Manukau Courier

Our democracy’s health is at risk

- WILLIE JACKSON

emergency with the health of our democracy. To many young people, Maori and the poorest electorate­s in our largest cities are not voting.

The statistics are shocking for young voters. Thirty-five per cent of 18-24 non-Maori voters didn’t vote in the 2014 election. Thirtysix per cent of 25-29 and 31percent in the 30 -34 age group.

When you look at Maori voting rates, it is even worse than young non-Maori voters: Forty-five per cent of 18-24 Maori voters didn’t vote in the 2014 election. Fortyfour per cent of 25-29 and 38 per cent in the 30-34 age group.

And the stats for our poorest electorate­s in South Auckland are just as bad. Forty per cent of 18-24 voters in Mangere and Manukau East didn’t vote and 43 per cent of this age group stayed away from the polls in Manurewa.

So to many young, brown and poor people have given up and are not voting and this is damaging our political culture.

Part of the problem is a total lack of civics taught in schools and part of it is a natural cynicism towards a system they don’t see as being for their benefit and an Electoral Commission that seems to have given up reaching out to these groups altogether.

Speaking with many in my community, the poor fear debt collectors or State Agencies using the enrolment details to hunt them down, and many of our domestic violence survivors don’t want their abusers using the electoral roll to find them.

Why can’t the Electoral Commission offer an easy box ticking process for those enrolling to not appear on the published roll to ease the fears of the poor and the abused? By locking these voters out if the process, the Electoral Commission does them and our wider political system a terrible disservice. They need to listen to community groups that have reach within the young, brown and poor communitie­s and recruit those organisati­ons to do the outreach the Electoral Commission seems incapable of.

If the Electoral Commission isn’t prepared to do its job properly, then I will. I’ll be out in my community enrolling as many voters possible.

 ??  ?? Voter turn out among young people is of concern.
Voter turn out among young people is of concern.
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