Benee, aka Stella Bennett, 20, said she was "so excited" to get to vote for the first time this year. Photo / File
Benee, aka Stella Bennett, 20, said she was "so excited" to get to vote for the first time this year. Photo / File
Auckland pop sensation Benee has a simple message for her fellow first-time voters: "Just get out and vote."
It's a sentiment the 20-year-old shares regularly on social media, and in her recently-resumed live shows.
And in a year that has seen youth-led climate strikes, Black Lives Matter protests explode across the globe, Covid-19, and the homegrown cannabis referendum, other youth have been responding enthusiastically to the call.
Benee, whose non-stage name is Stella Bennett, said she'd been excited for a long time about finally getting to vote.
But when it came to the actual day, she was "so nervous" she had to bring her mum along for support.
"I don't know why, it just felt like I was doing something really important.
"Afterwards though was such a great feeling, knowing you've done something productive."
Benee, who lives in the Mt Albert electorate held by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, said she'd grown up in a family unafraid to discuss politics, and they all shared similar, liberal views.
"I've always been interested in politics, and now that I have a bit of a platform I realise it is important to speak out."
Benee, 20, says young people are engaged in all things political, but need to follow through and turn out to vote. Photo / File
The latest data from the Electoral Commission shows more people under 25 were already enrolled to vote as of last Friday, compared to at election day in 2017.
Pundits expect enrolments to keep increasing all the way to October 17, with potential for a record youth turnout off the back of the 2017 election, which was already seven per cent higher than the previous one.
But while enrolments are up, when it comes to actually voting, in the past many younger people simply haven't turned up.
At the 2017 election just 69 per cent of those under 25 and enrolled voted, compared to 80 per cent of the population overall. For those aged 25 to 29 it was just 67 per cent.
"I think non-voting is a major problem, and you just have to look at places like the United States to see what can happen," Benee said.
But she disagreed young people weren't engaged.
"All of my friends are into politics, and I talk about voting at my gigs and everyone is into it.
"The climate strikes and Black Lives Matter have been huge, and for me and a lot of my mates there is this new fuel, that this year we need to do something to contribute.
She is particularly passionate about a "yes" vote on the cannabis referendum.
"It is not about so heavy smokers can smoke more, but preventing things like synthetic cannabis, and making it not a crime but a health issue ... it is something I feel strongly about."
Party-wise she'd looked at "all of the policies" - even the New Conservatives - but came out with the Greens.
"The Greens, and Labour, they are so focused on supporting people from every background.
"A lot of young people are left-wing too, but I have friends questioning my views on social media so it is definitely mixed.
"Really I just think it is important to get out there and vote for who you feel."
University of Auckland political scientist Dr Lara Greaves said while they'd have to wait until after the election for the data, everything indicated a high youth voter turnout.
She linked part of it to the climate strikes - some that saw tens of thousands of school students take over town centres across the country - and Black Lives Matter protests.
Another major driver was the boom in advance voting, with 1.3 million people already having cast their ballots.
This not only made it easier to vote, but the two-week timeframe also allowed for more discussion, with many younger people posting about their vote on social media, encouraging others to do the same.
Another factor was the Government being more in peoples' lives, due to Covid-19.
"In politics we are always trying to get people to connect voting with their everyday lives, and I think Covid-19 has drawn that line," Greaves said.
Referendums were also popular for voters, and issues like cannabis or euthanasia were "a bit easier to have a stance on than tax policy".
University of Auckland political scientist Dr Lara Greaves (Ngāpuhi, Pākehā, Tararā). Photo / File
Conversely, younger people were typically less likely to vote when they were less invested in the outcome.
"Young people don't necessarily have houses, or large assets, whereas Generation X and baby boomers do and so often create stronger ties to communities, and stay in places longer."
This all fed into a "trade-off", of time and energy, when it came to being informed and actually voting.
But helping in all of this was social media and the ease of sharing information, and with younger people in particular, memes.
So far the election campaign's most popular appear to be based around National leader Judith Collins and her "My husband is from Samoa, so, talofa" comment from the first leaders' debate, along with the "sexualised orange man".
"It's hard to make voting cool, and but I think some of these memes have been effective, and carry important political messages around voting also," Greaves said.
But Greaves said there still needed to be the face-to-face contact, which was why young candidates like Green MP Chloe Swarbrick were still out campaigning on the streets.
Representation key to increasing youth engagement
Youth-led group the Pacific Climate Warriors has been running the campaign Pacific Voices Count to help increase voter engagement, particularly around Aotearoa's Pasifika youth.
Enrolment in Pacific communities tends to be quite high, but at the 2017 election turnout was low in areas with large Pacific communities, such as South Auckland.
Brianna Fruean from their Auckland branch said they'd switched focus from the climate to voting, in the face of the major challenges in the community.
They ran a survey and found warm and affordable housing, access to healthcare and jobs were the main concerns - climate change was barely mentioned.
"To achieve climate justice there needs to be justice in so many other areas of society, so we want to be talking about those issues too," said Fruean, 22, who studies politics at the University of Auckland.
The Pacific Climate Warriors, from left: Puhimoana Samuel, Aigagalefili Fepulea'i Tapua'i, John Ainiu, Sabrina Manu, Brianna Fruean, Taualofa Totua and Christopher J. Tenisio. Photo/ Babiche Martens
This is her second time voting, and she agreed the climate strikes and Black Lives Matter protests had helped energise younger voters. But she feared Covid-19 might have prevented some of the face-to-face engagement and discussions.
More broadly speaking, Fruean said it was a change in the country's ethnic make-up of politicians that would likely drive more engagement from Pacific, and youth, communities.
Seeing people like her local Kelston MP Carmel Sepuloni, of Tongan heritage, and Samoan-born Aupito William Sio in Māngere, and even Māori MPs like Marama Davidson co-leading the Greens, was inspiring more people to vote, Fruean said.
"When my grandparents arrived in New Zealand it was almost a completely white government.
"There was a feeling of why should we go and vote if we are not part of it, why should we be part of a process that does not prioritise us?
"Having more Pacific Islanders means the younger generations see themselves represented, and believe that one day they might be there too."
Electoral Commission voting services manager Graeme Astle said they didn't publish age data ahead of the election but the huge early voting turnout had been very encouraging.
"I was out there on Saturday and almost solely saw younger people voting - it is a good thing to see."
Astle, who has been involved in "at least seven elections", said seeing the energy for voting this early was "incredible".
He said there were range of contributing factors.
They'd increased the number of voting stations and extended the hours.
He also noted the recent run of good weather, the fact the election was delayed with more time for advertising, and that EasyVote cards were out much earlier this time.
"Two referendums obviously creates more interest too," Astle said.
"Normally early voting numbers just keep on increasing to election day, so it will be very interesting if this trend keeps up."
By the numbers
• As of October 9, 72.43 people aged 18-24 had enrolled to vote - slightly above the 72.3 per cent enrolled by election day 2017. This year's figure is expected to increase by October 17.
• As of October 12, 1.3 million Kiwis had cast an early note. This is up on 550,000 at the same point last election, and 286,000 at the 2014 election.
• The 2017 election saw a turnout of just 69.3 and 67.6 per cent for enrolled 18-24 year olds and 25-29 year olds respectively. However, this was a 7 and 5 per cent increase respectively on the 2014 election.
• You can vote any day between now and October 17 - check elections.nz for hours and locations, and information if you cannot make it to a voting station. If you're in your local electorate it's easiest to head to a local polling station. But if not, you can still vote at any voting station, but will need to cast a special vote. Staff on-site will assist with this.
What do I need to bring?
• Bring your EasyVote card, which if you are enrolled should have arrived in the mail, which will make the process smoother for staff. However if you don't have one you can still turn up and enrol on site.
Can I enrol and vote on election day?
• Yes. You can simply turn up to any of the nearly 3000 voting stations across the country to cast your vote. Bring your EasyVote card if you have one, but if you don't you can enrol on site.
