Kiwi star Jayden Daniels wants all Kiwis to head to the polling booths to have their say come this year’s general election.
Have Your Say rolls out on social media today and aims to shift perceptions that voting isn’t important.
The campaign – fronted by Daniels – is part of drive to lift voter numbers supported by Waipareira – a west Auckland urban Maori Authority.
“The fact around 700,000 enrolled voters didn’t bother to vote at the last election should be a concern for all of us. That’s nearly a quarter of voices that weren’t heard, and that’s not good in a democracy,” Waipareira chief executive John Tamihere told NZME.
“We won’t know how successful this campaign has been until September 24, but using Jayden, who already has a high profile through the Air NZ adverts and Shortland Street, should get buy-in to our youth.
“The campaign will run through our social media networks starting today and hopefully all political parties will support and push this campaign.”
As well as acting in the video, Daniels also produced the clip, which offers a wry take on why it’s important to have a voice.
Daniels told NZME he voted in the last election and wants to encourage others to do the same.
“I wanted to make sure that I had put my voice forward for changes that I want to see happen in the country.”
New Zealand’s previous general election, held in 2014, was reported as one of the worst for low voter turnout.
The figures show that of the 3,140,417 enrolled voters, 700,000 or 22.1 per cent didn’t cast their vote.
Non-voters were highest among those aged between 18 to 24 and 25 to 29, totaling a 37 per cent no show on the day.
