Dialogue: Local body voting difficult when there's no post office

By SHANE RETI

Electoral processes are enhanced by regular review, adjustment and monitoring. As part of a review of the local body elections, it should be asked if postal balloting was the best format for rural Maori.

Why should we be concerned whether rural Maori are represented? First, we should have exactly that same concern for that group as we do for the ability of all New Zealanders to exercise their fundamental democratic voting rights.

Secondly, the Treaty of Waitangi demands cornerstone obligations of participation for Maori in the affairs of government, both central and local.

Thirdly, living in rural areas makes it far more difficult for both Maori and non-Maori to participate in the electoral process. For example, it creates disparities in transport to public meetings and to exposure to candidates' promotional signs.

The low population density of rural areas also makes it relatively unattractive for candidates to expend campaign resources there.

These barriers are increased for rural Maori because of their generally worse socio-economic status. This translates into even less likelihood of appearing on an electoral roll, inhabiting a fixed abode and having exposure to candidates.

Furthermore, postal voting disadvantages rural Maori. Just how much is shown by the case of a rural Maori community 40km west of Whangarei.

In my study, respected kuia from the local community visited every home in the area and inquired of eligible voters whether they had voted, the reasons for non-voting and their choice or preferred voting mechanisms between a postal ballot over several weeks or a single-day local polling booth.

A total of 109 eligible voters were surveyed. Of these, most were Maori, with 89 per cent identifying Maori as their sole ethnic group. Of the eligible Maori voters, about two-thirds did not vote. Three-quarters of those said this was because they did not receive their voting papers in the mail.

Despite not receiving voting papers, the majority indicated an interest in local body elections. A community polling booth available for a single day was preferred by 89 per cent of Maori surveyed.

Would they have voted if they had received a ballot paper ? That is unknown. But conclusions can be drawn from the fact that the majority of voters who received their postal ballot papers did vote.

If this was, indeed, the pervasive trend, perhaps the anticipated difficulty in returning a postal ballot is simply a speculative consideration and the true vote-determining step is actually receiving the ballot paper in the first place.

Perhaps rural Maori were just not interested. This argument is countered by the fact that more than three-quarters of respondents said they had an interest in the elections.

There is a substantial difference between an interest and an action, but one must at least first establish an interest to generate an action. This would seem to have been done.

What became apparent during the study was that Maori in this rural community were angry. They believed that they had not been given a fair opportunity to participate in matters directly affecting them.

There are a number of explanations for the apparent failure of the local-body election postal voting system as it relates to rural Maori.

Inbound mail might simply have failed to arrive because of addressing failures associated with transient populations, extended whanau living arrangements, changes of name (for example, the adoption of Maori names) and the failure to be included accurately and timely on the electoral rolls.

Many rural Maori also use post office boxes or post counter services which require transport for clearance.

Outbound mail can also be a problem; there are long distances to postal outlets. If many rural Maori have significant transport problems for even basic needs, how are they supposed to return a postal vote when the nearest postal outlet is many kilometres away?

Widespread participation in voting processes is a prerequisite of democratic values. This, combined with obligations of participation under the Treaty of Waitangi, means Maori involvement must be maximised.

Postal electoral ballots would seem to particularly disadvantage rural Maori. There is a strong consensus among rural Maori for a return to community polling booths. This needs to be examined in future electoral planning.

* Dr Shane Reti is a medical practitioner in Whangarei.