Inquiry into declining voter turnout needed

green-party

Fri Dec 02 2011 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Inquiry into declining voter turnout needed

Friday, 2 December 2011, 12:34 pm
Press Release: Green Party

2 December 2011

Inquiry into declining voter turnout needed

The Green Party today called for the Justice and Electoral Select Committee to focus its post-election inquiry on addressing declining voter turnout.

“Voter turnout reached a record low of only 68.8 percent this election,” Green MP Gareth Hughes said today.

“The low voter turnout continues a declining trend in New Zealand, which has seen every election since 2002 make a new historic low.

“Voting is one of the core ways for the public to participate in the civic process. The act of voting, and the feeling of participation it brings, is vital for the health of democracy in our country.

“I have written to Party leaders asking them for support to expand the terms of reference of the inquiry to include investigating the reasons for low voter turnout and ways that Parliament can address the issue.”

After every election the Justice and Electoral Select Committee holds an inquiry into the election. Only minor changes have resulted from the recommendations from the last three elections.

“There are many ways in which Parliament can help increase voter turnout,” Mr Hughes said.

“Given the deeply worrying trend of low voter turnout we need to go further than just an administrative review of the election that hears submissions from a hand full of officials.

“We need to give the chance for experts, academics and the general public to get involved and put forward ideas for turning around our low levels of voter participation.

“MPs need to hear from people who chose not to vote and ask them what could be done better.

“We hope changes like allowing full online enrolment, strengthening workers’ rights to take time off to vote, and greater civics education in schools will be discussed and implemented.”

ENDS

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