The Privilege of Voting.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18430, 10 July 1925, Page 8

The Privilege of Voting.

It is interesting to find it registered in Washington that New Zealand either holds, or comes very near to holding, the world's voting record. Instead of going to the dogs through politicnl npathy, the Dominion shares with Queensland the honour of showing the greatest appreciation on earth of the privilege of the ballot-box. This knowledge we owe to the New York " Times," as the " Times " owes it in turn to the researches of a Mr Simon Michelet, who has just completed "a statistical round-up of the ••' nations " with a view to rallying his own. And of course it gives us a new grievance against our politicians that they have ordered us to get on the roll, branding us before the world as luke-warm democrats, when wo arc in figures and in fact the most ardent democrats who ever filled in a votingjpaper. In the United States 80 per cent, of the eligible used to vote, but last year the percentage dropped to. 50. Even in Ireland, where everybody is born to politics, only 60 per cent, of the men and women on the roll recorded their, opinion of the Government at the last election. And the case is only,a little better in the United Kingdom and on the Continent of

Europe. At the close of last year only 76 per cent, of the qualified public took a part in choosing the new House of Commons. Germany made a big rally in the recent Presidential election, when the vote rose to S2 per cent., but the Reichstag was elected by only 75 per cent, of all the Germans over twenty years of age. Prance is content with a 70 per cent, vote for its Chamber of Deputies, Belgium, Holland, and Denmark with about 75. Italy, it is perhaps not a surprise to discover, has not yet risen above 64 per cent., while even Switzerland, the world's model democracy, seems to be satisfied with a 76 per cent, vote, and Norway and Sweden with about 71. (It is interesting that in the last Swedish election for political representatives the relative strengths of the men's and women's vote was 76 and 60, and in the Prohibition Referendum 47 and 53.) But it was only when the enquiry reached the South Pacific that democracy was found to be thoroughly awake. '"'The six Australian States ''and New Zealand present a twenty"year record where the voting both " by men and women is an exceptional "feature. In the United States, " Canada and most European countries "having equal suffrage for men and "women there is usually a 10 to 20 "' per cent, lighter vote for women than "for men. But in Queensland, in Aus- " tralia, and in New Zealand" —Ave need not modify our transports because the recorder's geography is shaky— " as many as 84 to 00 per cent, "of adult women go to the polls." And it is to be remembered that in Queensland, sinco 1915, women have been compelled to vote, while here they keep the law if they only register. Thero is, in fact, only one established record which New Zealand has not yet beaten —the achievement of New York City, in a year not named, in sending 108 per cent, of its men and women to'vote for a State Governor!