5 December 2001

Sense of Responsibility - a Reason to Vote

Independent research recently undertaken on behalf of the Christchurch City Council into voting patterns during the territorial local authority, regional council and district health board elections in October has produced the following key findings:

• those more likely to exercise their vote are older residents and those who have resided in Christchurch 10 or more years
• more women than men appear to exercise their right to vote
• ‘habit’ and a sense of responsibility were dominant factors in persuading people to vote ahead of perceptions of candidates and policies being promoted
• the main reason given for not voting was a lack of interest
• the second most important reason cited for not voting was information, either a lack of it or too much of it

Forty-eight percent of those eligible voted in the Christchurch local body elections in October, down from the 52% who voted in 1998.

“This is consistent with trends not only throughout New Zealand but internationally as well, says Max Robertson, the Council’s Electoral Officer, “and Christchurch is not the only local authority to be looking at why residents do or don’t vote. Four other districts (Rotorua, Wellington, Waikato and Masterton) have undertaken or are undertaking similar research. Mike Reid, Strategy Leader at Local Government New Zealand will look at all the research and hopes the findings will assist in formulating a strategy for the next local body elections which will encourage residents to be more involved and get out and vote.”

Attached:
These documents are Adobe Acrobat PDFs. You may require the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.

• Voting and Non-Voting in Christchurch City - Report by MC Enterprises
• Chart of election turnouts from 1974-2001

For more information about local government elections:

Max Robertson
Electoral Officer
Christchurch City Council
Tel: 941 8533

For more information about the research:

David Price
Senior Research Adviser
Christchurch City Council
Tel: 941 8815

Top of Page ~ Media Release index