To be clear, as a person with dual citizenship, my family and I had already voted in California (our last place of residence in the US, 14 years ago). Our ballots were faxed in, not mailed, a service that is provided for overseas voters from the state of California. So I actually voted 3 times.
I am writing this with an eye to the many Kos readers who seem to take some hope or inspiration from what is happening in Aotearoa/New Zealand. My goal is not to make people feel sadder about the US situation – there is more than enough angst about that. Nor even necessarily to make people wish they could be here, though it is understandable if some do wish that. Perhaps knowing that there is a sane, safe place somewhere in the world (I’m not trying to present Aotearoa/NZ as the only such place) helps us all to keep working for that, everywhere.
New Zealand is not a Social-Democratic utopia, though perhaps it was closer to that in the 70s, before neo-liberal madness took hold in most of the capitalist world. But we do have genuinely democratic elections, and a reasonably representative government. The national electoral system is known as “mixed-member proportional”, or MMP, and has been in place since 1993. So everyone casts 2 votes; one is for “party” and the other is for your local MP (member of Parliament). The latter is pretty much the same as in the US: whoever gets the most votes wins the local representative seat. The party vote is proportional, and every party that receives 5% or more of the popular vote will be proportionally represented. This is similar to most European countries, and many others. So I can “party vote” Green, without fear that my vote will be “wasted” – as long as the Greens get at least 5% of the popular vote. (As far as I know, since 1993, there have always been Greens in Parliament.) I can also choose whether to vote for the local Labour or Green MP (or one of the others).
The 2 major parties are Labour and National. Neither is as progressive as Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio Cortes, and neither is as right wing as the current Republican Party, or possibly even the McCain/Romney Republican Party. Labour is more liberal, but the 2 have come together to agree, for example, on a prohibition on child “smacking” and on legalising gay marriage.
There is another component, unique (as far as I know) to the NZ system, which guarantees certain seats to Māori (the indigenous people of Aotearoa). So some MPs, including Green co-leader Marama Davidson, are Māori within different parties, but Māori will still get their 7 representatives in there in addition to those others, one for each Māori electorate. Official Māori representation has been in place in this manner since 1867. Marama, btw, is one of my favourite politicians: direct, kind, fearless and compassionate. I think of her as our AOC.
Jacinda Ardern, the current Prime Minister, is Labour and extremely popular; no one expects anyone but Labour to form the next government. This is somewhat refreshing after 9 years of National in charge. The main questions to be answered by the polling are:
-Will Labour win more than 50%, thus enabling them to govern alone? (I personally hope they will not, as I believe having to coalition with the Greens will push them a bit to the left. No party has governed alone here since MMP started in 1993.)
-How bad will National do? Their PM candidate, Judith Collins, is horribly right wing. She was left holding the National leadership title after no one else wanted it – because they all knew they would get their butts kicked. Recent polls show National at just under 30%. My favourite Collins quote – after being questioned about the lack of ethnic diversity on the National side of the aisle, she responded “White is a colour!” Yay.
-Will the New Zealand First party – an odd blend of populism and nationalism – be shut out for the first time? NZ1st leader Winston Peters played kingmaker after the last election (3 years ago), when no party had a majority and Labour did not have even with the Greens. He got to appoint the next PM, which fortunately was Jacinda. But he is arrogant and even reactionary is some respects, and he’s lost much of his following. He is polling below 5%.
-How will the other 2 smaller parties do? The Greens are by far the most progressive party, and their anti-poverty/social equality platform is really good. The other one is ACT, which is very right wing and would likely fall within even some of today’s GOP ideology. They want assault rifles – banned after the Christchurch mosque massacre – to be allowed again. They will not have a large following, but they will likely get more than 5%.
One way my wife and I are helping local Green candidate Chloe Swarbrick, who is really, really good, is by “scrutineering”. This means poll watching, basically election protection from inside the polling station, to make sure nothing untoward takes place. It also means sitting there with my Green rosette clearly visible – the only sign of any party affiliation allowed inside – as a silent reminder that the Greens are there as an option. A surprising number of people show up at the polls unsure which party they will cast their vote for.
My first experience scrutineering actually was quite moving. You are not allowed to use your phone in there, so naturally I thought I would be bored. I mean, I did not grow up with cell phones, I’m 67 years old, but it was the same day the leader of the free world was hospitalized with his own plague. I was restless, but people-watching is actually a really interesting, meditative activity. (You should try it!) Some 200 people came through in the 2 hours I was there, representing a good diversity of ages and ethnicities (though I would say that Māori and Pacific Islanders were underrepresented in my central Auckland district). After queueing patiently, they were given clear instructions on ballot marking; all the ballots are paper. There is very little concern about covid at this point (back to level 1 this Thursday, so the only restrictions will be at the border), but some people did wear masks. Most did not. The woman in charge was caring, organized, busy, and very patient. She was probably all of 24 (and brown). There are 2 separate ballots this time around; in addition to the MMP polling there are 2 non-binding referenda, one on end of life choice and one on legalizing cannabis. The former is likely to pass, based on recent polls; the latter is (tragically!!) not. The party/candidates ballot is orange, the referendum one is purple. The ballot boxes are similarly colour coded. If there is any problem finding you on the rolls you can cast a “special” ballot, which goes in a 3rd box. If you are not registered to vote, you can register on the spot and receive a special ballot. The understanding is that most special ballots will be counted.
What I found moving, and reassuring, was the absolutely non-partisan, democracy is sacrosanct atmosphere of the place. One guy, whose wife was in a wheelchair and felt unsafe using the chair-lift to the final level where polling was happening, was allowed to take the ballot out to her and bring it back with appropriate signatures or whatever as evidence. Another woman practically had an anxiety attack that she couldn’t seal her envelope properly: “Why don’t they use cellotape (scotch tape) any more?!” The woman in charge of the polling place carefully walked her through the process of getting a new envelope and sealing it properly, reassuring her (more than once) that she had done nothing wrong and that it was indeed confusing. No one else had trouble with their envelope, but this person refused to leave until it was properly sealed and deposited in the correct box. All she needed was the lead person’s gentle, unrattled support and she was fine.
No other party had “scrutineers” present, either at my polling place or at the one where my wife was performing the same duty. So perhaps my presence was completely unnecessary, other than as a silent reminder that “Greens exist”. It was a gift to me personally, however, as I spent a calm 2 hours watching the citizenry of Auckland cast their ballots and learning more about how everything works. There was one guy that I did help, however. He marked his ballots and proceeded to the color-coded boxes, then looked carefully at the orange paper and the purple paper. Then back at the orange box and the purple box. Then back at the ballots. Finally he took the orange paper, put it part way into the orange box slot, and held it there for a few seconds before finally taking the plunge. My own theory is that he mostly came to vote on the weed referendum, but I’m not judging. As he headed for the door he glanced at me, and I asked quietly, “Is that your jacket on the voting booth?” It was. He went back and got it before making his exit.