I vote ‘none of the above'.
Oh wait, I can't.
Federally, a refused ballot — the personal choice not to vote for any candidate, but to still be counted as a voter — is actually counted as a spoiled ballot, which can occur on purpose or by accident.
This means a voter can cast and mistakenly spoil their ballot with an accidental swipe of the pencil. Whereas, a ballot intentionally destroyed — in some cases eaten — by a voter will also be counted as spoiled and the action goes unnoticed by politicians and the public.
In fact, if you intentionally spoil your ballot during a federal election, you may be in for a little more than you tried not to vote for.
According to the Canada Elections Act, it is illegal to intentionally destroy a ballot. Therefore, any attempt at being counted as a voter, while not offering support to anyone in particular, has been suppressed.
It seems there is no way during a Canadian federal election to display displeasure with all the parties involved. There is no way to say, ‘I would like to vote, but for no one, please.'
I have voted federally several times over the past decade, and each time I feel cheated. I feel my vote was useless. I feel like the system is broken and democracy is taking a back seat to rhetoric and political job security.
Perhaps because of this, citizens are increasingly becoming apathetic and not voting at all.
But this solution will only bring more power to the power hungry, and keep those with a desire to rule undemocratically in office.
By not voting, a signal is sent to those in power we accept the way we are governed.
By voting for a particular party you are signalling a desire to either support that party, or conversely, abstain support for another.
Strategic voting also has its downfalls.
However, voting for ‘none of the above' or refusing the ballot puts the citizen's actual view in clear sight for the public and politicians to see.
It shows you do support democracy, but you do not support those currently vying for power.
I, for one, would like the government and public to know the true number of people dissatisfied with the political system and federal parties.
Perhaps then democracy will make a comeback and the interests of all Canadians will properly be taken into account.
