Paul Little: The party-picking tool for uncertain voters

If you're not a diehard supporter, or a leaf in the wind, this is the election tool for you.

Having trouble deciding how to vote? Know deep down you should break the tribal party mould you've followed every three years since you turned 18 and vote for who'll do the best job for the country because several things have just got real?

Perhaps you've tried researching and comparing policies on party websites or even been to an energetic candidates' meeting and just ended up more confused than a kunekune at the MAC counter?

I know how you feel. I decided to be a responsible citizen this time and began by doing an internet search using terms such as "polices compared".

I ended up none the wiser when it came to deciding who would get the gift of my party vote, although I did find out how to save a heap on my insurance.

Then a social media friend told me about isidewith.com. Admittedly this sounds like the sort of thing you chant as you march through Charlottesville, but it really is an effective online tool for helping you find out whose side you're on - or who's on your side, if you think the election should be all about you.

If you're not a diehard supporter of a party or a leaf in the wind, likely to be swept away by the possibility of a charisma-led administration, this is the election tool for you.

In an election campaign that has become all about the distractions - even from the guy who keeps telling you not to get sidetracked by distractions - it's a relief to be able to cut out the clutter and find out who might form a government that will enact policy you can support.

It's for the person who wants their vote to be based not on historical principles but on political principles.

Unlike all those guides in the form of charts that have the party names across the top and the policy topics down the side, it surveys your opinion on a lot of issues and finds out your best match, ranking them in the order in which they best match your opinions.

The site was established in the US in 2012 by a couple of techie millennials, but the New Zealand version has plenty of home-specific questions.

On immigration: Should foreigners need consent to purchase more than five hectares of non-urban land?

On the environment: Should businesses be taxed for water they use?

On bicultural issues: Should New Zealand abolish Maori parliament seats?

Education: Should te reo Maori be compulsory in schools?

I wasn't 100 per cent surprised by my result but I hadn't 100 per cent committed my party vote, either.

Isidewith confirmed my suspicions with a percentage in the high 80s for the party that most closely reflected my values. (The Opportunities Party was the surprise big loser.)

If I didn't "support the use of genetically engineered crops and foods" and "support the use of nuclear energy" it would probably have been higher.

There is one drawback to the site. It only takes policy into account.

It won't factor in such vote-changing events as who has had high-profile staff quit in the previous week, who has made an uncivilised comparison concerning an opponent, who has had a simply fabulous glampaign launch or who has had to hose down a big-mouthed candidate.

Most importantly, it won't - because it can't - tell you who is likely to or even has the intention of carrying out their fine-sounding policies.

For that, we'll just have to wait and see.