Midterm and Local Elections

This past week I’ve received both my New Zealand ballot for local elections and my midterm ballot for Texas. (Fun fact: you do NOT need to be a citizen to vote in New Zealand!) I’ve done a deep dive into voting in both countries here, but this year I’m very much struck by how easy New Zealand makes it to vote versus how hard it is to vote in Texas.

First, registering in New Zealand is simple and is ongoing, unlike in Texas where I have to re-register every year as an absentee voter. In New Zealand, I received a letter about a month ago asking if any of my details had changed. If they hadn’t, nothing more was needed on my part. In Texas, every January I have to send in a form stating that I want to receive my ballot by either mail or email.

The ballots for local and midterm elections aren’t terribly different - with the exception of the number of choices on the Texas ballot - but the instructions on how to return the ballots are wildly different. Here are the details for my local Auckland elections:

My Texas ballot, however, is a 16 page document. Two of which are the actual ballot, the rest of which are instructions and information about the voting process. This is one page of that document:

Now which process if easier to follow? I’ve voted in every American election since moving here, but I am not sure if any of my ballots have been accepted because they weren’t packaged and mailed correctly. To say that I feel like New Zealand wants my vote and America doesn’t is an understatement. However, voting is important, so I keep doing it and I would encourage all of you - no matter where you fall on the political spectrum - to vote in every election you can.