Why I won't be voting tactically

[altariel]

Meanwhile, in the present, the rough beast of the election slouches on - apparently the fate of the nation lies solely in the hands of a few lunatic tactical voters in Royston Vasey, or perhaps it was a Daschund called Colin, I forget now. Every other piece of political propaganda popping through my letterbox earnestly exhorts me to cast a tactical vote in order to keep out whoever.

Back, back, ye demons of cynicism! I shall not make my already meagre contribution to democracy even more pointless! I shall cast a vote that roughly approximates to my beliefs! The BBC as ever provides: here I may compare and contrast the relative merits of arsenic, strychnine, and hemlock. And on May 5th I shall take my poison, secure in the knowledge that I may have only cried out in the wilderness, but at least it was for something I nearly believe in.

Comments

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

And on May 5th I shall take my poison, secure in the knowledge that I may have only cried out in the wilderness, but at least it was for something I nearly believe in.

I think those demons of cynicism didn't obey you.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I quite enjoyed Simon Jenkins (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1059-1586733,00.html)'s attempts to give us directions. In fact, I generally enjoy Simon Jenkins. I wish he'd hurry up and join The Guardian.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Tricky, those demons.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Having lived in some of the safest seats for my least favourite party during n-1 of the n elections in which I've been eligible to vote, I'm afraid cynicism is rife in espressoland.

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

At least hemlock doesn't hurt.

*sad grin*

Keep up the good fight, dear... cynism has never been a good counselor.

[kathyh]

A few years ago our MP was the Speaker. That made life a lot easier...

I will be voting too, but not exactly enthusiastically.

[matildabj.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a brilliant piece of writing and makes me despair even more. Maybe I'll vote Green.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

No, no! For Green, vote... umm... purple?

Incidentally, I don't expect UKIP to be very bright, and delivering one UKIP leaflet to a house displaying nine Labour posters might be dismissed as simple optimism. But delivering an identical UKIP leaflet to the same house three days later is, well... profligate.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

At least hemlock doesn't hurt.

Definitely worth knowing.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

This is the first time in my life I've genuinely considered not voting. I can't bring myself to do it though - I'd rather turn up and spoil my vote.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I'm hoping that come the evening of May 5th, I'll just be able to do Nerdy Home Psephology and enjoy that part of it.

[julesjones]

Go on, turn up and write "none of the above" across the ballot paper.

After the amount of trouble I went to to be able to vote from overseas, I'm using my ballot paper. If it turns up, of course. Other Half is registered in a different electorate, for assorted interesting reasons. Other Half received a nice offical envelope yesterday. I have not, as yet.

[kathyh]

I know what you mean. I was brought up to believe I *must* vote, but when the OH was wondering whether to vote or not this morning I couldn't come up with a very plausible reason as to why he should.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Nerdy Home Psephology is definitely the way to go, tho' I might find myself sharing my insights with two rather apolitical auditors.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Go on, turn up and write "none of the above" across the ballot paper.

Tempting idea.

Hope the ballot paper turns up OK. I was commenting at the start of the week that we hadn't got our polling cards yet, which seemed late (they turned up the following day).

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I was brought up just the same way. I couldn't not turn out, but precisely what I'll do in the ballot box I've no idea. Perhaps I'll take dice along with me to help with the choice.

[julesjones]

The ballot paper has turned up. It includes a British National Party cnadidate. This is an excellent incentive to vote for anyone except him, just to make his fraction of the vote that little bit smaller...

Hmm. BNP, unstated, Labour, Independent, Conservative, UKIP, LibDem. What used to be a rock solid Labour seat, which never stopped me going out and voting for Another Party. Voter apathy in the face of overwhelming odds is one way the odds get to stay overwhelming...

This year *none* of them inspire me to go out and vote for them, but at least the Lib Dems don't actively inspire me to go out and scribble "none of the above" on my ballot paper. This is not a good way to select my preferred candidate, but it's better than nothing.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I've actually been surprised when canvassing that if anything there seem to be fewer people than usual saying that they won't vote. I assume that some of them are lying, and that many of the undecided will not decide, but usually I get some people firmly stating that they definitely won't vote, and off the top of my head I remember only one this time. I'm hoping it might mean the apathetic are slightly less apathetic than the media make out.

[iainjcoleman.livejournal.com]

I don't have the data to answer that question directly. The best I can do is to point to a recent ICM opinion poll which asked the question "If you thought that the Liberal Democrats could win in your constituency would you vote for them, not change your vote, or switch to another party?" The results were:

Liberal Democrat 39%
Labour 31%
Conservative 26%

This would be a very different political landscape, in which the Liberal Democrats would hold many more seats (including, interestingly, North East Hertfordshire).

[kerravonsen]

Politicians would still be politicians.
The problem is, even with compulsory preferential voting, one could still be tempted to write "none of the above" on the ballot.

[mgkellner.livejournal.com]

I have voted in 9 US presidential elections, and to this day, the candidate I preferred never has been on the ticket, all having lost in the primaries. I end up voting for party, and take whomever they put up. I am not a big fan of government by cult of personality anyway, so it bothers me less than it might. No political party is perfect, so you have to chose the one that both has the policies you think best for the country in the long run, and has some chance of winning sometimes, or at least has enough strength to steer things in the direction you want to go. Don't expect perfection; we're talking about politicians here. The best of a bad lot will have to do.

My advice, pick your side, march down to your ward and vote. Get your friends to go as well. Whatever the drawbacks, it beats the alternative to free elections.

I am against compulsory voting. I feel that if you are too lazy, or uninvolved to invest 20 minutes in democracy every few years, I don't want your worthless opinion diluting mine.

mk

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I have voted in 9 US presidential elections, and to this day, the candidate I preferred never has been on the ticket, all having lost in the primaries.

Heh. This will be my fourth general election (and I never miss local and European elections); there was a point where I had never knowingly been represented, but I think one of the MEPs for the region got a vote from me.

I am against compulsory voting. I feel that if you are too lazy, or uninvolved to invest 20 minutes in democracy every few years, I don't want your worthless opinion diluting mine.

I'm against compulsory voting too, but that's one of the best arguments I've read, LOL!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I wish it was more like that; might change the tenor of political debate too.

Vote early and often

[julesjones]

It has been posted. I hope it gets there in time - even if I'd filled it in, found someone to countersign it, and taken it to the post office yesterday, the day it arrived, it would have been pushing it. Not sure what the point is of providing overseas voters with ballot papers if you're not going to take account of the fact that it takes that little bit longer in the post, both on the way there and the way back. This being a solid Labour seat I wouldn't put it past them to deliberately delay sending them, for the same reason Thatcher extended the franchise to people who'd been out of the country for twenty years. Trouble with this conspiracy theory is that Other Half's envelope arrived from the three-way marginal, Lib Dem last time electorate only one day before mine did...

Don't think much of the security on the postal ballot (and yes, it appeared to be exactly the same packet that they send out for domestic postal ballots, complete with pre-franked return envelope). I can see why there was much lamenting last year about a return to voting the way the boss or the husband told you to vote. :-(