Local elections 2019: What ethnic migrant voters need to know
The Electoral Commission of New Zealand is set to start an enrolment update campaign from Monday, July 1, to enable new voters to cast their votes and participate in the upcoming local elections.
Every three years local authority elections are held on the second Saturday in October.
The next elections are scheduled for Saturday, October 12, and votes can be cast both, physically and by-posts, as long as all votes are received by 12 noon on the day.
Anecdotal evidence and dedicated researches point toward something quite obvious – that ethnic migrant (Asian) communities, including the Kiwi-Indian community – are reluctant voters, and this is more predominant for the local elections.
Toward this goal, there is a need among all stakeholders within ethnic migrant communities, to not only educate but also inspire their fellow ethnic voters about the processes of the local governance and the need to participate in the electoral process.
What is local government?
Local government is a creature of parliament and receives its powers and duties through legislation. The purpose of local government is to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.
There are 67 territorial authorities in New Zealand and 11 regional councils. The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils and 54 district councils.
In Auckland, there are 21 local boards with between five and nine members elected to each board (149 local board members in total).
The functions of territorial authorities (district and city councils) include emergency management, community facilities and services, libraries, economic development, environmental health and safety, and appropriate to present and anticipated future circumstances, infrastructure provision (e.g. water, wastewater, stormwater, roads), recreation and culture, resource management, including land use planning and development control, and local regulations (e.g. alcohol, dogs, noise, litter).
Declining voter turnout a concern
A decline in the general voter turnout in local elections including mayoral, city council and district council elections is already a concern for the electoral commission and the local government authorities.
According to a survey conducted by Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) and Auckland Council after the 2016 Local Elections, 23.3 per cent voters did not vote as they were either too busy or just forgot to vote, 23.4 per cent lacked interest, and a whopping 32.6 per cent lacked information about candidates.
Research on Asian voting behaviour suggests that lack of knowledge, as well as lack of cultural integration with other ethnic groups, may result in lower levels of turnout among Asians.
According to two surveys conducted before elections and after elections, there was an interesting gap among the number of people who claimed to intend to vote and the actual number of people who turned out to cast their votes.
Pre-election, 75 per cent of respondents intended to vote. Post-election, 63 per cent claimed to have voted. This compares to the actual voter turnout of 38.5 per cent of the Auckland adult population.
Claimed voting was highest amongst those with a history of voting, males, older European residents, ratepayers and those who have lived in Auckland for a number of years.
Early voting is the key
In the 2016 elections a vast majority of respondents voted by posting in their voting form (92 per cent of those who voted). The majority of postal voters posted their forms soon after completing them. However, a third did not.
Experts believe that this time lag can be a cause for a proportion of non-voting, as residents can miss the deadline or completely forget to post in the form.
So this year, if we make a point to cast our vote as soon as we receive a postal ballot, then there are more chances that we do not forget to vote altogether and become a part of wrong statistics.
The Electoral Commission of New Zealand is set to start an enrolment update campaign from Monday, July 1, to enable new voters to cast their votes and participate in the upcoming local elections.
Every three years local authority elections are held on the second Saturday in October.
The next...
The Electoral Commission of New Zealand is set to start an enrolment update campaign from Monday, July 1, to enable new voters to cast their votes and participate in the upcoming local elections.
Every three years local authority elections are held on the second Saturday in October.
The next elections are scheduled for Saturday, October 12, and votes can be cast both, physically and by-posts, as long as all votes are received by 12 noon on the day.
Anecdotal evidence and dedicated researches point toward something quite obvious – that ethnic migrant (Asian) communities, including the Kiwi-Indian community – are reluctant voters, and this is more predominant for the local elections.
Toward this goal, there is a need among all stakeholders within ethnic migrant communities, to not only educate but also inspire their fellow ethnic voters about the processes of the local governance and the need to participate in the electoral process.
What is local government?
Local government is a creature of parliament and receives its powers and duties through legislation. The purpose of local government is to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.
There are 67 territorial authorities in New Zealand and 11 regional councils. The territorial authorities consist of 13 city councils and 54 district councils.
In Auckland, there are 21 local boards with between five and nine members elected to each board (149 local board members in total).
The functions of territorial authorities (district and city councils) include emergency management, community facilities and services, libraries, economic development, environmental health and safety, and appropriate to present and anticipated future circumstances, infrastructure provision (e.g. water, wastewater, stormwater, roads), recreation and culture, resource management, including land use planning and development control, and local regulations (e.g. alcohol, dogs, noise, litter).
Declining voter turnout a concern
A decline in the general voter turnout in local elections including mayoral, city council and district council elections is already a concern for the electoral commission and the local government authorities.
According to a survey conducted by Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) and Auckland Council after the 2016 Local Elections, 23.3 per cent voters did not vote as they were either too busy or just forgot to vote, 23.4 per cent lacked interest, and a whopping 32.6 per cent lacked information about candidates.
Research on Asian voting behaviour suggests that lack of knowledge, as well as lack of cultural integration with other ethnic groups, may result in lower levels of turnout among Asians.
According to two surveys conducted before elections and after elections, there was an interesting gap among the number of people who claimed to intend to vote and the actual number of people who turned out to cast their votes.
Pre-election, 75 per cent of respondents intended to vote. Post-election, 63 per cent claimed to have voted. This compares to the actual voter turnout of 38.5 per cent of the Auckland adult population.
Claimed voting was highest amongst those with a history of voting, males, older European residents, ratepayers and those who have lived in Auckland for a number of years.
Early voting is the key
In the 2016 elections a vast majority of respondents voted by posting in their voting form (92 per cent of those who voted). The majority of postal voters posted their forms soon after completing them. However, a third did not.
Experts believe that this time lag can be a cause for a proportion of non-voting, as residents can miss the deadline or completely forget to post in the form.
So this year, if we make a point to cast our vote as soon as we receive a postal ballot, then there are more chances that we do not forget to vote altogether and become a part of wrong statistics.
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