I voted today
I voted in the Ohariu electorate today as is my duty. I took my six-year-old with me. He told me to vote National because his mum was going to. Last night his mum said she was going to vote Act, but she may well have voted National - she voted this afternoon before she went to work. Now voting is one decision we don't make together.
My son told me not to vote for Peter Dunne because I wasn't stressed. I wondered why he said that and when I got home I realised why he said that - Peter Dunne had a mailout that as headed "Families in times of stress" and he read it.
I used both my votes. I split them. I had to - I voted the Maori Party. This makes it the fourth party I have voted for since 1996. We both got stickers afterwards, but not before my son, just after I had made a tick, said in a loud voice, "Why did you vote the Maori Party". I think the whole polling booth must have heard.
But I'm glad I took him, he'll enrol on the electoral roll and vote shortly after he turns 18. I wish more young people would do that - and it would be nice to see more parents take their kids when they vote so they can see democracy at work.
Labels: democracy, Election08
4 Comments:
My seven year old came with me and hissed "don't vote Green, they want to ban everything". funny how noise carries in a quiet hall...not that I was going to vote for the Commies anyway...
Looks like anonymous has been misleading his wee lad. Sad. One day the boy will read the Greens web site for himself and realise his old man is full of it. Respect dies in such moments.
You can enrol at 17 - and most do - registrars of electors helpfully barge in on school assemblies and helpfully had out enrolment forms each year.
I took my 16 year old with me when I voted as she is enrolling when she turns 17 in May next year and of course she will be voting in the next election so I showed her how it all worked - she was surprisingly nervous and took it all very seriously which I was proud to see.
At our election party last night, where everyone had to bring a dish in the colour of their party vote party's colours she told me that had she been able to vote she would have voted electorate National, party vote ACT which again I was impressed with as she starts Uni next year and is grumpy about not having to give up her part-time job and not being able to get a student allowance due to our income yet like she said, its not about how much the government gives you, no matter how tempting it seems, it is about what is right and I hate how much tax they have been taking out of my pay packet since my first job when I was 12 when I can't even vote.
I have raised a great kid.
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