Spoiled Ballots…..

·        is a very simple movement that can have an enormous impact on future elections at all levels of government.

·        is for people who have given up on the current election and political process but have not given up on this country.

·        has no party affiliation whatsoever.
 

 Spoiled Ballots acknowledges:

Every election thousands of Canadians decided not to vote. The pressing question is…. Why?

Here are some of the reasons we have heard from Canadians

      Ø    "It does not really matter they all lie and cheat so why bother"
Ø   “Nothing ever really changes”
Ø       "They make mistakes and still get a pension."
Ø      “If my candidate gets elected but is not in power how does that help”?
Ø   “If they are not going to be held accountable what does it matter?”
 

We believe:

There are three core values that are missing in the current political process.
            Ø       Honesty
            Ø Accountability
            Ø   Integrity

(See below for detailed description of values)

Our collective voice:

Fact: There are more eligible people that choose not to vote versus the ones that
         actually vote.

What could that small act of spoiling your ballot possible say to anyone? 

It will say plenty!

Just Imagine 200,000 plus people across Canada go to the polls at election time and deliberately spoil their ballot. 

First off:

It will say to those who constantly use the “ if you don’t vote you have no right to complain” statement.  Please shut up!

We believe as a voting or non-voting Canadians we have a right to be critical, objective and vocal. After all this is our country of birth or residence.

Secondly:

It will send a clear message to all political parties who wonder if we are listening or worse have accused some of us Canadians of apathy.  Our spoiled ballot will say that yes we know where the voting stations are and we know how to fill out a ballot.  This time we are
choosing to spoil a ballot. This is one way you can see for yourself we are prepared to have our voice heard.  “In the past we have chosen to disengage and be removed because we thought the effort was futile. We want you to know we are speaking clearly with our spoiled ballot… so listen up”

Remember that every spoiled ballot is counted and recorded therefore it can be acknowledged as fact.

 

The next election will be impacted by what we do today!

Every political party makes plans for the next election almost immediately after the newly elected government is formed.

Consider the following, as a possible scenario that we believe will become evident right across the country.

Here’s the scenario…
 A local seat has been won by a marginal win of 500 votes. There was however 600 spoiled ballots during that election in that particular riding. Those 600 potential votes could have decided the race.

Every political strategist is going to attempt to find out how they can win over some or all Spoiled Ballots to their side in the next election. However the nagging questions will remain “Who are these people?” & “How do we reach them?”

This is the power of the Spoiled Ballots movement

Spoiled ballots people will ask any and all parties this following question….
“Over the past term in office, what have you done as a party to prove that you have been operating with honesty, accountability, and integrity?
The answer to this question will determine who is worth listening to.

 Deeds Speak

Even if a political party has not been in power they still can prove themselves by deeds not words.
Spoiled ballot people will ask….

“What have you done in the community, town, city, province, territory or country to improve the lives of Canadians during this past term?”

Spoiled ballots people know an election campaign requires millions of dollars to run. Those millions of dollars are used for signs and propaganda during the election process.

We believe those party dollars can be  and should be used in other ways  year round. Not just for publicizing the party name but also by doing deeds. Deeds that show support and contribution in a meaningful way year in year out are what will be looking for.
 

Is  Spoiled Ballots a protest vote?

No.

A protest vote is a vote cast for any party other than the one in power at the time. It is the voter’s way of saying “ I am disgusted”. The only problem with  a vote cast in frustration  is you could actually elect a government by default.
Any government elected this way is usually in shock and often without a clear true message from the people. They may actually believe the platform which they campaigned on was what the electorate wanted. This is poor communication at the very least. So be very careful please.

Vote FOR something not against something!

Spoiled ballots have a concern that needs to be addressed. We have interviewed people on how they are going to vote. Of course this movement is really about getting those who do not vote to have a voice. But along the way we have bumped into people who are not thinking clearly in our opinion.

If you are voting… PLEASE vote for something you believe in. We are hearing people
say… “I do not like this party or that leader or that guy so I am voting for anyone else
but he or she” This is not an informed vote. This is a weak way of participating in the
election.
Spoiled ballots suggests that if you have no clear reason for voting for someone then
don’t.     

Simply Spoil Your Ballot.

Send a clear message to the politicians that you want to be informed and educated, not bullied, pandered to, scared into or tricked by cleverly designed advertisements.

Things we have noticed and find humorous:

• During the election time each vote is important. So much so, that during this time party members will gladly arrange for transportation for people to get back and forth from the voting stations. Yet after the election the reality is the accessibility to the members of government is far less accommodating.

• Elected backbenchers have no real contribution to the government

• That an elected official can be appointed a cabinet position and yet have no related work experience to support that position. Yet conversely we have capable doctors and professionals with competent backgrounds unable to secure a like position in this country. And we have youth who are faced with underemployment or unemployment because they lack job experience.

• We know that a person elected to government and holds that position for two terms will receive a pension for life. (Where else can you get a job like that and behave like little children in a daycare whilst on TV.)

• Sure every vote counts but what happens if the person we vote for gets in  but does not form the government? We will not see any government programs in our area and our concerns may not be heard….  so we voted but still get nothing… big deal”

• Voting is important. You vote locally and then the leader of the party calls all the shots. If the person you voted for locally disagrees with the leader he or she is reprimanded or kicked out of the party.

Promise me nothing. Tell no more lies

Considering every politician is promising they will do this and they will do that. We say... Don’t just sing it…. Bring it…  Until you can prove it…. Save it!

Spoiled ballots people do not trust any of you at the moment we are a patient bunch we will see how you do over the next 4 years.

 How To Spoil Your Ballot:

Step One:

Simply go to the polling station and take your ballot draw an x through the whole sheet and drop it in the box or put an X beside every name on the ballot and drop it in the box.

Step Two:

Smile as you leave!

Support Us:

We encourage you the people who have decided to not vote to be finally heard. Go ahead and  spoil your ballot.

Be sure to watch on election night and see how your actions have impacted the process.

Send this on to others who are feeling the same. Any help is appreciated our country will be the better for it.

Contact Info:

Garth Riley 416-303-5441

E-mail garthriley@spoiledballots.com

Definitions of the three core values stated above.

 Honesty:

We want to see honesty in government and we are willing to hear honesty.
 Honesty in promises made and guarantees offered. That honesty
is to be backed with factual data that can be verified and held to be true
and not subject to the "re-jigging" of financial books.

We are willing to hear honesty: We hold that mistakes are made and truths
are hard to face. We Spoiled Ballot people are prepared to hear the truth and allow the truth to be told even if it is not in favor of what public opinion wants to hear. If there has been a false statement made with the intent to defraud or manipulate we want accountability.

Accountability:

We hold that accountability is to be the same measure for the people and the government.

Example of our position:
If a corporation or an individual were to make false statements or were to offer inaccurate bookkeeping it is expected that the full extent of the law be brought to bear on the guilty.
We believe the same rule applies for any governing body and persons in care and control of any positions that had an effect on the stewardship of monies or holdings.

Budget accountability:

We believe a budget to be necessary. We believe that all financial books and accounts are to be kept beyond reproach and ready for inspection at anytime by an independent system that would have full audit capabilities. With the same far reaching powers as the Canada Revenue Agency but independent of the government.

Integrity:

The very center and major issue of the non-voting public is the lack of
collective integrity. We acknowledge that individuals are elected and thus
the party takes its position. We need it to be known that a person’s word is
their bond. We want it to be known that the integrity of the elected
official must be represented also in the leadership of the party.

 Back