Get out of bed!
Peter Wilson, NZPA’s political editor, writes in his weekly column for New Zealand’s regional papers:
Older voters turn out in much higher numbers than younger ones, so they actually represent more votes than a simple age breakdown indicates.
The Greens, for example, have strong support in the 18 to 24 age group. But getting university students to say “I’m going to vote Green” is a lot easier than getting them out of bed on a Saturday.
Quite right. Part of the challenge is to get young voters enrolled. While it’s a legal requirement to enrol (though not to vote, as in Australia), about a quarter of New Zealanders between 18 and 24 aren’t enrolled. This compares to about 5% of New Zealanders 25 or over.
So, there are about 100,000 potential voters out there under 25 who aren’t enrolled yet. If you know any of them, stick an enrolment form and a pen under their noses…
