UK:Swap Your Vote ? if your vote will be wasted?

[arista]

General Election 2015: Do you think your vote will be wasted? You could try swapping it with someone in a marginal seat




[Ben Little and Jonathan Rogers barely know each other. But, on 7 May,
each man will walk into a polling station in different
constituencies and cast their vote according to the other’s wishes.

The pair have agreed to swap votes – a form of tactical voting developed to increase
the power of individual votes cast under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system.
Neither man will be voting for his first preference, but both believe vote swapping will help
them to maximise the chances of those they want to see in power.
Mr Little is a Labour supporter in Chipping Barnet, a safe Tory seat in north London.
Mr Rogers is a Green Party supporter in the Labour target seat of Hornsey and Wood Green,
also in north London, where Ed Miliband’s party has a real chance
of unseating the Liberal Democrat incumbent. ]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/general-election-2015-do-you-think-your-vote-will-be-wasted-you-could-try-swapping-it-with-someone-in-a-marginal-seat-10187359.html


This was on SkyNewsHD papers review

[joeysteele]

I just think people should vote for who best represents them and their own views and hopes.
However, if this works for these 2, fine.

[arista]

I just think people should vote for who best represents them and their own views and hopes.
However, if this works for these 2, fine.


Its more than these 2


This is about safe seats

[Josy]

Your vote is supposed to be your own to vote for who best represents you, as joey said.

I think this is stupid.

[waterhog]

if there is nothing on offer that appeals to you - go and make you voting slip invalid - by putting none of the above.

[kirklancaster]

What next: Advertisements for 'VOTES FOR SALE'?:shrug:

[arista]

Your vote is supposed to be your own to vote for who best represents you, as joey said.

I think this is stupid.



Sure
but there is a site doing it


No Cops have stopped it

[arista]

What next: Advertisements for 'VOTES FOR SALE'?:shrug:


Yes Labour members may do that

[Kizzy]

Just shows how desperate people are to unseat this lot.

[arista]

Just shows how desperate people are to unseat this lot.




Yes And no one wants
New Labour /Labour /SNPism

in power

[Kizzy]

Joey and I do...

[arista]

Joey and I do...


we know

[AnnieK]

Yes And no one wants
New Labour /Labour /SNPism

in power

Not quite sure no-one wants then in power Arista

[arista]

Not quite sure no-one wants them in power Arista



Utter Anarchy

[Jack_]

Sounds fine to me, this is the problem with FPTP, people have to resort to tactical voting like this

[Northern Monkey]

I say if you're not happy with the current system then go for it.Nobody can really stop it happening.This is apparently a democracy after all.

[Josy]

Yes And no one wants
New Labour /Labour /SNPism

in power

Clearly they do.

[smudgie]

:shrug: The politicians are happy to use an tactics to win, so the voters can feel free to do the same.

No way would I trust a stranger to cast a vote for me..how on earth can you trust anyone to carry out your wishes.

[arista]

Clearly they do.


OK Josy



No One In Their Right mind wants
Labour/SNPism

as it will not work



But UKIP and Conservative
is ready for merge (PM says no way , of course )

[arista]

Sounds fine to me, this is the problem with FPTP, people have to resort to tactical voting like this


Its very normal nowdays
Jacki

[Livia]

No one's having my vote, ever. Appalling idea.

[bots]

Lol, never heard anything so stupid. There is no way to check that your partner has indeed voted as per your request. Sounds like an age old scam to me.

[Nedusa]

Utter nonsense............and probably illegal

[joeysteele]

Your vote is supposed to be your own to vote for who best represents you, as joey said.

I think this is stupid.

Also, how could you ever really know the other person actually did so too.

[joeysteele]

Joey and I do...

I am finding a great many people do Kizzy,in England too,from the North to the Midlands.
It seems maybe one or 2 people possibly don't get out much.

[arista]

Utter nonsense............and probably illegal


No its a Trusted Website
not for kids

[Z]

Just shows how flawed first past the post is - that said, I don't think coalition governments (a by product of proportional representation) are any better.

[arista]

Its all legal

Debated Live now on Ch5HD

[Withano]

Makes complete sense to me, Feel like I'd have trust issues doing it myself though

[arista]

Makes complete sense to me, Feel like I'd have trust issues doing it myself though


I guess photo the x
as you vote - you could photograph
and the same at the other end etc


Labours Gloria D Piero
Green Caroline Lucas
Conservative Anna Soubry

Are all at risk of losing their seat
Ch5HD just confirmed

[Livia]

Election law is taken very seriously. I hope any one caught doing this is prosecuted.

[MTVN]

I guess photo the x
as you vote - you could photograph
and the same at the other end etc


Labours Gloria D Piero
Green Caroline Lucas
Conservative Anna Soubry

Are all at risk of losing their seat
Ch5HD just confirmed

Isn't that illegal

[Kizzy]

I wonder why you can't photo your ballot paper?

[Livia]

Isn't that illegal

It is illegal, yes.

[Kizzy]

“While it is not necessarily a criminal offence to photograph a completed ballot paper either at home or within a polling place, it is strongly discouraged as it could violate the secrecy of the ballot, which is fundamental to the integrity of the process.”

So, is it illegal is it not?

Well, the only illegality around it (according to the Electoral Commission and the Referendum Act 2013) would be if you do one of the following.

Being disruptive as judged by the polling officer at the particular station
Taking a photo of anyone else either purposely or by mistake (misjudged selfie)
However chances are if you have a postal vote you’re not in a polling station. In this case, you can share your postal vote all you want, as long as you don’t share anyone else’s, induce others into sharing theirs or share others photos without their prior permission.

So – photos in polling stations you’ll have to follow the rules as laid out in the referendum act to avoid breaking the law. Photos of postal votes are perfectly fine, although discouraged.'

http://www.scotlandvotes.com/news/are-electionselfies-illegal

[Livia]

It is illegal. Even the outfit promoting this ridiculous idea agrees...

http://giveyourvote.org/news/give-your-vote-and-law

[Kizzy]

Representation of the People Act 1983.”

Are they right? The relevant legislation is as follows:

s66(3) No person shall:

(a) interfere with or attempt to interfere with a voter when recording his vote;

(b) otherwise obtain or attempt to obtain in a polling station information as to the candidate for whom a voter in that station is about to vote or has voted;

(c) communicate at any time to any person any information obtained in a polling station as to the candidate for whom a voter in that station is about to vote or has voted, or as to the number (or other unique identifying mark) on the back of the ballot paper given to a voter at that station;

(d) directly or indirectly induce a voter to display his ballot paper after he has marked it so as to make known to any person the name of the candidate for whom he has or has not voted.

You could take a pic but not share it seems to be the advice, I don't know how it could be proved you'd shown your phone to anyone, what if you left it lying around and someone happened to glance at it.. not that you should ever do that.

http://www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk/election-day-selfies/

[Livia]

Oh Kizzy, I'm sure you know so much more about the law than I do, especially election law. I encourage you to take a selfie with your ballot paper if you're convinced it's all okay and above board. And make sure you post it online.

[Kizzy]

If you used a postal vote ith rules are a bit more relaxed as nobody can stop you taking a photo in your own home, but it's a bit late for that.
As long as you don't share it, that's where you're in trouble by the look of it.

[Kizzy]

Oh Kizzy, I'm sure you know so much more about the law than I do, especially election law. I encourage you to take a selfie with your ballot paper if you're convinced it's all okay and above board. And make sure you post it online.

Of course I don't... Yours wasn't a professional opinion, you used google didn't you and posted a link, how is that more valid?
There's a law against encouraging people commit vote fraud, I wouldn't encourage it you might get in trouble.

[arista]

Isn't that illegal


but no one will know
you photographed your vote
except the other swap voter

[joeysteele]

Livia is correct I'd say.

I think this would be seen as tampering with the election process and probably big trouble could come from any such action.
Allegations of electoral fraud of any kind in any way would be taken very seriously indeed.
I feel sure this would easily get people into trouble doing it.

[Livia]

but no one will know.........


If I killed you and hid the body, no one would know. It'd still be illegal.

[arista]

If I killed you and hid the body, no one would know. It'd still be illegal.


No Way

[JoshBB]

This is a prime example of just how broken First Past The Post really is. This shouldn't need to happen, it's ridiculous. People should be able to cast a vote for whichever party they wish without feeling it is a wasted vote.

[joeysteele]

This is a prime example of just how broken First Past The Post really is. This shouldn't need to happen, it's ridiculous. People should be able to cast a vote for whichever party they wish without feeling it is a wasted vote.

I was against pr but never ruled it out completely.

Now however,I think I would like to see it. I agree every vote should count.
I do feel first past the post now serves the Nation badly, especially with the 2 usual main parties struggling as to either of them,to even reach the upper 30s as to polling percentage.

[JoshBB]

I was against pr but never ruled it out completely.

Now however,I think I would like to see it. I agree every vote should count.
I do feel first past the post now serves the Nation badly, especially with the 2 usual main parties struggling as to either of them,to even reach the upper 30s as to polling percentage.

We need a way to elect MPs nationally, whether that be the single way to elect MPs or additional to the way we currently do. Smaller parties need more amplification to deliver more diverse viewpoints and truly reflect democracy.

[bots]

If we have 10 or more years of coalition governments where nothing ever gets done because its impossible to please all the coalition partners - which is how it would be in a PR system, that will then be the end of the calls for PR. The grass is always greener on the other side, but rarely is.