I voted today.

[littleheaven]

Something which always makes me quite emotional.  Because for once, I have a chance to make my option heard to the whole country.  I have the chance to make a difference beyond my little family circle.  Also, I often thing of those who don't have the right, and how lucky I am to be able to do it.

One thing I noticed as soon as I left the house was an amazing number of people out and about on foot.  Because polling booths are located at virtually every school, there is one within walking distance of most suburban houses.  And it was a beautiful, sunny day.  I drove to my parents' house, around the corner from my old primary school, and walked from there.  I could have voted at a school closer to my house, but it just wouldn't feel right voting anywhere else.  They had a sausage sizzle going, and a real picnic atmosphere.  It was really nice.

One thing I've been pondering all evening... John Key, leader of the National Party, and potential new Prime Minister, lives in Epsom electorate (even though he is the candidate for Helensville).  To get into power, Mr Key needs the Act party as a coalition partner to have a clear majority.  The Act party won't get enough party votes to get over the 5% threshold required to gain a seat in Parliament, therefore they have to win an electorate seat to make their percentage of the party vote translate to people in the House.  Rodney Hide is the leader of Act, and he is sitting in Epsom electorate.  He's the only one with a chance of winning an electorate seat in the whole party.  So, considering John needs Rodney to win Epsom, there is a very good chance that the leader of National and possible future Prime Minister actually voted for another party's candidate in the electorate he lives in.  I find this most intriguing.  Ah, MMP, you're a funny beast.

Comments

[jaxie12.livejournal.com]

Oh I totally have to agree with you about the amount of people out and about today, and such an awesome day for it - yah for the occasional summmerish day.

Do you think our voting system is a bit dated? I can't help but think at this point in time with such a growth in modern technology the act of printing voting papers then manually counting them up seems so dated. I suppose the flip side is that it is a pretty big task to design an electronic system to cope wuth 3 million voters in one day. I guess the last thing you want is the darn thing crashing

Jax

[littleheaven70.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not sure how they'd police the accuracy of an online vote, or stop people from voting multiple times. I got the impression the ballot papers were electronically scanned, due to their design and the special coloured marker you have to use, but I really have no idea.

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

I really enjoy this strategic element of MMP, even if it takes quite a bit away from the democracy of the practice. One thing that really struck me coming out of this election is how, given the number of new electorates that National managed to scrape out this time, it would have actually made a difference if all the left-wingers, particularly the Greens, had pooled their electorate vote into the Labour candidate rather than casting it over the Green etc candidate, who would have never had the chance of winning anyway. The scraps in those electorates were often so close that it really would have made a difference if those voters took a moment to think rather than just blindly putting down two ticks for both party and electorate candidate.

By contrast, if you look at Act's newspaper adverts a few days before election, they make it very clear that, since Rodney leads Epsom by a significant proportion, then the Act party vote does matter so you should vote for Act party if you were so inclined. However, they also made a point of saying you should otherwise generally vote for your National MP in your electorate because that's who Act would obviously have to back. I thought it was very good that they made a point of saying that to their potential "market", to encourage them to maximise the power of one vote instead of throwing it away and, in the process, cannibalising someone else who might actually have had a chance.

[littleheaven70.livejournal.com]

I got mail from Rodney on Thursday saying the same thing. They did very well in promoting their alliance with National to bolster their own vote. I was one who split my vote between my electorate candidate (John Key) and my preferred party (Act) and I am really pleased because it paid off. Not that I am sure I would want a ruling party as totally right wing as Act, and I was desperate for National to win, but I think National are a little too centerist, and like the fact that Act, as the major coalition partner, will have a countering influence.

[obsessive24.livejournal.com]

Hearing all my father-in-law's (he's a statistics professor) lectures on how voting is economically irrational and statistically insignificant has convinced me to taking a no-voting position for the last couple of elections. However, that's exactly how I would have voted (substitute John Key for local National electorate candidate).

[littleheaven70.livejournal.com]

LOL. I can understand the economically irrational side of it! But I don't feel statistically insignificant today :o) I feel like I've actually made a difference, which doesn't often happen. I'd be interested to hear those theories, though. Always good to hear alternative views on such matters.

I think your candidate was that young female lawyer (I forget her name) who won Auckland Central for National for the first time. It's always been a Labour stronghold, apparently.

[landrews.livejournal.com]

Okay- I'm being dense today- why is voting economically irrational there?

[littleheaven70.livejournal.com]

If you saw the mess the last government made of the place (IMHO) then you'd call it economically irrational, LOL. I'm assuming that it's because those untrained in advanced economics are picking what economic approach is better for the country.

[tafkarfanfic.livejournal.com]

Key and Obama are just the same...they both want to give everything to America!

Ha ha ha. I slay me!

[littleheaven70.livejournal.com]

LOL. I know JK is very keen on advancing a free trade deal with the States. We had a better chance with McCain, but it'll be interesting to see what happens with Obama. Strikes me that NZ has a whole lot more to gain from such a deal than the US, given the disproportionate population sizes.