As election day approaches, I'll pick up my election card wander down to the local school and tick the same box as my parents have done for the last god knows how many years. It will be the same box as the vast majority of my friends, a fair percentage of my neighbours and possibly (fingers crossed) the majority of the electorate in my area. Do I feel happy doing this? No not at all, but it's the only valid option open to me, except not voting.
I always go right down the card, leaving off three parties along the way, mainly because it must really annoy the counters having to work out what a 6 vote is worth down the line.
I worked the election once, I was an electoral officer in Ballyoran school which is in the heart of the Gravaghy Rd in Portadown, it was right in the middle of the big Drumcree years. You wouldn't believe the corruption and underhand tactics I witnessed that year, and not from the obvious quarters, though this is not the best place to publicise details, but if you ever see me in the pub, ask me...I have some great stories from that day.
Incidentally I have had one shread of contact from my local MP since I moved to Sydenham, it was a letter telling me about aircraft noise and what they were going to do about it. They were going to challenge Belfast City Airport flight expansion plans, sentences like 'jets roaring over our heads at all hours of the night etc etc). I think aircraft noise is the least of the worries facing the community where I live at the moment.
'Sydenham displays signs of significant disadvantage as evidenced by its ranking within the worst third of wards in Northern Ireland. It ranks particularly highly on the domains relating to Health (55th) and Education (96th).'
http://www.eastbelfast.com/information/sonapp2a.pdf