The Press SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1951 The Duty to Vote

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26515, 1 September 1951, Page 6

The Press SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1951 The Duty to Vote

No oUior democratic responsibility s taken more seriously by New Zealanders than their duty to vote at a General Election. It is a duty, as it is also a privilege. Some other countries have had to resort to legal compulsion to ensure that their electors discharge their duty;! 1 and even then they are not sure of {obtaining as fully representative an expression of democratic opinion as New Zealand almost invariably , does without compulsion. With very few exceptions, it has been customary in recent years for considerably more than 90 per cent, of enrolled voters to use their votes at General Elections; and taking into account the difficulty of keeping the electoral rolls “ clean ”, this is a high average. It should not be allowed to drop. A high sense of responsibility in the electors is ai sign of health and vitality in the' body politic. Unfortunately thei sign is more marked in the central than in local government. It is regrettable, but not the less true, that the apathy of a large number of citizens toward their own local body elections reflects accurately the decline in the authority and influence of local government as compared with the central government. This is a matter of deep concert) to' those who seek public office and to those who elect them.

From the electoral point of view to-day’s pdll will be of special interest 'because it marks the first occasion for some years that a General Election has been held on a public holiday. There are some who believe that it is more difficult to obtain a representative poll on a holiday than on a working day; but it will certainly not be to the credit of the people of this country if today’s poll is noticeably smaller than usual because some electors are prepared to vote in their employers’ time but not in their own and because others are unwilling to give up a few minutes of their week-end leisure to do their duty and exercise their rights. The issues in this election are as clear as they are important to the country; and there cannot be many citizens who have not made up their minds as to which- party or which candidates merit their support. The expression of their will must profoundly influence the course of the nation’s life for the next three years. That is the solemn thought which every elector should have in mind when he or she enters the polling booth to-day.