Hi Jason. Thanks so much for your support. A few people I know have found voting from overseas difficult.

To make my point, someone came to my home a couple of days about the election complaining about the result. I questioned her further and it turned out she hadn’t voted, so I had no sympathy for her pov whatsoever.

I’m embarrassed to say this was the first NZ election where I did not vote. I left NZ a few years ago and only just qualify for enrolling. My only excuse is that the process from overseas this first time was horribly confusing. I tried getting clarification via email, but was pretty much dismissed. I enrolled via the internet, but despite providing my new address, they mailed the pack to my old NZ address. I should have been more proactive in getting it sorted.

I agree with you that voting is an important responsibility and that we take for granted that NZ has a reliable system. I especially agree with you in having little time for complainers who do not vote. My usual response to the excuses you list is to argue that when you vote you are not only voting for who and what you want the next few years, you are also renewing your license to complain. For non-voters (like me unfortunately!) that license has lapsed!