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“Once I’ve decided on it, I don’t see any point in putting it off,” said one voter.
“I just wanted to do it,” said another.
“Get him out of the way, yeah, do it,” added a third.
Unsurprisingly, a Prime Minister with a penchant for “Go hard and do it early” had the same idea. Jacinda Ardern was one of the first to go to the polls.
And while some things never change, voting looks a little different in 2020.
The sites saw estranged people and hands sprayed with disinfectant. Despite only one new isolated COVID-19 case on Saturday, the elections are being held as if the entire country is at alert level 2.
“We have everything spaced out, so in our opinion, it’s safe to vote,” says Graeme Astle of the Elections Commission.
More than 400 sites have already been configured to help minimize queues.
“Whether it’s COVID, or just going and voting, we have set it up in such a way that we encourage people to vote early.”
Early voting is on the rise. In 2017, it accounted for 47 percent of the total vote. This year, he is on his way to reaching 60.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw was following the lead of his potential coalition partner, adding his early vote to this year’s statistics.
“People will be aware of the crowds given the COVID-19 pandemic and will want to take the opportunity to go out and vote while they can,” Shaw said.
Everyone should have or will soon receive an EasyVote card that will make voting faster. But don’t worry if you don’t have one yet, you can easily vote without it.
Arriving this early is not for everyone. Judith Collins was too busy chasing votes in Hawke’s Bay to vote herself.
“Don’t waste time, don’t get strategic, just make two blue ticks,” said the national leader.
While 90 percent of Kiwis have already registered to vote, it is not too late for the rest.
There are 14 days left to register, for your opinion on the next three years.
