Voters United organisers are delighted with the public response to the launch of the initiative nearly a month ago and say their membership is growing daily. So far, the group has been endorsed by former ACT Party leader and Reality Check Radio host Rodney Hide and by Health Forum New Zealand founder Lynda Wharton.
“The reception has taken our breath away,” says Voters United founding member Keith Buckley.
“Our initiative has inspired spirited debate on numerous social media sites, including our own. Emails have poured in, with the vast majority hopeful and positive about us delivering on our objectives.”
Voters United are offering advice on collective and strategic voting in this year’s general election. The group aim to provide a voice for voters planning to vote for minor parties not currently in Parliament which share the group’s core principles, such as protecting human rights and an all-inclusive society. The organisers are everyday New Zealanders without political party affiliations.
Without Voters United encouraging people to vote strategically, the minor party vote will be split over seven or eight parties and none of them will win a seat, Mr Buckley says.
Many people have called for minor parties to unite under one umbrella without success to date, he says. “The risk that the minor parties do not come together is great and we need a plan B. If the parties will not unite, then the voters must.”
Voters United aims to pool voter numbers together, he says. “We hope by educating our members on the MMP system and uniting the power of our collective vote by October 2023 we will have an opportunity to secure a political voice. We hope that stressing the futility of a split vote across many parties will encourage our membership to vote for the leading party to win seats.”
This month Voters United will run the first of its regular polls, which will give an early indication of which minor parties its members favour.
“It is imperative for both the minor parties and our membership that the polls are transparent, fair, and, most importantly, secure. Our technical team have ensured that the polling process they have designed will meet these requirements.”