Derek Handley: An open letter to first-time voters

Photo / Dean Purcell

It doesn't take a crystal ball to see that youth engagement in democracy, which is how we currently direct our hopes and dreams for New Zealand, is now in crisis.

A few weeks back, it was revealed that 60 per cent of Kiwis under 30 didn't vote in the last election. This dire figure was uncovered by the Virgin Voter Collective, a non-partisan effort to reverse this considerable decline, which is today declaring 'Virgin Voter Day,' gathering the support of many national organisations, businesses, and media partners to make one last push to remind and convince young people in their networks to get out there and vote.

Why Bother?
Voting, like capitalism doesn't work for everybody, doesn't work for everything and has a lot of problems, but until we figure out a better one, it's the best system we've got.

If you, as a member of the incoming generation, don't engage now, historical trends show that you will be less likely to engage in the future. If this generation doesn't vote now, there is simply no way we can attempt to fix what's wrong because it will be left in the hands of the status quo. Basically - old, white males fifty years or over, who might not really ever 'get' what you want to see in the world.

Things change in the world faster now than they ever have - this pace will only continue to increase. But the common rule for change: you must engage. It doesn't just happen by itself.

Vote 'Dirty'. Vote Often.
Head over to www.virginvoter.co.nz and check out the various tools, sites and campaigns you can interact with to prepare yourself for your first time. But before you do - here are three tips:

1. Don't be a Lemming. Don't just vote what your parents did or what your peers think. Stop and think about it, make up your own mind, use Candidate and OnTheFence to understand how party policies match your views, and use AskAway to unpick what you think of the people behind them. If what you choose makes you unpopular in your circle: congratulations, you have a mind of your own and aren't afraid to use it.

2. Vote 'Dirty'. MMP is the system it is, we can't change that right now, so you need to work the system to meet your ends - exactly like the parties and politicians do with their side deals and tactical electoral candidates. Any government has to have side agreements with other parties to let seats be won or lost here or there to get in control. Sometimes it's smarter to vote one party for your party vote, and then vote another in the electorate. You get two votes, use them tactically to help build the coalition you want to see; if that means voting for a candidate who is in your third favourite party - do it.

3. Don't not vote. It's not difficult maths, but, not voting is simply a vote for all the people or parties you would never agree with or want to represent your voice. Failing all that - if you don't vote, your mandate for the next three years is then to shut up. You don't get the right to complain about anything until 2017.

The System and Fixing It
The Virgin Voter Collective realises that the root of the problem will not be addressed by an app that matches you with a party policy, or a concert that aims to get you enrolled. They are, like Virgin Voter Day, an attempt to cauterize the wound as we take some time to understand just how bad it is and in parallel develop a longer term strategy to propose how we as a country might fix it together. Some of those fixes need to include ideas like:

• An entire generation or two like you, have grown up to be able to do almost anything via their phones or the internet. It's absurd that you can't vote this way. This needs to change.

• The high schools you graduated from in the last five to ten years never taught how to be an engaged participant in society, groomed to be ready to vote and understand the nuances of a relatively complex MMP. This needs to change.

• The parties themselves are abysmal at using digital as a channel to get their messages and personalities across - they think the internet is a television or a brochure and the main local electorate tool is still the billboard. This needs to change.

But it can't change unless you engage in the system. Behind the scenes, the Collective are working to frame up some things we think are systemically needing repair or attention and ideas for how to get it done. After the election dust has settled, we hope to share them.

Your First Time
Your first time voting is like your first time doing everything - you're probably a little nervous, a little excited and you're going to make mistakes. That's OK. What matters isn't that you did it perfectly. It's that you did it, learned and will be better prepared for next time. To make a difference we must become different. But we need to vote to make it so. Head on over to www.virginvoter.co.nz and get yourself ready.

Follow me on Linkedin, find me on Twitter, or sign-up to my email list. If you enjoyed this post, check out my book 'Heart to Start' or some previous articles: - Three Reasons to Steal, Not Copy. Here's How and Why - Why Are We OK With Outsourcing Ethics and Morality? - What I've Learned from Two Years with Richard Branson