No, because the spoiled ballots are, in many cases, actually counted. This is what people did in Hong Kong when the Government imposed electoral reform designed to prevent pro-democracy and localist groups from winning. Since it was illegal to tell people to not vote (pro-democracy groups had urged a boycott), people showed up to cast spoiled ballots. That election had among the highest numbers of spoiled ballots in the region’s history.
I’m trying my best not to call you names here, but the point of that exercise was not to exert democratic power but to cause embarrassment for the Government. The Government tried their hardest to make it look like a legitimate election but got utterly humiliated instead with low turnout and large numbers of spoiled ballots.
Not sure why you want to call me names. My guess is we probably agree on more than we don’t.
I was just (admittedly, sarcastically) pointing out that perhaps copying methods that have WORKED might be better than copying methods that… Maybe slightly annoyed a couple of CCP officials? I’m sure everyone in China still thinks the election was legitimate, and pretty much everyone outside of China didn’t need any sort of protest vote to tell them it wasn’t.
In the US we have been non-voting for decades. That’s exactly how we got into this mess. Non-voting isn’t going to make anything better.
I agree with that generally, but what “methods that work” do you suggest?
Edit: To add, the protest spoilt ballots and low turnout in Hong Kong did exactly what they were supposed to do. It convinced other Hongkongers that the elected Legislative Council is not legitimate and was installed, not elected. This is particularly troublesome for the Government, because Hongkongers have a famous tendency to protest, and sometimes rather intensely.
No, because the spoiled ballots are, in many cases, actually counted. This is what people did in Hong Kong when the Government imposed electoral reform designed to prevent pro-democracy and localist groups from winning. Since it was illegal to tell people to not vote (pro-democracy groups had urged a boycott), people showed up to cast spoiled ballots. That election had among the highest numbers of spoiled ballots in the region’s history.
Ah yes. Hong Kong, such a famous victory for democracy.
I’m trying my best not to call you names here, but the point of that exercise was not to exert democratic power but to cause embarrassment for the Government. The Government tried their hardest to make it look like a legitimate election but got utterly humiliated instead with low turnout and large numbers of spoiled ballots.
Not sure why you want to call me names. My guess is we probably agree on more than we don’t.
I was just (admittedly, sarcastically) pointing out that perhaps copying methods that have WORKED might be better than copying methods that… Maybe slightly annoyed a couple of CCP officials? I’m sure everyone in China still thinks the election was legitimate, and pretty much everyone outside of China didn’t need any sort of protest vote to tell them it wasn’t.
In the US we have been non-voting for decades. That’s exactly how we got into this mess. Non-voting isn’t going to make anything better.
I agree with that generally, but what “methods that work” do you suggest?
Edit: To add, the protest spoilt ballots and low turnout in Hong Kong did exactly what they were supposed to do. It convinced other Hongkongers that the elected Legislative Council is not legitimate and was installed, not elected. This is particularly troublesome for the Government, because Hongkongers have a famous tendency to protest, and sometimes rather intensely.