By Laura Frykberg
With just over 40 days till the general election, many voters will already know who they want to see govern New Zealand.
But what about those who aren’t sure?
They’re the type of people politicians count on and make up 25 percent of the total electorate. Most of them are young voters.
But what is the deciding factor for swing voters?
“I voted for National [last election] because I asked my dad and he said to vote for National because he does,” says 21-year-old student Trudy Hewitt.
“Labour and National were just slagging each other pretty much and Pita Sharples just got up there and said, ‘this is what we are going to do, this is how we are going to do it’ and yeah, that was it,” says 21-year-old student Tim Bruce.
“My friends and family were voting for national and in my mind, I was convinced they were going to win anyway, so I wanted to put my vote somewhere else,” says design student Jeremy Bridson.
“He just knew how to speak to his audience really well, I don’t think it was specific policies or anything like that which won it over, it was just the way he communicated,” says James Hunter.
Massey University Professor Claire Robinson says these design students are typical of swing voters.
“They’re generally voters who don’t necessarily have a lot of interest or in common, or feel engaged with the political system. So they don’t necessarily think it’s important to have a consistent political view.”
But how are swing voters swayed?
Professor Robinson says political parties often ignore swingers, instead focussing on those who always choose major parties like Labour and National – but there are ways to secure swing votes.
“They attract people who are not predisposed but are more likely to be attracted by their advertising message, whether they like the political leader or not, what sort of newspaper headlines and a whole range of things that you wouldn’t necessarily class as serious political issues,” she says.
This is something Professor Robinson says – for better or worse – National has grasped.
“[Swing voters] think that national handles the economy better than Labour, they like John Key as a leader and he stands for the Kiwi dream; growing up from a state house and making a lot of money.”
But despite National’s popularity, Professor Robinson says this election’s dark horse is the Greens, whose younger MPs’ grasp on social media might sway the swingers.
3 News