STOP BEING A PAWN

 This post fell to me because the subject is somewhat controversial and causes  dispute. The other Curmudgeons dodged it but, to be fair it does come under the mandate that I've been given:

We've just had our local body elections and, as per usual the percentage of voting by eligible voters is pathetic. It's actually worse than in previous years. 

And yes, it happened

Why is this?

Under the current system, local councils run the elections for their area, with the Electoral Commission's role limited to enrolment.

The Prime Minister  is supportive of exploring options to increase turnout in local elections, amid concerns around voter participation, but won't go so far as handing control of the process to the Electoral Commission.

"I have concerns any time people aren't using the democratic right that they have to use their voice and choose who represents them.

"We always do a bit of reflection across local government elections in the same way we do general elections, I think this is the time for Local Government New Zealand to sit down and just have that conversation around the way that people vote for local elections."

 - RNZ Breakfast. 

This may have worked well in the past, when there was seen to be a separation of power and influence between government and local politics. Government handled the big stuff and local politics handled the day to day living issues.

Today the issues are blurred with increases in population, expansion of the major cities enveloping regional bodies, the creation of 'super cities' and big new cities like Tauranga, Hamilton and Manuka and connecting infrastructure and services that will, eventually be nationalised (roads, water, telecommunications, electrical services etc).  It's basically a different landscape and the responsibility boundaries have been challenged and broken.

When pressed on the Government's reluctance to support the Electoral Commission taking over, Ardern said she was "really cautious here about sweeping in and making these calls without making sure that we're having those discussions together". - RNZ Breakfast. 

OK, Jacinda, I understand, You have to be careful here in 2022 when we have conspiracy nutters thinking you are a socialist communist fascist who not only kills babies but probably eats them as well. Time will prove that your cautious approach was wrong but, why throw bones to the rabid dogs who are hell bent on tearing everything down.*

The problem is though that the rate payers, citizens and residents anywhere in the country are confused. Let's face it,  the internet tells me that psychologists revise IQ tests every few years in order to maintain 100 as the average. Most people (about 68 percent) have an IQ between 85 and 115. Only a small fraction of people have a very low IQ (below 70) or a very high IQ (above 130). Most of the voters, or, in this case the non-voters will register in the average class. They are busy in their work and will, thanks to modern society's 'advancements,' be playing video games, texting on their phones, arguing on Facebook, communicating via Twitter and Instagram and, of course, writing blog posts.

Their news sources are limited and facile with very short sound bites providing sketchy snippets of goings on that favour trivia, sensationalism and entertainment rather than anything meaningful and useful. Some get their information via the pulpit in church on Sundays which harks back to the dark ages. No wonder the average person is under and even mis-informed.

I made an effort, albeit a quick and easy one when compared to national elections and read the information pamphlet that came with the voting papers. The voting paper was easy to use and there was a pre-paid envelope provided to send in my vote. How difficult is that? Very it seems for the majority of potential voters

 according to the turnout response.

One thing that I would like changed though is for local elections candidates to take on party affiliation the same way that national elections run. We all know that there are party lines (Labour, National. ACT, Greens, Maori etc.) at play but, when even interested voters do a skim read as I did and uninterested voters attention isn't stimulated who the hell knows whether xyz candidate is aligned with National, Labour or something else? This is critical when it comes to the selection of mayors as the Auckland results show. If the candidates had big blue National signs or big red Labour signs supporting their campaigns maybe the turnout (and the results) would have been different. It's time that we changed to this.

* The use of emotive language, mixed metaphors and a loose approach to the truth is part of The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ's  platform. Might I draw your attention to the disclaimer on The Curmudgeon's header page: