Declining your ballot

We just had a provincial election here today in Ontario, and as in 2007, I did not vote. (I did vote in 2011, because at the time, where I was living, there was a minor party candidate I didn’t mind voting for in protest – a Libertarian – but that wasn’t the case this time, nor was it in 2007.) There wasn’t anyone on the ballot I wanted to vote for; I didn’t like any of the parties running candidates. (For my thoughts on voting, see here and here.)

I didn’t just stay home, though; nor did I go then ‘spoil’ my ballot; instead I ‘declined my ballot’, which is something you can do in Ontario provincial elections.

So, as in 2007, today I turned up at my polling station, handed the polling officials my Notice of Registration card and a piece of ID, and when they checked to make sure I was indeed on the list of electors, then handed me a ballot, I handed it back to them and told them I was declining my ballot – and the deputy returning officer wrote ‘DECLINED’ across the top of the ballot; it and other ‘declined’ ballots will be recorded as such.

Unlike spoiled ballots, which can happen due to incompetence or stupidity (unable to fill in a ballot properly, though intending to), and unlike not bothering to turn up to vote, a declined ballot sends a ‘none of the above’ message, in my opinion.

It means, I’m not giving the system my endorsement, and I’m pointedly withholding it, because I don’t like any of the choices on offer.

It means they can’t accuse me of apathy, because I actually turned up, same as those who voted, but deliberately declined to choose anyone.

If enough people were to do it, the powers that be would be forced to reckon with it. Perhaps they’d give us some actual real choices…

This year, there apparently was a social media campaign to inform people about declining their ballot (hey, there’s a social media campaign for every POV on every issue); since it was spearheaded by a guy who used to work for one party, he’s been accused of discouraging people from voting to strategically help that party.

I don’t know nor care about that; I first declined my ballot in 2007, long before social media was what it is now.

Anyway, I can’t see that letting people know they can not only choose to not make a choice, but that they can do so in a way that gets recognized as being such a decision, truly helps any one particular party; on the contrary, it has the potential, just maybe, to bring down the entire rotten system.

Let it burn.

*Update: Here‘s an article from a Canadian Reformed magazine on declining your ballot.