A government decides to have an election.

The PM advises the Gov Gen and the writ is issued.

A campaign ensues and the votes are tallied.

Winner declared? The Writ returned ?

Err no, not that simple, because some are so apolitical they do not participate and instead of avoiding the freekin obvious some will claim that is not the will of the people because those “some” did not vote.

Well well well perhaps those so choosing would not have cast an “Informed Vote”, so what is missing.

My earliest memories of Voting relate to my parents going to the Station “cookhouse’ of the by then much reduced Lyndon Station, It had been perhaps the largest of the Stations from early european settlement to about 500 acres. In that building a Mr Bert Diehl was the returning officer.
An odd location for sure as this was the very southern most part of Marlborough Electorate, Waiau Village a couple of miles away was in Hurunui.

That was when all those wanting to participate in the democratic process took time out of very busy lives to make the effort to vote on that one day and by that evening of “Polling Day “, the votes would be counted and a winner declared.

In these current times when wars to defend democracy are something very few citizens have any involvement with whereas in the post war years such loss of live and health defending against real fascism was a massive factor.

Today it is deemed just too hard for someone to vote so we have very lax rules around registering on the roll to enable a vote, it can all be done anywhere including a late registration, and In the turbulent times a Coalition Minister has once again deemed it necessary to interfere once more, Goldsmith is proposing 65 changes to electoral law. Sixty five??

Will any of these alter any of the real smudges on who can vote, for example will it curtail all those who do not live under the increasingly racist environment for those who live here but live elsewhere in the world and decide their opinion so valued they will vote at an embassy in say Paris, or the “office” of a person in kazakhstan. having only maintained a connection to this country of extremely minor intent.
Will there be any curtailment of the clear opportunity for fraudulent activity via a ballot mailed to an address, opened by anyone there present, ticked, and returned without any knowledge of the intended voter.
Will there be any moves to correctly identify a voter in person before handing out the means to alter a government.

Or will Goldsmith’s efforts continue the remaining as yet not addressed activities around the clearly outlandish activities of the Manuera Marei and its current “Chief” Tamahere that saw the Maori Party candidate defeat Labour’s Penare by some 40 votes amidst the glaring ascendency from the Marae Polling booth favouring the Marae CEO and Maori party candidate who won.

Now no one wants to be a racist, or do they, as the pile of rotting debris still to be cleaned up awaits.