports. The number of “rejected†ballots was much higher at 12,892, but note that the rejection here was by poll officials for unclear markings, and not by voters handing back their ballots. A further 5,208 ballots were found to be unmarked, here as well sending a muddy message about the voter’s intentions.



Just Ontario and the Prairies
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There is no provision to decline a ballot in any federal election. Among provinces, only Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta recognize declined votes as a separate category.



Spreading the word
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Elections Ontario has been criticized for not doing more to explain the right of voters to decline. The agency responds that the provision is outlined on posters in every returning office and polling place as well as on its website and in a news release. It further notes that as a non-partisan body, “our role is to inform voters of where, when and how to cast their ballot,†adding: “We facilitate the vote — and if one chooses, the right not to vote.â€

news.nationalpost.com/2014/06/11/ontario-election-2014-how-to-vote-for-none-of-the-above-without-spoiling-your-ballot

 

[pink tulip]

Celebrate LIBERAL majority win this weekend with Nude Cycling downtown.
After relax in our air conditioned facility with 1 hour massage.
We work out the kinks.

Pink Tulip Spa
5 Charles street West,
Second Floor, Toronto,

416-413-9229