The way we do every three years when we’re electing a Government. In the general election.
There’s no confusion. It’s well-publicised. You can do early voting, if you want to or need to. But we all know, don’t we, that when we wake up on a particular Saturday morning every three years - we know it’s voting day.
Not so straightforward, though, when it comes to voting for our local council. Which, let’s face it, actually has more sway over our daily lives than central Government.
And I think we need to merge the general election with local body elections, which I’ll get to shortly.
But, for some reason, in the spirit of trying to make it easier for us to vote in our local elections, we’ve actually made it more difficult.
And this is something Local Government New Zealand wants to try and sort out. It wants to get more of our voting in the elections for our local councils.
I reckon the pitiful voter turnout - compared to general elections - largely comes down to the fact that you can pretty much vote when you want in local body elections. Well, within a voting period. But you can do it when it suits you.
If you compare voter turnout for the general election with local body elections, it's very clear.
Turnout at last year’s general election was 78.2 percent. Turnout in the most recent local body elections two years ago was 40 percent nationally.
And the reason for that is simple, in my view.
The voting papers for the local body elections arrive in the mail. They sit on the kitchen bench. Every time we walk past them we think, ‘ooh, must get those away’.
But for most people, the only time the papers leave the bench is when they’verealisedit’s all too late and they chuck them in the recycling bin.
And then, for the next three years, they complain about how hopeless their local council is and, you know, “can you believe how our rates have gone up under these clowns?”
So Local Government New Zealand, here’s what needs to happen to make sure more people vote in your local body elections.
For starters, council elections should happen at the same time as general elections.
And there’s a very good reason for this. Not just because it makes sense doing it at the same time.
The reason is, how many times have we heard that councils have had to pull the pin on something - let’s use cycleways as an example - because there’s been a change in Government or a change in Government policy and the money they thought they were getting from Wellington isn’t happening anymore.
If local body elections were held at the same time as general elections, things would be more in sync, wouldn’t they?
And the other big change that’s needed - is we need to get rid of postal voting.
Because, as I say, the papers arrive in the mail but most of us end up throwing them in the bin. Because we just don’t get around to it. Unless you’re a nerd, like me. And unless you love elections.
But for normal people, the voting papers just gather dust - and then it’s too late.
So instead of postal voting in local body elections, I reckon there should be a voting day where you have to turn up at your local polling booth - unless you need to do an early vote - and I reckon that should happen on the same day as the general election.
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. - where this article was sourced.
Not so straightforward, though, when it comes to voting for our local council. Which, let’s face it, actually has more sway over our daily lives than central Government.
And I think we need to merge the general election with local body elections, which I’ll get to shortly.
But, for some reason, in the spirit of trying to make it easier for us to vote in our local elections, we’ve actually made it more difficult.
And this is something Local Government New Zealand wants to try and sort out. It wants to get more of our voting in the elections for our local councils.
I reckon the pitiful voter turnout - compared to general elections - largely comes down to the fact that you can pretty much vote when you want in local body elections. Well, within a voting period. But you can do it when it suits you.
If you compare voter turnout for the general election with local body elections, it's very clear.
Turnout at last year’s general election was 78.2 percent. Turnout in the most recent local body elections two years ago was 40 percent nationally.
And the reason for that is simple, in my view.
The voting papers for the local body elections arrive in the mail. They sit on the kitchen bench. Every time we walk past them we think, ‘ooh, must get those away’.
But for most people, the only time the papers leave the bench is when they’verealisedit’s all too late and they chuck them in the recycling bin.
And then, for the next three years, they complain about how hopeless their local council is and, you know, “can you believe how our rates have gone up under these clowns?”
So Local Government New Zealand, here’s what needs to happen to make sure more people vote in your local body elections.
For starters, council elections should happen at the same time as general elections.
And there’s a very good reason for this. Not just because it makes sense doing it at the same time.
The reason is, how many times have we heard that councils have had to pull the pin on something - let’s use cycleways as an example - because there’s been a change in Government or a change in Government policy and the money they thought they were getting from Wellington isn’t happening anymore.
If local body elections were held at the same time as general elections, things would be more in sync, wouldn’t they?
And the other big change that’s needed - is we need to get rid of postal voting.
Because, as I say, the papers arrive in the mail but most of us end up throwing them in the bin. Because we just don’t get around to it. Unless you’re a nerd, like me. And unless you love elections.
But for normal people, the voting papers just gather dust - and then it’s too late.
So instead of postal voting in local body elections, I reckon there should be a voting day where you have to turn up at your local polling booth - unless you need to do an early vote - and I reckon that should happen on the same day as the general election.
John MacDonald is the Canterbury Mornings host on Newstalk ZB Christchurch. - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
No doubt that Labour and co. are working on 2025 to try to win in 2026. Lower voter age etc Some wisdom in joining the two processes.
The local council model is broken. It doesn’t work anymore if it ever did in the first place. The council manages a multi billion dollar business. When you look at the calibre of candidate, elevated from the ranks of community boards, one loses one’s appetite to even vote. I put an automatic cross through any candidate tainted with the political movement, Peoples Choice. Returning candidates even get to write their own profiles by law!! How bizarre is that. In the old days, captains of industry with business savvy, donated their time to make sound judgement calls and not ex community influenced representatives with questionable business capability that want to build swimming pools at the end of every street. And I haven’t even mentioned the other great drain on the council called ECan, full of left wing ideologically driven wokes who’s sole purpose is to escalate rates. The model is broken John, the ratepayers know it and have very little appetite to encourage a repeat performance.
As a former candidate for election to a local body it seems to me that most people have no personal knowledge of candidates, but they tend to vote for names that they recognise. The individuals concerned may well be entirely unsuited to run anything. Once in place most of the elected defer to the local council CEO, who tends to run the show with a complaisant Chairman. And nowadays those CEOs are well and truly woke and propagandised in the current zeitgeist. For modern times we probably need a cadre of experienced and capable people to be appointed as Commissioners to head each council. Forget local elections completely.
I get nervous about clamour for more votes in all elections. Unless voters are reasonably informed, fairly intelligent and thoughtful, genuinely interested in the common good, many votes will have a very self centred basis. And many will be irrational.. The average person was far better informed 100 years ago when most read newspapers,and local affairs and council meetings were covered . In the main, local councillors were more or less known and meetings reported. Now there is almost no such general coverage. Sensational matters are reported by the msm, all with a selective pro maori and left wing bias. Organised groups with a communication network (marae), time on their hands, and united selfish self interest can easily capture, as maori largely have. Devices to make voting very simple are dangerous. If persons are insufficently interested or too uninformed to decide, they shoud not be encouraged. to vote.
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