The importance of young people voting.
In just a matter of days, New Zealanders all across the country will be voting to have their say in who they want to represent them in parliament for the next three years. Yet, many will not be heading to the polls to exercise their right to vote – and historically, we young people have made up a significant percentage of this group. In the last election, roughly 1 in 4 eligible voters under the age of 30 did not vote.
Unfortunately, it seems that history may be repeating itself for this election, with only just over 64% of eligible voters aged 18-24 enrolled, as of mid-September.
The various different choices in party and policy can be daunting for young people and first-time voters. Some may also find it too time consuming amid the busyness of life. And others may just be unbothered, finding their individual vote to be insignificant – too small to actually make a difference. But, the decisions we make in this election as a collective youth (or whether we choose to vote at all) will greatly affect our lives in the near future in more ways than we may currently realise.
In this election especially, the youth vote is proving to be crucial with many issues relevant to rangatahi in focus and many of the major parties and politicians attempting to appeal to our younger generation. The innovative ideas and future-oriented perspective we can bring to the table as Gen-Z is beginning to be recognised, and rightfully so. Not only should we vote because it is our right to do so but also because of the immense benefit we, as young people, can bring to Aotearoa.
Further, with all that is going on in society, it is vital, now more than ever, that as young people we make the most of the opportunity to share our voice. Why wouldn’t we when we are the ones who are the most heavily impacted by the choices and actions of our future government? We are the ones who are having to make our way into the workforce in a society that underappreciates workers and does not enforce fair pay. We are the ones having to rent or buy our first homes amid a national housing crisis. We are the ones earning minimum wage salaries just to put food on the table as the cost of living continues to increase.
As Aotearoa’s rangatahi, it is important that we have a say. We cannot sit around and let the older generations decide a future they won’t be around to witness, but one that we will have to deal with. They have done that long enough.
With more than 60,000 youth newly eligible to vote this year, we have the ability to make a real impact in the outcome of this election and the future of Aotearoa. This is our election, let’s not waste the opportunity.
Have your say in the future of our country and vote in the 2023 Election! Voting opens from 2 October 2023 and the general election will be held on 14 October 2023. Enrol to vote today using the following link here.
Check out some useful resources below, so that you can make an informed decision when you cast your ballot this month!