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What is a wasted vote?

(4 Posts)
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vampirequeen Thu 08-Jun-17 11:07:07

A wasted vote is the one that isn't cast.

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Jalima1108 Thu 08-Jun-17 09:53:35

Well you never know if it is a wasted vote until the results come in - you could be surprised.
Here we have gone from Conservative to Labour to Conservative again - but the Lib Dems are quite strong, the majority voted for Remain but the MP was a Brexiteer.
So - anyone's guess.

A lot of other people may feel the same but not express their views as it is between them and the ballot box

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Luckygirl Thu 08-Jun-17 09:49:49

I absolutely agree about PR - until we have that we are not really living in a democracy.

A wasted vote is what I am about to do at the polling station today - whatever I do I know who will get in - and it is not the candidate that I want.

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Cindersdad Thu 08-Jun-17 09:37:27

According to "Makes Votes Matter" a wasted vote is one for a loosing candidate or for a winning candidate surplus to that needed for a win. This concept is flawed simply because if not enough vote for a winning candidate the candidate would not win. Similarly is more people vote for a loosing candidate that candidate could be a winner. You could argue that in a situation where a tactical vote against a candidate you don't support giving your second a better chance is also wasted. There is no clear definition under FPTP.

The only totally wasted vote is my view is a vote not expressed due to apathy. Even if you choose not to vote for a positive reason that is still valid as a protest if you spoil your paper as a protest.

The only way to make sure that every vote counts is a variant of PR where the ballot paper list shows all parties in all constituencies. It is possible even with PR to keep a constituency link which is the only issue in favor of FPTP. With our present system around 75% could be regarded as wasted, that is not real democracy.

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