Or maybe you voted for the lowest-polling candidate, who only received 983 votes - that's 983 wasted votes.
If you knew that candidate was going to do so poorly, would you have given your vote to another candidate who had more of a chance of winning? Quite possibly, and this highlights the underlying problem with first-past-the-post (FPP) elections, which are used to elect Wanganui district councillors.
If Wanganui used the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, then once Hamish McDouall had reached the quota required to be elected, any surplus votes would have been transferred to your second preferred candidate.
Using such a system would also ensure that the least liked candidate did not get elected - an abnormality which can happen under FPP. If the votes are tallied up as 30 per cent, 25 per cent, 25 per cent and 20 per cent to four candidates, this means the candidate with just 30 per cent of the vote wins - but this seems unfair when 70 per cent of voters did not prefer this candidate.
The good thing about STV is that the final result is always more representative of the average voter.
The downside to STV is that the system is complicated and difficult for the average person to understand. It even needs special software to calculate the result, so it can take a little longer than FPP to know the outcome. But it is still simple enough to vote. You merely number the candidates from 1-12 instead of placing 12 ticks. The computer does the rest.
There has also been plenty of talk since the election about internet voting. Some suggest this option would increase election turnout, although, to date, studies have been inconclusive. However, in a modern society like New Zealand it is hard to understand why this option has not been made available before now - simply to make it more convenient for voters. It may very well encourage young people to vote, given they are generally more adept and confident with technology and studies have shown that the earlier in life people start to vote the more likely they are to continue.
Internet voting would also reduce election costs in the long term and make it easier and cheaper to conduct referenda. Of course, having referenda that can be ignored by politicians also adds to the disgust many New Zealanders have for politics and politicians. Perhaps this is an area where our so-called "democratic system" needs to be more closely scrutinised.
One final thought to help improve our faith in politics: wouldn't it be just grand if the council couldn't borrow any more money without the approval of voters in a referendum and also that rates could not rise by more than the rate of inflation? This way council would be forced to live within its means. That would certainly give us all more confidence to cast a vote, knowing councillors could not do us too much damage without our say-so.
Congratulations to those brave enough to stand for election and those who were elected. But please remember: just because we elected you, it doesn't mean we think you are any smarter than the rest of us-you were only average Joe or Jane Citizen the day before you were elected, so don't forget to ask us what we want, given you are representing each and every one of us. If you don't, we can always find someone to replace you next election.
Steve Baron is a Wanganui-based political scientist, co-editor of the book, People Power, and the founder of Better Democracy NZ
