Has anybody seen the New Zealand voter?

Elections, by their very nature, generate a number of statistics.  One of the more interesting ones to come out of the 2011 General Election was the number of people who voted, or, more importantly, the number of people who didn’t.

Just 68.8% of New Zealanders over the age of 18 voted in last month’s election. Or, to put it another way, only 74.21% of those people who were registered to vote, did so. In real numbers this means that 1,000,000 eligible voters did not vote.

Has something gone wrong?  New Zealand used to be a nation of voterss, but voting turnout has been in decline for many years.  This election, however, does represent a new low.

To some extent low voter turnout can be attributed to the perceived lack of competition between the two major parties in this election. Traditionally, voter turnout is low when the outcome of an election is seen to be a foregone conclusion.  National had been consistently ahead in opinion polls for more than three years, and although MMP ended up making this election very close, it was assumed National would lead the next government.

However, even in the Maori electorates, where there was believed to be strong competition between the Maori Party, Labour and Mana in most seats, voting numbers were low (49%, down from 62% in 2008).   Instead of electoral competition encouraging more Maori to vote, some believe it had the opposite effect, and that the competition or division in Maori politics was off-putting to Maori voters looking for unity amongst their political representatives.

Declining voter turnout is not just a New Zealand phenomenon.   Other Western democracies are experiencing similarly low patterns of voting.  In 2008, for example, voter turnout in the United States was 67%, in the United Kingdom 59%, and in Switzerland just 49%.  (This is so very different to the hard fought battles for democratic reforms in the Middle East this year…)

Does this matter?  Is it a problem if not everybody votes?

Some people argue that it isn’t a problem.  Some believe that low voter participation shows satisfaction with the current government or party, and that if there was a desire or mood for change, more people would vote.

But, in New Zealand at least, non-voters are over- represented amongst the young, Maori and Pacific peoples and/or the poor.  If voting numbers in these groups continue to decline will political parties bother advancing policies benefitting and affecting these groups?  Research has shown that in countries where voter turnout is low, governments spend less on social programmes.

Voting is the way, in a democracy, we choose governments.  It is, in most cases, the only opportunity citizens have to influence policy, outcomes and who will represent them.  If an increasing number of people are choosing, for whatever reason, not to vote, can we really be said to have a representative government?

Anecdotal reporting since the election, particularly amongst young non-voters, has shown that many didn’t think they had sufficient information to make an informed choice.  After every election the Justice and Electoral Reform committee holds an inquiry into the running of an election.  Maybe this time they should follow the call of Green MP Gareth Hughes and focus their inquiry on how to address voter participation.

Nicola Shirlaw

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