Leaders head to polls early; Collins prays before casting vote
AUCKLAND: National leader Judith Collins has got in on the early voting action, casting her ballot at an Auckland church where she made a quick prayer beforehand.
Ms Collins, who stands in the Papakura electorate, lives in Tamaki, a seat comfortably held by National MP Simon O’Connor.
She arrived about 11am to place her vote at St Thomas Tamaki, stopping in the chapel to offer a prayer before going in to vote.
‘‘It was a really easy choice — two ticks blue,’’ Ms Collins said.
She also revealed she voted for the End of Life Choice Bill, and against the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill.
Before voting she was asked by the church’s priest if she would like to say a prayer, replying: ‘‘What a good idea.’’
When asked later why she did so during a media event, she said media had not asked to follow her in but she ‘‘didn’t want to make a fuss’’.
Ms Collins was asked if choosing a church to place her vote in was strategic, to attract religious supporters of the New Conservatives.
She said it was not.
‘‘Look, in my maiden speech 18 years ago I declared right then and there I believed in God, and I still do.’’
She ‘‘sometimes’’ went to church on Sundays, but prayed ‘‘every day’’, she said.
‘‘I was brought up as an Anglican, baptised and confirmed by the Church of England. I attended Sunday School as a child and later bible class. It is inherently part of who I am.’’
She wouldn’t rule out working with the New Conservatives but didn’t fancy their chances of making it into Parliament.
Ms Collins said support for her party was gaining momentum, reflecting on a new poll for Auckland Central that showed National Candidate Emma Mellow (30%) closing the gap with Labour’s Helen White (35%), and Green MP Chloe Ms Swarbrick (26%) not far behind but soaking up a large amount of the left vote.
Labour leader and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern cast her vote on Saturday in Mt Albert, just hours after the early voting period began.
‘‘Two ticks Labour,’’ she told reporters,
She was joined by her fiance Clarke Gayford, who also voted for Labour and Ms Ardern — she is the local candidate in Mt Albert.
‘‘He didn’t get a choice,’’ Ms
Ardern joked as the pair left the voting station.
Ms Ardern did not reveal which way she voted in the two referendums.
The Electoral Commission’s Chief Electoral Officer, Alicia Wright, has said early voting could make up 60% of the total overall number of votes. In 2017, early voting was 47%.
The commission has been encouraging people to get out early and vote. The last day of the voting period is October 17.
Covid19 significantly changed the plans for the election, which was initially scheduled for September 19.
The election results will be made known as they come through on the night of October 17.
Initial results of the end of life choice and the cannabis referendum will not be known until October 30 and the full results will not be confirmed until November 6. — The New Zealand Herald