Non-Voting in the Elections or Why You can Decline Your Vote

It’s taken me a while to think about this and usually I would wait until the next round of elections which is three years from now. However, Mayor Rob Ford’s recent actions and certain reactions means I’m writing this three years early.

There has been a lot of reaction to Rob Ford versus CBC’s This Hour has 22 Minutes and then the 911 call – some funny, some mocking, some embarrassed. However I’m seeing some who are saying, “This is why I don’t vote.”

The general reaction to that seems to be, “Well, if you don’t vote then you have no say in the political sphere.”

Here’s the thing: you can vote and NOT vote for any candidate. You can vote, have it count and still not have your vote counted towards any candidate. Seriously.

Decline your vote. I don’t mean decline by not voting I mean decline by going to your voting station, taking your ballot then telling the Deputy Returning Officer and the Poll Clerk that you’re declining your vote. They won’t try to convince you otherwise. All they’ll do it put your ballot in the “Declined” envelope. Yes there is one, along with a “rejected” envelope. Then they’ll make a note in the poll book that you declined your vote. That’s it. The declined ballots are counted at the end of the night, recorded and sent to Elections Ontario/Canada/Toronto. They’re counted.

(Disclosure: I’ve worked as a poll clerk and Deputy Returning Officer in both the provincial and federal elections in the last year.)

It takes the same amount of time to do this as it does to vote or to say on Twitter/Facebook/Google+ that you’re not voting.

This way you won’t be endorsing a candidate you don’t like and you won’t be counted as part of the apathetic non-voters. This way you get what you want and the Elections Office sees this.

So the next time elections rolls around, considering going out there to decline your vote. Overall, it probably won’t change who wins the elections but at least those in charge will know that the system is broken.

If after reading this you still decide not to vote, then maybe you don’t deserve to participate in the political discourse.