New Zealand Voter Turnout - Case Study Example

Reasons Why Voter Turnout Is Declining In New Zealand College: Introduction In the recent past, many people have expressed a remarkable degree of concern over the levels of voter turnout in the established democracies such as New Zealand. Though there is a disagreement over the size of the voter turnout decline and the essence that should be attributed to it, statistics clearly show that there has been a drastic decline in the number of voters not only in New Zealand, but also in other conventional democracies (Kitschelt and Wilkinson, 2007, p.111). This fact prompts to a paradox since never before has New Zealand experienced higher levels of education and literacy, and never has it reached such high technological development, which enables information to be stored, accessed and circulated so rapidly and effectively; yet, these achievements are accompanied by a reduction in voting, arguably the simplest form of political participation. This paper will explain the possible causes of voter turnout drop in New Zealand and some of the approaches that can be employed to reverse the trend. Voter turnout decline in New Zealand Voter turnout refers to the percentage of qualified voters who cast their ballot in an election and it is estimated by taking the total voter numbers as a proportion of the ‘voting-age population’ (Wattenberg, 2010, p.42). For a country to be said to have had a declining voter turnout, its average percentage levels in the past three decades must have decreased by at least 2% in comparison to those of the first three decades. If the comparison of the two eras indicates +2% increases, then voter turnout number is said to have increased, while a variation within the confines of -2% and +2% shows that the turnout is stable. However, such strict rules no longer apply in recent democracies with New Zealand being not an exceptional because periods of elections vary greatly (Kitschelt and Wilkinson, 2007, p.112). Statistics show that the number of voter turnout in New Zealand has been on a decline since 1950s. In 1950s, the level of voter turnout in the country was roughly 91%, which dropped to 84% in the 1960s and later to 83% in the 1970s. In 1980s, the level of voter turnout in New Zealand experienced a slight upsurge and hit 86% (Boston, 2009, p.54). However, it experienced sharp declines in the following decades with statistics showing that it was approximately 79% and 76% in 1990s and in 2000s respectively (The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 2012, para3-9). In 2011, voter turnout in the country was reported to have dramatically declined to 69%. With this trend, political analysts are expecting that the level of voter turnout in the near future may not be pleasing. The pattern through which this number has been declining is shocking and there is a pressing need for exploring the situation in order to establish the root causes, and possible measures that can be implemented to control the situation. Factors contributing to the decline in turnout Most of the sources and experts attribute the decline to the instrumental motivations and the institutional context by which elections take place. In attempt to explain the reasons behind citizens’ decision to vote, most sources focus on the factors relating to political competition, proportionality, frequency of voting, registration processes and voting days. These are elements of the incentive structure available to the individual potential voter who, it is argued, when faced with the possibility of voting, weighs the costs and benefits and takes his or her decision accordingly (The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 2012, para3-9). Political parties having almost the same ideologies This is one of the factors that have led to a significant decline in the number of voters casting their votes at elections. Most of the political parties not only in New Zealand, but also in other established democracies have party manifestos that are all most similar, a factor that makes citizens find no benefit or difference of electing one party for government instead of the other (Franklin, 2004, p.75). For instance, in the 2014 general elections, political parties in the country have very close ideologies that may make the citizens find no need for voting for this political party instead of the other. Outcome of elections increasingly becoming predictable before elections Predictability of the election outcomes is another key factor that is attributing to the sharp decline in voter turnout. Opinion polls have become very common in most of the democratic states and they are fairly accurate if conducted in a professional and unbiased manner (Weisberg, 2004, p.93). This makes the outcome of elections increasingly predictable, hence making the contest less attractive to many voters especially those supporting the candidate who is likely to lose the battle. His or her supporters feel like they have already lost and instead they opt not to vote. They believe that their votes would not make any difference (Ferrini, 2012, para1-14). Cultural explanations (civic culture and culture shift) Societal ties that make citizens of a country to feel that they have a responsibility of either directly or indirectly determining the social, political and the economic future of their country is another major attribute (Putnam, 2006, p.55). Studies among them being Robert Putnam’s study on political culture indicate that civic culture is a crucial prerequisite for positive institutional performance that determines whether a voter would cast a vote or not. Putnam suggested that economies may matter at lower-levels of development while politics counts for more at higher levels (Ferrini, 2012, para1-14). This argument means that established democracies such as that of New Zealand that has reached a certain level of development may not value development on institutional success (and turnout) any more thus may go back to precedent ones, especially if not supported by a strong political culture. Though a number of people may strongly oppose that civic culture has relatively declined in the established democracies such as New Zealand, the consistent decline in voter turnout can be linked to this aspect. A significant population of the New Zealand citizens can be said to have lost civic culture, which involves a combination of knowledge and awareness, political emotion and involvement, sense of political obligation and competence, and social attitudes and experiences. Citizens with a sense of civic culture are usually attached to political system and political parties and have a strong sense of civic duty (Putnam, 2006, p.60). Cultural shift in postindustrial societies is another argument that can be used to bring light to why voter turnout in the country has been declining. According to Inglehart, unemployment, housing, and health care are no longer the main issues that the public focuses on in conditions of greater security (Wattenberg, 2010, p.42). Instead, the public gives higher importance to individual-autonomy, quality-of-life matters, and self-expression. The high-levels of material status experienced by New Zealand societies among other societies in the developed countries have eroded the interest in economic factors of ‘survival’ and shifted the focus of individuals onto issues of personal well being. Therefore, the consistent decline in participation and turnout rate can be said to have resulted from the loss of trust in the political system, by which citizens do not feel represented (Eaqub, 2014, p.78). Inglehart theory of cultural shift claims that modern societies in the developed states have moved from values and necessities of survival to values and desires of individual well-being and personal life satisfaction (Eaqub, 2014, p.78). Modern societies have been able to obtain a better standard of living due to development of the economy, a wave of prosperity that has ended up influencing their modes of political participation. This also explains why there has been a constant declining party identification in New Zealand among other countries like USA, Canada, Germany, France and UK. Therefore, the idea of cultural shift as well as social capital to post-modern values can be used in describing casual chains connected to the drop in turnout in the country (Gould, 2013, p.36). They address sociological and cultural factors that may plausibly be considered as common to a bigger part of New Zealand society. People are continuously loosing trust in traditional democratic institutions as key vehicles for personal fulfillment with well-being of the society eroding the sentiment of civic duty (Gould, 2013, p.36). Other factors though some apply to specific age groups include lack of motivation, lack of political knowledge, poor attitude towards the politicians, not knowing much about the candidates, and increased complexity in the voting system. Citizens who expect very little or no change after changing a certain political regime find voting being unimportant exercise. Often, politicians frustrate their followers and the citizens in general by failing to fulfill their promises and party manifestos (Dinsdale, 2014, para6-14). Though New Zealand does not have a complex voting system, some people still find it complex hence avoid it because it is not a compulsory exercise. Moreover, some people claim that they do not vote because they don’t know much about the candidates yet politicians market themselves and their policies all over during election times. However, this can be associated to lack of interest in politics because they assume that their vote would not make a difference in their daily lives. Lack of adequate education among the New Zealand youth population particularly education pertaining to policies set by the government and each party may also be contributing to voter turnout decline. All these factors are believed to be the root cause of the consistent decline in the number of voter turnout in the country. They have overwhelmed other positive factors that should be making the number of voters willing to cast votes at elections such as having improved and digitalized procedures of electoral registration and voting (Bell, 2014, para5-19). Measures to reverse the trend Providing public information and education resources that facilitate participation is one of the major approaches that can turn around the current situation. Forming a commission that would help the general population understand the electoral system in the country while at the same time promoting confidence in the administration of the electoral system can change voters’ perception towards elections. Public enlightening campaigns are very crucial at this critical moment so that the general public can be educated the need for casting their ballots as one of the most effective ways of determining the destiny of New Zealand and the future generations (Bell, 2014, para5-19). It is very essential that people are reminded that voting is their civic duty that they should not overlook. Such campaigns should also be done online through social media, websites and media among other platforms primarily to reach out to the youths. Initiates such as involving youths in political campaigns and mobilizing them to stress the need for voting to their fellow youths can also change the situation (Dinsdale, 2014, para6-14). Youths can easily mobilize their fellow youths through social media and through concerts that may be led by celebrities. All these techniques can fully address the lack of motivation and indifference attempted to convey to young people the message that voting is both relevant and a responsibility. Conclusion The declining voter turnout in New Zealand in the past few decades can be attributed to various factors among them being the institutional factors that partly influence citizens voting behavior. Cultural factors appear to be playing a leading role as more people lose interest in politics due to lowering levels of civic culture that determines whether a citizen would cast a vote or not. It appears that a significant percentage of the country’s population has lost trust in the political system and institutions in the country. Other possible causes of voter turnout decline include the aspects of political parties having nearly the same ideologies as well as the increasing predictability of the election outcomes. Public enlightening campaigns that would educate the citizens the need for participating in this exercise is one of the most effective way of reversing the current trend. Bibliography Bell S., 2014, In what ways and to what extent does declining voter turnout matter? | Simon Bell - Academia.edu. [online] Available at [Accessed 16 September 2014]. Boston, J., 2009, Left turn: The New Zealand general election of 1999, Victoria Univ. Press, Wellington. Dinsdale W.,2014, Young Peoples Participation in the Voting Process - - MM Research. [online] Available at [Accessed 16 September 2014]. Eaqub, S., 2014, Growing apart: Regional prosperity in New Zealand, Victoria Univ. Press, Wellington. Ferrini L., 2012, Why is Turnout at Elections Declining Across the Democratic World? [online] Available at [Accessed 16 September 2014]. Franklin, M. N., 2004, Voter turnout and the dynamics of electoral competition in established democracies since 1945, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge [u.a. Gould, B., 2013, Myths, politicians, and money: The truth behind the free market. Victoria Univ. Press, Wellington. Kitschelt, H., & Wilkinson, S., 2007, Patrons, clients and policies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Putnam, R. D., 2006, Democracies in flux: The evolution of social capital in contemporary society, Oxford University Press, New York [etc. Seidle, F. L., 2003, Reforming parliamentary democracy, McGill-Queens Univ. Press. Montreal [u.a.: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 2012, 5. Electoral finance – Elections and campaigns – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. [online] Available at [Accessed 16 September 2014] . Wattenberg, M. P., 2010, Where have all the voters gone?, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. Weisberg, H. F., 2004, Models of voting in presidential elections: The 2000 U.S. election, Stanford Law and Politics, Stanford, Calif: Bottom of Form Read More