Sir, - I believe there is a moral obligation on every citizen to exercise the right to vote.Those people who, for non-legitimate reasons don't exercise this right, I accuse of being lazy and unpatriotic.
However, I also strongly believe in the right to spoil your vote. I believe this is a very legitimate form of protest. Since the foundation of the State, at every election and referendum we have seen a variety of spoilt votes ranging from a simple "None of the above" or "Don't know" written at the bottom of the ballot paper to whole letters of protest attached to it.
I recognise and respect the rights of the disaffected voter to do this and I must admit the little anarchist in me secretly dreams of the day when spoilt votes outnumber the amount of unspoilt ones. Sadly this will never happen now, due to our new electronic voting system which will have no "spoil" option on the little computer screen.
One of the last ways that we can make a legitimate and legal protest has been taken away from us, just so we won't embarrass the politicians, and for the first time in my life I'm considering not voting. - Yours, etc.,
K MITCHELL, Co Meath.