Whatever you do, don’t spoil your ballot paper today

It is always possible to decide that one candidate is better than another, argues John Rentoul

I understand that some people feel strongly about a single issue, and are frustrated when none of the candidates on the ballot shares that view (EPA)

I am here to disagree respectfully with Harriet Williamson, my colleague and editor, who wrote yesterday that she was thinking of spoiling her ballot paper in today’s elections. I don’t think that is ever a good idea, unless you are in a dictatorship with one name on the ballot, in which case it is a bad idea because the secret police will probably hunt you down.

But in a democracy, however imperfect, it is always possible to decide, according to your own values, that, given any pair of candidates, one is better than the other, even if the difference is marginal and complicated by a strong dislike of both of them.

Not voting, even in the active form of spoiling a ballot paper, is worse than pointless. All it does is say: “I want to let everyone else decide.” If a Labour councillor is usually elected in your ward, and you expect them to be again, you are saying: “I am fine with that, but I just want to make a point that no one will notice.”

Harriet is a Labour supporter who is disappointed with Keir Starmer, and she wants to express that view. I suspect that a lot of people in her position will be voting Green today, which isn’t my cup of tea, but I think that is a better way of doing it.

If she writes “I don’t trust Starmer” on her ballot paper, the council worker at the count will look at it and put it in the pile of rejected papers; the returning officer will look at it to make sure that she hasn’t expressed a preference for any of the candidates; and the observers from the parties may read her message and smile or frown; but what good will it do?

All the world will know is that there were 28 spoilt ballot papers instead of 27. Nobody even looks at those numbers unless there is a rare organised campaign for a mass spoiling of ballots – or in the case of the London mayoral elections last year, when the high number of spoilt ballots revealed that either people didn’t understand the supplementary vote system, or that the ballot paper was badly designed, or both.

I understand that some people feel strongly about a single issue, and are frustrated when none of the candidates on the ballot shares that view. In the next general election, for example, I imagine that there are going to be many seats in which it will not be possible to vote for a candidate who is committed to rejoining the EU as soon as possible.

But then you can judge that the Liberal Democrats at least have that as a possible aspiration in the long term. Or you might decide that if you keep the Conservatives in power they will make such a mess of Brexit that it will collapse more quickly under the weight of its contradictions. It doesn’t matter what you think, at least you think it and are acting on your beliefs in a democracy rather than abdicating responsibility.

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Not that apathy is the worst thing either. If you really don’t care, don’t vote. I think you ought to care and you ought to educate yourself and make a decision. But if you really don’t, that’s up to you. I am not in favour of compulsory voting. People should be free not to vote. If the government thinks that turnout is too low, passing a law to make people go to the polling station seems the opposite of the solution. There are much better ideas, such as paying young people to vote at the first election after they turn 18 – which would help make voting a habit.

But there is a difference between apathy and spoiling a ballot. Caring enough about a pointless protest seems a misdirection of energy. I’m not saying, “If you feel so strongly about it, why don’t you stand?” But I think that if you do feel strongly enough about getting a postal vote or going to the polling station to not vote, you could apply that energy to discriminating between the candidates who have public-spiritedly offered themselves for service.

Whatever you do today, go out and vote, and make a positive choice. Don’t let other people decide for you.