Right to vote a privilege, so please make sure you use it

Sarah Van Der Kley and Martin Good.

I hate to be one of those people who harps on about how important it is to exercise your right to vote ... but I am.

It boggles my mind that so many of us are willing to leave it up to someone else to decide who gets to run our region.

The candidates standing for the council (local or regional), mayoralty, district health board are people who will potentially have the right to make decisions about what's best for our community on our behalf and yet less than half us of actually vote on those who want to make those decisions.

At the time of writing, fewer than 25 per cent of eligible voters in Hawke's Bay have cast a vote.

In Napier, only 12 per cent of locals have voted. I'm really hoping that people are just getting around to it and will get their vote in before it's too late.

It's not a decision that should be rushed; you should take your time and research to find out who you think will best represent your values.

But please do get your vote in before the shut-off date on October 8.

We were, of course, the first country in the world to give women the right to vote.

Imagine how those early pioneers would feel knowing that we have the right, but just choose not to do it.

Sure, it's not the most convenient system in the world, we still have to fill out a form and actually post it in the mail, or God forbid, actually walk into the council and pop the form into a box.

But think about the people in other countries who wait in line for hours because they believe their voice is important.

Or the poor souls who wish they could vote but are not lucky enough to have that right.

It can be hard to know who to vote for if you don't know the candidates very well, but it's not that hard to find out.

With the help of the internet, it's reasonably easy to get an idea of what people stand for and what they feel they can offer.

Most of the candidates have Facebook pages and, through that forum and others, you can ask them any question you like (important ones such as "are you a sausage roll or muffin man?").

Please get your vote in, make your voice heard and have your say in our future.

• Don't miss Martin Good and Sarah Van Der Kley on The Hits Hawke's Bay from 6am to 9am Monday to Friday.