Here are ten reasons why.
1. Countless people have sacrificed their lives to get the vote
The majority of the world's population - several billion people - live in hybrid or authoritarian regimes. Only 8% enjoy full democracies like ours, and for much of our history we didn’t see that democracy realised in fullness either. Again and again, protests, revolutions and insurgencies demonstrate the value that people who do not have the vote place on getting that essential right. There are many things we can be grateful for in New Zealand. Voting is one of the easiest ways possible to make the most of the opportunities our beautiful country presents to us.
2. Democracy benefits from higher turnout
There’s a reason why discussion groups and taxpayer-funded outfits spend so much time, money and resources trying to get people to vote. When turnout is low, parties have less of a mandate from the public. They are less likely to attempt necessary reforms and more likely to be stymied by backlash. High turnout is what propels forward the change we need and gives governments the confidence to do what they have been entrusted to do.
3. Politicians reciprocate to voters
Some non-voters don’t vote because they don’t trust politicians. You can not trust politicians, and still know their selfish instincts drive them to deliver for people who vote for them: that’s their ticket to reelection, and if they mess that up others will use that to take over their party and do a better job. This is especially true because taking voters away from another party means you gain while your competitors lose - a double victory for a political party impossible to accomplish with non-voters. Politicians' incentives even ring true for “wasted votes”: politicians spot where there is an as-yet untapped pool of voters, and formulate policies and pitches the next time around to draw them from one party to another.
By contrast, almost all politicians assume that non-voters are too difficult to reach. In their eyes, it’s more worthwhile to convince three people already showing up to vote for you than it is to convince a non-voter to come vote and also to vote for you. Those who do rely on non-voters are often derided as having unrealistic expectations, and, sadly, this is usually proven right. People who sit out an election as a protest do not get noticed by politicians; life moves on without them, because they had their chance to have their say and their silence can be interpreted for them by those same politicians.
4. You, as an individual, will probably get more involved next time
I’ve known a lot of people who are hesitant to vote because they feel like they don’t know enough about the options, and they’d rather not cast an uninformed vote. I think casting an uninformed vote is fine! I think we put the cart before the horse too often and expect people to hit the ground running from a young age, when realistically, voting is a learning process with many steps over your lifetime.
Go out and vote this time. Maybe afterwards you don’t feel that certain in your vote. Okay! Then, next time, maybe you think you want to check out 15 minutes of a debate, or read a few policies about a top priority of yours. The important thing is to get the ball rolling - studies suggest that voting the first time and getting over unfamiliarity with the process is the biggest barrier to the most voters, and once you've done that the rest can come in time.
A lot of people get the idea that they're just one voter and they cannot rationally shift the outcome. This is technically correct but the perspective is too narrow - voting is also about you, as an individual, choosing to become part of something bigger than yourself. It's a statement that can't be taken back that you care about what happens to your country and that you're not going to complain about anything for the next three years without bothering to have a say first. Voting is valuable for you as a person.
5. If you make a “wrong” choice, that’s good!
Voting is not something you can master and never get “wrong”. At some point, you are going to vote for a party and feel unhappy with their performance, or even regret your vote. That’s no reason to never vote - that’s a fact of life to accept and understand you can only get more comfortable with voting by making “mistakes”. Whether you vote against them in the next election to push them back or accept they’re the least worst option, it’s an important stage of maturity. So long as you are trying with your vote and not intentionally trying to send a middle finger the politicians will just ignore, you’re doing it right.
6. Voting is a strong inoculation against getting sucked into the fringe
A lot of people who don't typically vote feel like they aren't heard by anybody within "the system". That's a really understandable feeling - lots of politicians are untrustworthy and out of touch - but that makes those non-voters perfect targets for new politicians from Trump to Tamaki, who agree that you can’t trust the politicians, the media et al.
Not voting makes you more vulnerable to thinking that you’ve found the magical exception, the one person you’ll show up and vote for. It’s preferable to assess all of the options in a less-than-perfect world. Often, you’ll find that there are still politicians who will criticise and change the system from within.
7. Political parties exist to communicate your options to you
Parties that are bad at telling voters why they should vote for them don’t survive for long. Yes, if you're like me you can dive into the parties and develop a complex understanding of what they will do beyond the brands. However, on a surface level, political parties clearly prioritise what they are for. National focus more on the economy, Labour more on social wellbeing. ACT want to spend a lot less, the Greens want to spend a lot more. We should all try to dive beneath the surface some day, but if you need a place to start, 5 minutes looking at their websites or listening to their leaders should do it for you.
8. It’s fair and just that you should get the same vote as me
There are a lot of people who avoid voting because they figure that the people who know their options best should be the ones to decide the election. Nonsense! I can afford to keep up with my options in great detail because I have the time, energy and education to do so. People who are busy, stressed and aren't getting a good education are the people who need politicians looking after the interests of them and their community.
I want you to rock up while very likely knowing less about the parties than me. I’m glad you have exactly the same electoral impact as I do. That’s fair for a democracy that values every individual person rather than assigning us as smart enough versus a pleb. The alternative where I exercise my vote, and many people who stand to gain a lot more from the government don’t, is not how things should be.
9. The swingy voter is the best kind of voter.
Related to a lot of these concerns from people who don’t feel “worthy” of voting is a sense that friends or family hold stronger convictions - that either only they should vote because they trust their parties so much, or that you don’t want to become as partisan as them. It’s a good thing not to be wedded to any party! Think of this like that classic NCEA econ example about being at the beach with a few ice cream stands.
If you go straight to the Labour stand every time, they don’t need to come up with new flavours or discount deals for you; they know you’ll buy from them. So does everybody else, so they’re not going to waste their time coming up with flavours you might like. If, every time you come to the beach, you stop and size up your options, then every stand has a reason to think up new flavours for you! Not only can they get your $$, they can stop a competitor getting that and expanding their operations. It’s okay to not have total confidence that one party has vanilla for you every time. You’re better off sizing up the host of policy offerings that different parties will come up with each time.
10. At the end of the day, voting is five minutes on one day every three years.
Casting your ballot, especially with the advent of advance voting, has become remarkably accessible and easy. The process is far less intimidating than many young people who’ve never grown up around voting picture it to be. This is a chance to get out of the house, talk to some strangers kind enough to do the mahi to make voting a possibility, do your good deed for the day and head out with no strings attached, knowing for the next three years that you had your say in the one opportunity you had and that you’ve laid a solid foundation for the next time voting comes around. This is a ritual of community and society that’s both easy and valuable - why not take part? Get amongst it!
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