Political protest: How to vote for ‘none of the above’

Declining the ballot is a way voters can make a statement

WATERLOO REGION — Voters who don’t like any candidates in the upcoming Ontario general election can opt to pick “none of the above” by declining their ballot, effectively registering an official protest.

Declined ballots are collected separately, then counted and included in the total votes cast in each riding.

“That’s someone who really wants to make a statement,” said Barry Kay, associate professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Here’s something else you might not know about the provincial election — you aren’t allowed to snap a selfie of yourself posing with your ballot before dropping it in the box.

Elections Ontario warns that taking a picture of a completed ballot is contrary to the Election Act because it violates the secrecy of the vote. It’s also a violation to post a photo of a completed ballot on social media or elsewhere.

As for declined ballots, they take effort and only count for a small percentage of votes. The vast majority of people who are turned off by current politics express that dismay by simply staying home.

“So many more reject it by not showing up,” Kay said.

To decline a ballot at the polling station, a person needs to tell the election official that they are declining the right to vote when handed a ballot. This is a public process and done out loud, making it different than an unmarked or rejected ballot.

The official will mark “declined” on the

election documentation and the ballot will not go in the ballot box but in an envelope for declined ballots.

Almost 30,000 votes were declined in the last general election in 2014, according to Elections Ontario statistics.

That’s far and away above the previous 10 elections dating back to 1977 which each only recorded a few thousand declined votes — with the exception of the 1990 election.

More than 20,000 declined votes were tallied in that contest between Liberal premier David Peterson, New Democrat Bob Rae and Progressive Conservative Mike Harris. Peterson called an election just three years into his mandate and Rae won a majority government in a shocking upset. Voter turnout that year was 64.4 per cent, the best turnout in nearly four decades and compared to 51.3 in 2014.

Kay couldn’t speculate if there would be a spike in declined ballots this June considering the options for the province’s leader. What’s unusual about this election, he said, is the obvious alternative to the party currently in power “seems to have worn out their welcome already.”

With Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals on the ropes and Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives seeing their lead in the polls slipping, Andrea Horwath’s NDP may step into the ring as an “acceptable enough alternative” to be competitive, he said.

The NDP become a viable option when voters are upset with the other two main parties, Kay said.

“Perhaps they are again.” Voter information cards should soon be arriving in mailboxes if one hasn’t already appeared. The cards — which have details about when and where to vote — are being mailed by Elections Ontario between May 17 and 25 to registered electors.

People who don’t receive a voter information card can still vote as long as they bring identification that has both a name and current residential address.

Election day is June 7. Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Advance voting is available from May 26 to 30 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at advance voting locations in your electoral district, and from May 25 to June 1 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at your returning office.

Find all the election information at www.elections.on.ca.