My simple message this month is please vote. Advance voting for the General Election started on Monday with booths open in Nelson, Stoke and Richmond.
Election campaigns do not bring out the best in people but do not let this discourage you. Billions of people in the world live under authoritarian regimes where people have no power to effect change.
I love the Winston Churchill quote that democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others. We should also vote out of respect for the thousands of New Zealanders who gave their lives in defence of our liberal democratic freedoms.
Elections are about power coming from the ballot and not brute force. We should be proud of the evolution of our democracy as one of the world’s oldest. Our first election was in 1853 but limited to men who owned property. The right to vote was extended to male miners in 1860, male Māori in 1867 and to all men in 1879.
We are rightly proud of being the first country to grant the vote to women in 1893. The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1974. It is also a tribute to how our democracy can evolve that in 1993 the public opted to change how we elect our Parliament to the mixed member proportional (MMP) system.
This election is unusual for me in that I have been a candidate every election since 1990. I’m not missing the stress and exhaustion of campaigning. It is a tough gig. Only the incumbent is being paid. Candidates are human, cannot know everything and deserve credit for having the courage to put their names forward.
Politics internationally is becoming more polarised and intolerant. Nelson has a strong tradition of respectful election contests. We need to keep it that way. It is healthy for candidates and electors to disagree but not to be disagreeable.
Voting is about saying you care. It is a simple choice about which party and person you best trust to make the right choices for our country and community for the next three years. Get it done before 7pm on Saturday 14 October.
