Compulsory voting gets thumbs down

Press, 14 April 1984, Page 3

Compulsory voting gets thumbs down

PA Nelson Compulsory voting in local body elections got the thumbs down at the Municipal Association conference in Nelson on Thursday. The Mayor of Waitemata City, Mr Tim Shadbolt, put forward a remit supporting the idea, but it was overwhelmingly rejected. “I never thought I,would be a law and order man,” Mr Shadbolt said. He said Waitemata City had the lowest turn-out in the local body polls. “Even when I came along with all that controversy it still only went up to 32 per cent.” He said he had been told postal voting would bring it up to 50 or 60 per cent, but nowhere near the 90 per cent turn-out in national elections. Mr Shadbolt complained that young people were not involved in local body affairs. The average age in his city was 22 years and three months, he said. “Young people are too busy bopping and dying their hair purple.” The Mayor of Wellington, Mr lan Lawrence, said the next step after the introduction of compulsory voting could be penalties for people who failed to turn up

at the polls. He said he had once supported compulsory voting but had changed his mind. In local government elections where there was a list of candidates it was “better to have relatively informed people who cast their votes rather than people who turn up and cast their votes from some fear of penalty,” he said. The Mayor of Masterton, Mr J. F. Cody, agreed. He said compulsory voting was illogical if it could not be enforced. Cr Lloyd Davies, of Levin, thought it would erode democratic principles. Mr Shadbolt said he could see which way the wind was blowing and would not feel insulted if the remit was rejected. “I thought it might have lapsed for want of a seconder,” he said. But he had been saved by his good friend, Mr Assid Corban, the Mayor of Henderson. The remit was supported by only three delegates, all from Waitemata City.