youth voting

It shouldn’t take a pandemic to give young people like me the chance to vote

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The election delay means 17-year-old Gina Dao-McLay will have the right to vote this year. She’s excited – but says thousands more people like her deserve the same chance to have their voices heard. I turn 18 on September 27 – a grand total of eight days after the original election date of September 19. … Read more

I’m 17 and I’m ready to vote. Here’s why I should count in this year’s election

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Gina Dao-McLay from the Make it 16 campaign on how lowering the voting age could make all the difference. My 18th birthday is eight days after September’s general election. I want to vote. I’m ready to vote. But the law currently stops me from doing so.   As co-director of Make it 16, a campaign launched … Read more

Postal voting is a flimsy antique. The future is social voting

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There are still many barriers preventing people from voting in local elections. Laura O’Connell Rapira proposes some social solutions. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. To vote in the local elections, I cast a special vote … Read more

Not great: Auckland’s ‘one stop shops’ have been running out of voting papers

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Good: setting up places for people to cast a special vote while they’re waiting for their dumplings. Bad: those places running out of voting papers. Hayden Donnell reports on some trouble with Auckland Council’s one stop shops. Auckland Council’s one stop shops are a great idea. The stations at night markets, universities, and marae allow … Read more

No voting papers? Don’t panic. You can still exercise your democratic right

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Voting in local elections is under way, and you should have received your ballot papers by now in the mail. But if you haven’t, don’t panic. Jolisa Gracewood, Hayden Donnell, and Alice Webb-Liddall have put together this guide to how to vote anyway. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. … Read more

The true impact of New Zealand’s wildly uneven voting statistics

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It’s Spinoff youth voting week, where youth votes count double*. In recognition of the occasion, Tim Muller and Logan Penniket studied how dire youth voting statistics distort our local democracies. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. Local … Read more

The civics project trying to turn around our godawful youth voting statistics

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It’s Spinoff Youth Voting Week, where old people aren’t allowed to vote*. To celebrate, Tamsyn Matchett has written on a civics education programme giving teenagers a first sweet taste of local democracy before they’re legally permitted to vote for real. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about … Read more

Whose job is it anyway? Inside our inadequate, uncoordinated efforts to up voter turnout

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Turnout in our local elections has long been in decline, particularly among the young. Alex Braae looks at what’s being done to improve those stats, and find a lack of centralised funding and strategy. Our local elections coverage is fully funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. This … Read more

Echoing Chlöe Swarbrick, a ‘youthquake’ rumbles through Wellington’s political scene

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The president of the Vic Uni students association is leading a ‘youthquake’ as five leaders under 25 try to follow Chlöe Swarbrick into the halls of power, writes Peter McKenzie. It wasn’t a conventional campaign launch. Someone’s laptop cycled through a Spotify playlist of grungy music. The oldest person present looked to be in their … Read more

Make it 16: a teenager on why we should lower the voting age

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Aren’t Can’t Don’t: Contrary to popular opinion, lots of young people care deeply about politics and are desperate to have their voices heard, writes youth journalist and activist Azaria Howell. On September 24th, 2018, I rushed to the mailbox to see what I had received for my 17th birthday. To my delight, a card (that … Read more