Dummies’ Guide to the General Election

Get enrolled

First of all, enrol to vote. It is illegal to not be on the Parliamentary Electoral Roll, and if you're not enrolled you can't make a difference. In 2008, youth (18-24) made up over 40% of those not enrolled to vote, which is pretty atrocious. In Ilam, currently, only 58% of youth are enrolled, so go and sign up! So many of the issues that Parliament discusses directly impact students, such as the Voluntary Student Membership bill, interest-free student loans, employment, and that darn File Sharing Act. If you aren't enrolled, go to www.elections.org.nz or stop at one of the many stands around campus and get enrolled. If you are already enrolled, you can also check and change your enrolment details, since not every student comes from shakytown - enrol wherever you call home, even if it is a slovenly man-cave.

Get informed

The next step is to figure out for whom you're going to vote in this election. You get two ticks in the general election – a party vote, and an electorate vote (and a vote in a referendum, but more about that later!). The electorate vote is voting for who is going to be your local MP - who you think will best represent you in Parliament. It doesn't necessarily have to be the candidate for the party that you like; it can be someone completely different. A good place to start is to figure out where you live, and who the candidates for that electorate are. If you are enrolled in Christchurch, your electorate is likely to be Ilam, Wigram, Christchurch Central, Christchurch East, or Banks Peninsula. Or if you're on the Maori Electoral Roll and are enrolled in Christchurch, your electorate will be Te Tai Tonga. If you don't know who your local candidates are, I suggest you walk to the closest major roundabout and look at the billboards.

Your party vote obviously goes to your favourite party, but first look at their policies and make sure you're not just voting for them because mum and dad did, or some drunk chick at the Fox told you she'd sleep with you if you would. Don't be afraid to shop around. Parties have different opinions about the level of government involvement in the economy and society. Generally, right wing parties advocate less involvement from government in the economy and society through privatisation and paying less taxes, consequently getting less from the government such as health and education, but arguably giving individuals more freedom of choice. The left wing tend to be in favour of government involvement in the economy through higher taxes with the purpose of giving opportunities to all through government subsidies, to level the playing field and provide more services. There are a lot of pros and cons for all positions, so read up about it!

There are plenty of ways to get informed about your party vote. The Internet is a great resource for this – not only can you utilise the party websites and see what they're campaigning on, but most candidates have a Facebook profile if you're trying to procrastinate. Another option is to watch television – soundbites often only portray one side of the story, but it's better than not being informed. If you're really interested, most parties have their own "alternative" budget and policy manifestoes, so you can see where all the money would go if they were in charge.

Making your vote count

In the end, it's up to you to choose which party and candidate will get your vote, but there are some things you can bear in mind when you head down to that polling booth.

The first point is that parties need to pass certain thresholds to get into Parliament. One threshold is that a party needs to get 5% of the party vote to get into Parliament. At the last election in 2008, New Zealand First got roughly 4% of the party vote, which meant the party could not enter Parliament. For the 4% that voted for the party this meant their view was not represented in Parliament during this term (these are known as "wasted votes"). The other threshold is for a party to hold one electorate seat, which is known as the "one seat trigger". This is what happened with the ACT Party at the 2008 election, when Rodney Hide won the Epsom seat. This secured his entry into Parliament and allowed ACT to bring extra candidates into Parliament to make up its 3.5% of the party vote.

Another point to bear in mind is that although parties on both sides of the political spectrum want your votes, some parties (particularly minor parties) rely on different types of votes to gain entry into Parliament. The Green Party prefers you give them your party vote over your electorate vote, as their MPs usually all come in via the list as their support is dispersed throughout the country. The ACT Party has some electorate strongholds, but also prefers your party vote. The Maori Party and Mana Party predominately get their support from the Maori electorates, although the Maori Party in particular has campaigned strongly to increase their share of the party vote.

There is a thing called split voting. If you like the candidate in an electorate, but hate their party politics, you don't have to vote for their party. This can be a way to avoid "wasting" your vote. When casting your electorate vote it is also worthwhile knowing your electorate's history. Some electorates tend to be dominated by a party. If an electorate is dominated by a party or candidate that you do not like, it might be best to look for the next strongest candidate that might have the best chance of defeating the incumbent candidate, rather than voting for a more minor candidate. You can also think about who your party might align with in a coalition, who is to the left and the right of the political spectrum, and what might happen if you split your vote. The alternative is that if you think your local candidates don't suit you, you have the right to not vote for a candidate at all. It's your own fault if everyone else then elects you a crappy candidate; you can't whinge about it if you didn't vote.

Getting there

Make sure you actually get your arse there on Election Day. Your EasyVote card (and list of polling places) gets sent to you in the mail, so this process won't be time consuming (five mins max!). Polling booths are busiest between 9-11am on voting day, so maybe have lunch at a local café first to make the most of your voting experience, especially if you're losing your V-plates like me. If you have work that day, your employer is legally obliged to let you out of work to vote, so why not leave for a few minutes and still get paid? If you're too cheap for petrol, lots of the parties are offering free rides to polling booths. Who knows, you might meet a hottie; there are tonnes out there...

If you're a "special" child, and are not in your electorate when it comes to the big day, the election people can have some fun with you! Go to your closest polling place (look at your EasyVote Card), ask to cast a "special declaration vote", then fill in the "special" form they give you. You can also vote in advance from November 9th if you know you're going to be on a nice tropical island drinking Piña Coladas while the rest of us shiver away in our uninsulated flats.

MMP Referendum

This election, there's going to be a referendum about our electoral system and the way the votes are counted. The referendum is very important, as it will decide who will get into Parliament in the future and how Parliament and government will function. On election day you'll have to answer two questions:

1) Do you wish to keep MMP or change it?

2) What system would you prefer it was changed to?

You have the choice of five electoral systems. If MMP is kept, there will be a review of some of its mechanisms, such as the 5% threshold and the one seat trigger. Think about how you would like to be able to vote (i.e. if you want to vote for individual candidates or parties), and what type of Parliament and government you would like to have. Don't just vote for whatever politicians ask for – believe me, they've got motivations to do so. Here's a quick POLS103 rundown on the pros and cons of each system. For more information, go to www.referendum.org.nz.

MMP (Mixed Member Proportional): This is the system we currently have. There are 120 MPs in Parliament; 70 of them are from electorates (voted in by your electorate vote), and the rest are called "list MPs". The list seats are allocated according to the proportion of that party vote that the party gets.

• Usually results in minority governments (i.e. the major party gets under 50% of the vote), which means that the major party has to form coalitions with minor parties.
• You get to vote for both electorates and parties
• The seats are given to parties proportional to their share of the party vote
• Results in lots of minor parties being represented in Parliament, and also higher representation of women and minority groups through the list seats

SM (Supplementary Member): Similar to MMP, but more seats in Parliament are electorate seats, and fewer seats are list seats.

• More likely for the major party to gain a majority of the seats, reducing the likelihood of coalitions
• You get to vote for both electorates and parties
• The seats allocated in Parliament are less likely to be proportional to the party vote
• Less likely for minor parties to gain representation – more likely to return to a 2 party Labour/National system

FPP (First Past the Post): This is what we used to have until 1996.

• Results in a predominately two party system. Major party gains majority of the seats, so no coalitions.
• Can only vote for electorates (no party vote) as all seats in Parliament are electorate seats
• Highly unlikely for small parties to gain any representation in Parliament.

STV (Single Transferable Voting): Health boards in New Zealand and Australia use this system. Voters rank their electorate candidates (1, 2, 3 etc), or they can vote for the order of preference published in advance by the political party of their choice. To be elected candidates need to reach a quota. If there are still electorate seats to fill after that, votes are transferred to candidates ranked next on those votes and so on until the seats are filled.

• Coalitions between parties are likely before government can form
• The number of MPs elected from each political party is about the same as the party's first preference votes across the country.
• You can choose who you like in order, rather than just making one vote

Preferential Voting: This is also a ranking system where you rank the candidates. A candidate who gets more than half of all the first preference votes (the "1") wins. If no candidate gets more than half, then the candidate with the fewest number "1" votes is eliminated, and their votes go to the candidates each voter ranked next.

• Government can usually be formed without the need for coalitions or agreements
• Hard for smaller parties to win seats in Parliament
• Votes for smaller party candidates may influence who wins the seat because of 2nd and 3rd preference.

Events to get you informed

Monday 3rd October - Referendum Information Evening: Golden Key and DebSoc are hosting a referendum information evening at 6pm in KF05.

Tuesday 4th October - Election Guide for Dummies: If you want to figure out more about the voting process and the policies of the parties, the POLS society are hosting an event at 12.30 in KB05.

Thursday 6th October - MMP Referendum Debate: Golden Key and DebSoc are hosting a MMP referendum debate on the 6th October in KF05.

Checklist

• Enrol or check your enrolment (and figure out your electorate!)
• Get informed on both your local candidates and the selection of parties
• Know what to do in the referendum
• Make time on the 26th November to get your arse to a polling booth.
• VOTE because your country depends on you.