Younger Voters Will Have Their Voice

The council is offering younger voters in Tararua the chance to have their say in the upcoming elections by registering with the joint government and local body initiative “Kids Voting”.


Year nine students at Tararua College and Dannevirke High School will participate in an authentic first time voting experience based on their local candidates.


The students will vote for real candidates, on exact replicas of the real ballot papers and will then compare their results with the official results from the district.


Ballot papers come with a ballot box and voting will take place in the week prior to the actual election.


The Kids Voting module has been designed to fit with the Social Studies curriculum for Year Nine.


The aim of Kids Voting is to get the next generation involved in the elections by encouraging the voting habit early on says Local Government New Zealand governance manager Mike Reid.


“With only 45% of New Zealand adults on average voting in local council elections, this is a great opportunity for councils to encourage participation in local issues and local democracy among students and their families,” he says.


Around 100 students are taking part in Tararua and the schools are enthusiastic.


“We are very much looking forward to it, says Tararua College HOD Social Studies Kerry Forrest. “The more we can get 13 and 14 year old students involved in local and central government the better.”


The initiative follows on from the student parliament in which selected students New Zealand-wide became politicians for a week in Wellington.


Wairarapa electorate representative Nikki Mott has since attended a Tararua District Council meeting.


TDC manager community development Troy Gerbich said the council was keen to support student based initiatives and to encourage participation.