Members of the Edible Ballot Society tried that method in the 2000 election but the trend faded after a number of prosecutions.
Spoiling a ballot in privacy is not much of a protest, suggests Elections Canada spokesman Dana Doiron.
"Nobody gets real satisfaction out of it because nobody knows about it," Doiron said.
"It can't be attributed to the individual because of the secrecy. It just goes unrecorded, unnanounced, unknown. So you've wasted your time going to the poll in the first place."
Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley has mused about introducing some legal method for registering a protest vote, but there have been no concrete proposals.
So what's a disgusted voter to do?
"There are laws against disrupting the conduct of the polls, so you can't go there and shout and scream and stamp your feet," said Doiron.
The best strategy is to become a candidate, or try to find a candidate worthy of support, he said.
But many Canadians are taking the lazy way out and staying home. Rates of voter participation have been declining with every election in recent history.
Read the rest:
http://www.mytelus.com/news/article.do?pageID=canada_home&articleID=2149861
[Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on January 24, 2006]
Note: http://www.mytelus.com/...
No Legal Method To Spoil A Ballot - Become A Candidate If You're Disgusted !
Posted on Monday, January 23 at 11:34 by whelan costenContributed By
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Thank You for posting that article, now I hope people start to pay attention to this present system and how it works.
I have tried to be reasonable on this form by not hitting at any one party , but have tagged all parties as being under the same roof. It is my opinion that most if not all who run in an election do so with the best of intentions, but something runs a muck and it always seem to fall back to the party.
No matter who it is on the site you all have disrespect for one another’s party. I have the same but for all.
When will we come together as Canadians outside the party box to look at how a system can be brought into life that will give birth to a new democratic electoral process, that respects all Canadian tax payers and serves all Canadian under a better balanced system ?
We have to build a governing system that has as it key mandate to build in accountability , responsibility , ethics , moral and we must as citizen have the legal means to sue any representative or party for abuse of power, breach of trust and acts of corruption.
We need a electoral ballot that cannot be connected to the person who has placed their x on that ballot. We have to review the whole process because we are learning everyday that this system has been abusing the Canadian tax payer and those voters who are under the impression they are involved in a democratic process, well it time to question that democratic process.
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Good government is not a party government
If you think about the commitment and energy these candidates have to put into the campaign, when they know there is no guarantee of a seat, you have to realize there is tremendous passion behind that person, as well as for most an incredible amount of understanding that something has gone wrong with our system. They are offering to be the change people are asking for, but instead we are inundated with election promises. Buying us with our own money, which they have failed to use or manage properly for years! We need change and I think voting for small parties or independants can bring that real positive change.
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If I stand for my country today...will my country be here to stand for me tomorrow?
More people like Wayne may come to vote even if it is to voice their displeasure. Millions of Canadians may play that new Canadian game of vote blocking today, thus voting for someone they probably don't want to vote for, so what is the difference really between that, and spoiling your ballot?
Wayne you are an intelligent fellow, you should start your own party or run as an independent - your message will be heard better that way. Sometimes to beat the system, you must get yourself covered in the muck of the system.
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If there was ever a time for Canadians to become pushy - now is the time - for time is running out on this nation called Canada.
There would be little to achieve if I were to form my own party, because I would be lending credit to the very system I do not approve of.
Citizens forms are the way to go. No matter something has to be done. I would like to see people like Mel Hertig, David Orchard, Paul Hellyer, Maude Barlow take up the tourch and start the fire.. they are well reconnized Canadian and have spoken out on the system , the party working before. These are just a few examples and I am sure there are many more.
You know the process in trouble, when the parties start charging us for the our vote of support and god help us if they bring in forced voting.
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Good government is not a party government
How true, if these were counted it may tell the real story but the Big boys just dont want to know so it wont happen witrout a big push from the voting public!
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When you are up to your ass in alligators it is difficult to remember that the initial objective was to drain the swamp
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Good government is not a party government
The official tally, when all the ballots are counted, will include spoiled ballots (like all those folks who are from Florida) and declined ballots. Just because the media never bothers to report that doesn't mean the records aren't kept.
I have done this so often it's almost habitual. And it's what I did about two hours ago. I would like to have voted differently but there is not a chance in hell that the candidate I would have selected (NDP) will come within 30% of either the Liberal or Conservative in my riding. So my little protest is just that, a protest.
Paul Harris
Can someone find that information somewhere and post it here? If the numbers are important, those are the force that need to be harvested to put some momentum in that wheel of democracy. The number could show us if it is a real fight to undertake or if we are just against wind-mills.
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"There is no reason good can't triumph over evil, if only angels will get organized along the lines of the mafia."
Kurt Vonnegut
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Good government is not a party government
The question is why are those people not voting? I haven't , I not to lazy to make the trip, the poll is about 1500 feet from my house, I made the trip ever to every election except the last one and this one. I did not go because I am sick of a system that lacks any creditability or accountability, therefore I cannot vote in that kind of a political system.
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Good government is not a party government
But I followed up on the Diogenes comment and it is quite correct ... Elections Canada just lumps them in with other wrecked ballots. Man, I hate to think that we numbskulls in Ontario are ahead of the curve on ANYTHING ...
Sigh.
Paul Harris
I was one of 38% of the 23 million registered voters who did not vote. I was left with no other choice.. the best we can hope for with this minority government, we get reform.
Stephen Harpers has said that he would like to see PR and Jack Layton has said the same.. so maybe they can find common ground to set the wheels in motion for change.
Other than that maybe you and others could put together a submission requesting the government to set up such a committee to go across Canada looking into what Canadian would like to see.
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Good government is not a party government
I would have like to have spoiled my ballot, but I tend to live for the here and now; and in my opinion we had to get rid of the liberals who after 12 years of power, have learned the system so well as to be come corrupted. If many of us had spoiled our ballot at this time, then it would have defeated any possibility of getting rid of them. I gave the Cons my vote, but only because we have few parties here in NB, I believe only four to choose from, and out of those four I believed that voting Cons would help rid the corrupted already in power.
I think only a revolution would "give birth to a new democratic electoral process". But I doubt this generation would create such a stir; WE are way too conditioned into this way of voting. Nevertheless, education is a great tool, especially for future generations. If you so much want to get your message across this huge nation, get your ideas published. Or have you? Surely, from what info you have already provided Vive le Canada, there are millions who believe in what you do. Like the CAP party(pardon the pun), give the people information we don't normally get through main stream media.
I am an average tax payer know little about politics, but because of this site, I am learning more and more about the true Canada.