Rangatahi campaign aims for biggest youth voter turnout in history for general election

By Layla Bailey-McDowell of RNZ

A new rangatahi-led campaign is calling on young people to help deliver the biggest youth-voter turnout in Aotearoa’s history.

“Roll With Us” launched on Sunday as part of “On A Roll”, a kaupapa aimed at getting more young people enrolled and voting in this year’s general election.

The youth enrolment rate rose from 53.89% at the end of July to 57.45% at the end of August, but almost 188,000 18- to 24-year-olds remain unenrolled for the election.

The campaign will use billboards, digital content and five regional hubs across the motu to reach young people in their communities.

One of the rangatahi behind the campaign, Ethan Reille (Kāi Tahu), 22, told RNZ the goal was to create a sense of collective movement around voting.

“The idea behind it is to create a sense of movement. We want young people to feel like they’re part of a collective, that they’re rolling with us, but also that they see themselves reflected in this kaupapa.”

Reille said the campaign was deliberately not focused on political parties.

“We don’t want this to be an overtly political campaign and it is solely about young people, and them feeling like they’re at the heart of making decisions by themselves and for themselves.”

He said ‘Roll With Us’ was intended to bring a sense of disruption and encourage young people to take ownership of their political future.

“It doesn’t matter what politicians are thinking about on the day, it doesn’t matter what the system’s set up like, we’re going to make moves ourselves and be the ones to determine what our future looks like.”

Meeting rangatahi where they are

The campaign has established five regional hubs in Tāmaki Makaurau, Kirikiriroa-Hamilton, Pōneke-Wellington, Ōtautahi-Christchurch and Ōtepoti-Dunedin.

Reille said the hubs would be led by young people already working in their communities.

“They are the young people that may already be engaged but have reached the young people that we’re trying to speak to.”

He said that included young people who had become disconnected from politics or no longer believed their vote would make a difference.

“Young people’s distrust doesn’t come from an indifference. It’s a sense of apathy and not being convinced that their vote makes a difference.”

The regional hubs would be supported and resourced by the campaign, while local rangatahi would decide how best to reach young people in their communities.

Reille said storytelling would also be a key part of the campaign, with the group planning to hear directly from rangatahi about what they were thinking and feeling before the election.

“We know we need to make sure that young people feel part of this campaign. They feel seen and related to this campaign.

“Storytelling is the best way for us to do that, getting out into communities, and being with rangatahi on the ground to speak to what they’re hearing and what they’re feeling about this year’s general election.”

Reille said the goal was to get young people to show up together.

“If we want to feel like politicians are listening to us, that our vote matters and our vote makes a difference, then we need to all be showing up.

“If we all show up together, then we can make massive moves and also we can be the ones deciding what our future looks like, rather than people that have been doing this for decades.”

“[My] main message is come to the table, share your ideas, your pātai with us, be part of this collective movement.

“We can’t do this alone. We have to be in it together.”

‘The biggest turnout of young people in our history’

The campaign’s tagline is: “The biggest turnout of young people in our history”.

Reille said the campaign wanted young people to see themselves as part of something bigger than an individual vote.

“The only way that we ensure that our country and our future is more representative of us as young people is if we show up, and we show up together and we support one another.”

The campaign will launch across the motu today, with billboards and digital content rolling out alongside activity through the five regional hubs.

- RNZ

This story was first published on rnz.co.nz